Category: Immigration Insights

August 16, 2017

Starting 14th August 2017, foreign nationals holding temporary residence cards in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) must apply to exchange their old cards for new biometric residence cards. Foreign residents have until 31st December 2017 to complete the switch-over. In preparation for issuing the new cards, the Office Nationale d’Identification (ONI) in Abidjan temporarily stopped accepting […]

August 15, 2017

A major new set of immigration regulations has established new visa categories and requirements. Resolution 6045 of 2nd August 2017 repealed Resolution 5512 of 4th September 2015, and will come into force ninety business days from its publication date. Visas issued prior to the entry into force of Resolution 6045 will keep their validity and […]

August 15, 2017

The Ministry of Interior has recently relaxed the qualifying criteria for work permits for foreign experts engaged in professions requiring a higher academic education. Also, the immigration authorities have recently increased audits at client sites. Relaxed Criteria Effective immediately, the work permit sub-category for academically qualified foreign experts is open to applicants with at least […]

August 15, 2017

With immediate effect, the Japanese immigration authorities have implemented new guidelines for permanent residency applications for foreign nationals, including shorter qualifying residence periods for certain applicants. Who Qualifies? A part of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Strategy for Revitalization, applicants for permanent residence who score over 80 points on the Immigration Bureau of Japan’s (IBJ) points-based […]

August 14, 2017

In this week’s edition, we announce changes to the New Zealand essential skills work visas which will affect visa duration and dependent privileges, and that stricter Saudization targets have been introduced in Saudi Arabia. We also bring you the latest immigration news from Czech Republic, Canada and Greece.

August 11, 2017

Effective immediately, all companies based in an EU Member State posting employees to Greece must notify the labour authorities on or before the assignment start date, designate a local representative and retain certain documents. While Greece transposed the European Union Posted Workers Enforcement Directive (2014/67/EU) into its national law in 2016 through Presidential Decree 101/2016, actual implementation […]

August 10, 2017

From 28th August 2017, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is introducing remuneration bands for work visas.  The remuneration bands will affect how long applicants can stay and whether their families can stay too. What is the current situation? If a job is ranked at Level 4 or 5 on the ANZSCO, then a work visa is […]

August 10, 2017

Effective 28th August 2017, Canadian employers who want to hire workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) will be required to use the new Job Match service when advertising a position on Job Bank, before they can apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). What is Job Match? The Job Match service will allow […]

August 10, 2017

The Ministry of Labour and Social Development will implement a new version of its Nitaqat grading programme for companies, meaning stricter Saudization requirements for businesses, from 3rd September 2017. The Ministry has also announced that it only approved 37% of work visa applications in 2016 (316,212 out of 849,228). What is Changing? Under the new […]

August 10, 2017

Effective 15th August 2017, a significant legislative amendment makes extensive changes to Czech immigration law. Act 222/2017 amends Act 326/1999, and includes changes to the rules on employee cards, residence permits and long-term visas. The various ministries have not yet published details of how they will implement the new rules, and the changes could initially […]