Category: Immigration Insights

May 11, 2017

From 1st June 2017, nationals of Bulgaria and Romania (EU-2) will be subject to a new annual quota of 996 long-term B permits, released quarterly. The Swiss Federal Council announced on 10th May 2017 that it would impose the quota, invoking the “safeguard clause” provided for in its bilateral treaty with the EU. Background From […]

May 10, 2017

Effective 1st June 2017, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will further relax visa rules for visitors from countries in South east and South Asia covered by the “New Southbound Policy”. What are the changes? The visa exemption trial programme for nationals of Thailand and Brunei will be extended to 31st July 2018. The trial was […]

May 10, 2017

The 2017-18 Budget handed down on 9th May 2017 affects sponsoring employers and visa applicants. All current first instalment VACs will rise by around 2% on 1st July 2017 and then be indexed annually. The current and new application fees for subclass 457 and 186 visas are shown below and a full list of the VAC increases […]

May 9, 2017

Citizens of the United States will continue to enjoy visa-free travel to European Union countries for the foreseeable future. Last week, the European Commission indefinitely delayed any action on the March 3, 2017, request from the European Parliament to suspend the visa-free scheme for U.S. nationals due to the U.S. refusal to open its own […]

May 8, 2017

In this week’s edition, we advise of changes to Canada’s permanent residence rules and age threshold for dependants, we report that the Aadhaar card is now required for certain foreign nationals in India, and authorities are testing the Vietnamese online work permit portal. We also bring you the latest immigration news from Japan, India and […]

May 5, 2017

Effective immediately, the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan has issued updated payment instructions for state fees for work permits and temporary residence permits. The new rules stipulate that these payments must be made directly from the account of the sponsoring employer in Azerbaijan, and can no longer be made on the employer’s behalf […]

May 4, 2017

Effective 28th April 2017, the Government of Canada has removed the condition that applied to some sponsored spouses or partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to live with their sponsor for two years in order to keep their permanent resident status. Effective 24th October 2017, the Canadian government will reset the age of dependency […]

May 3, 2017

With immediate effect, Indian authorities have introduced a biometric requirement for foreign nationals applying for visa extensions and registration at the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) in Pune and at the Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) in Mumbai and Bangalore. Foreign nationals submitting registration or visa extension applications at these registration offices will be required to submit […]

May 2, 2017

From 8th May 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will introduce several measures to relax the Japanese visa requirements for Chinese nationals. What are the key changes? A new three-year multiple-entry visa will be available to Chinese nationals who can prove sufficient financial means, and their families. It will allow stays of up to 30 […]

May 2, 2017

Effective 1st July 2017, foreign national residents who have stayed in India for more than 182 days in the previous 12 months and are therefore required to pay income tax in India, must obtain an Aadhaar ID card in order to submit their income tax return (ITR). An ITR acknowledgement form is required in support […]