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Category: Immigration Insights
INDIA | Merger of PIO and OCI Card Schemes Brings Eligibility Changes and Clarifications
February 4, 2015
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Card has been merged into the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card scheme. Thus, effective as of mid-January 2015, the PIO category is now closed to all new applicants and transitional measures are in place for those individuals currently holding PIO […]
Read MoreBiometrics Residence Permits to now be issued for Entry Clearance applications
February 3, 2015
From March 2015, any non-EEA national applying for leave to enter the UK for over 6 months will be required to apply for a BRP and then collect it within ten days of their arrival to the UK. EU Regulation…
Read MoreCHINA: Introduction of Three-Year and Short Term Work Permits
January 28, 2015
Three-Year Work Permits At the end of December 2014, The Labour Bureau in Beijing announced that, in certain circumstances, Work Permits may be issued with validity of up to 3 years, rather than the standard 12 months. Foreign national employees…
Read MoreSimplifying UK visa applications for Chinese business partners
January 12, 2015
As of December 2014, a new visa scheme launched by UKVI aims to maintain the UK"s position as the fourth most popular destination for Chinese investment worldwide. "Select Business Scheme UK" (SBS UK) will greatly simplify the process for inviting…
Read MoreAUSTRALIA: 457 Visa Labour Market Test
December 24, 2014
On 23rd November, Labour Market Testing was enacted as a requirement for the Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) in Australia under the Migration Amendment (Temporary Sponsored Visas) Bill 2013. Having been repealed as a requirement in 2003, the return of…
Read MoreUK Immigration: A political agenda or an economic necessity?
December 17, 2014
As the year draws to a close and the 2015 General Election looms, the main political parties are starting to make a lot of noise about their key policies to win seats, but this time around they all have a...
Read MoreRUSSIA: Changes to Immigration Regulations
December 11, 2014
In 2015, Russia will be making several changes, the most important as outlined below, to their immigration policies by use of Federal Law number 357-FL. Highly Qualified Specialists The Highly Qualified Specialist (HQS) program was introduced in 2010 and allows…
Read MoreRight to rent checks introduced in the UK
December 4, 2014
In her speech last March the Queen announced that private landlords would be responsible for checking that their prospective tenants are legally entitled to be in the country. Under the new Immigration Act 2014, landlords now need to see evidence…
Read MoreSWITZERLAND: Voters Reject Immigration Cap and Reduce Work Permit Quota
December 2, 2014
Swiss voters have rejected proposals to cut net migration to no more than 0.2% of the population, citing it would have been bad for the economy. Only 26% of voters supported the proposals, arguing it would have reduced pressure on…
Read MoreUK government amends the provisions for EEA Job Seekers
November 20, 2014
As of November 10th 2014, the Home Office has amended the provisions for EEA Job Seekers. Through the Statutory Instrument; the Immigration (European Economic Area) (Amendment) (No 3) Regulations 2014 SI 2014/2671), the new regulations state that the relevant period…
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