Category: Immigration Insights

November 29, 2017

Effective 23rd November 2017, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated the list of “designated countries” whose residents require an immigration medical examination (IME) to apply for a temporary or permanent residence visa. The following countries, previously not designated, are now designated (i.e. they now require an IME): Fiji Singapore Timor-Leste Tunisia The following countries, previously […]

November 27, 2017

In this week’s edition, we bring you news of changes to permanent employer-sponsored skilled visas in Australia. Also, the Ministry of Manpower has added several questions to the Employment Pass (EP) online application form in Singapore and new immigration law in Brazil has taken effect. Plus, there’s immigration news from Romania, Denmark and Kazakhstan.

November 24, 2017

Effective immediately, the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce has launched online attestation (certification) services for some documents. The online service is available through the “My Business Portal”, and allows users to complete the attestation of certain documents, including the visa request letter to the Labour Office, without visiting the Chamber in person. However, some documents still […]

November 23, 2017

On 21st November 2017, Decree 9.199/2017 was published and the new Brazilian immigration law (13.445/2017) took effect. It is important to note that the normative resolutions which provide guidelines for visa processing have not yet been published, and until they are published applications under the new law will not be available. The new law, described […]

November 23, 2017

Effective 1st December 2017, the Department of Home Affairs (DHS) of South Africa will implement a reciprocal visa waiver for Angolan passport holders for visits of up to 30 days per visit, up to 90 days per year. Angolan passport holders will no longer require Port of Entry Visas in advance of travel to South […]

November 22, 2017

On 21st November 2017, the United States Department of State issued an update on the situation for US nationals entering Turkey. The main points are as follows: US citizens (with no other nationality) will be issued sticker visas upon entry into Turkey only if they can show legal residency (residence permits) in another country other than the […]

November 22, 2017

Effective 18th November 2017, subclass 457 visa applicants will no longer be required to provide evidence, or a letter from an insurer, confirming their health insurance coverage as part of the visa application process. Applicants will simply be required to indicate, as part of their online application form, that they have made adequate arrangements for […]

November 21, 2017

The 2017 quotas for work permits for local hires and secondments has been exhausted. The 2018 work permit quotas may not be released before the end of this year, and until they are, current pending applications in these categories will not be approved. Work permits for other categories, such as intra-company transferees, highly-skilled workers and […]

November 21, 2017

From 21st November 2017, Australian nationals will be able to apply for an electronic visa for Brazil, valid for tourism or business and issued within 72 hours, through a new online system. The electronic visas will then be made available to Canadian nationals from 8th January 2018, to US nationals from 15th January 2018 and […]

November 20, 2017

In this week’s edition, we bring you news of an increase to the number of Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visas in the UK. Also, foreign nationals applying for a limited stay permit in South Jakarta must now produce a domicile letter, and there’s a new electronic system for residence permit applications in Singapore. Plus, there’s news from the Czech Republic, Turkey/USA and Saudi Arabia.