Immigration Insights

UNITED STATES: Dramatic Increases to Visa Issuance Fees for Australian Nationals

December 30, 2019

Effective 23 December 2019, Australian citizens applying for certain nonimmigrant visa categories in the United States face drastically higher visa fees.

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AUSTRALIA: The New ‘Agricultural Visa’ – Horticulture Industry Labor Agreement

December 23, 2019

The Australian Department of Immigration has announced that a new Labor Agreement for the Horticulture Industry will be available 1 January 2020.

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Global Immigration Weekly Roundup – 23 December 2019

December 23, 2019

The latest global immigration news and insights in your weekly newsletter from Newland Chase.

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NETHERLANDS: New Online Notification Portal for Temporary Postings Starting 1 March 2020

December 20, 2019

In March, employers in the EEA or Switzerland sending employees to work temporarily in the Netherlands must submit online notification via a new portal. 

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IRELAND: Upcoming Changes to the Employment Permits System

December 20, 2019

Changes to employment permits, effective 1 January, will address immediate labor shortages in hospitality, construction, health and road haulage sectors.

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EUROPEAN UNION: Reminder of Upcoming Schengen Visa Code Amendments

December 20, 2019

The amended Schengen visa code will come into effect on 2 February 2020. Changes include more flexible procedures, longer visa validities, and fees.

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BREXIT: Majority Conservative Government Expected to Pass Withdrawal Agreement Bill

December 18, 2019

In the 12 December 2019 United Kingdom general election, the electorate gave the Conservative party a substantial majority.  This makes it almost certain that the Withdrawal Agreement Bill will be passed by parliament (although it is not certain that this can be achieved by 31 January 2020 without a further extension) and all but eliminates the risk of a cliff-edge no-deal Brexit with no transition period.

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PHILIPPINES: All ACR I-Card Holding Foreign Nationals to Report to Immigration By 29 February 2020

December 18, 2019

29 February 2020 is the deadline for all registered foreign nationals in the Philippines to report to the immigration office. The Annual Report (“AR”) 2020 period begins on 1 January 2020.

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SOUTH KOREA: Stricter Policy for Illegal Stay

December 17, 2019

The Korean National Assembly is debating tougher penalties for the employers of illegal residents.  For those voluntarily reporting illegal residence by 28 February 2020, penalties will be reduced or exempted.

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SINGAPORE: Lower Dependency Ratio Ceiling in 2020

December 17, 2019

Effective 1 January 2020, the Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) and S Pass Sub-DRC for companies in the services sector will be lowered.

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Global Immigration Weekly Roundup – 16 December 2019

December 16, 2019

The latest global immigration news and insights in your weekly newsletter from Newland Chase.

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AUSTRALIA: Traffic Light Bulletin – Skilled Migration List Review

December 16, 2019

Following consultations with various stakeholders, including the Newland Chase Australia team (read our blog from 28 November here), the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business has released their Traffic Light Bulletin outlining their proposed changes to Immigration’s skilled occupation lists.

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SAUDI ARABIA: Ministry of Labor Cancels Yellow Nitaqat Band

December 12, 2019

Effective 26 January 2020, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development (MLSD) has announced it will cancel the yellow band in its Saudization programme, Nitaqat. 

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RUSSIA: Reminder – Upcoming Deadline for Employers to Confirm Measles Vaccination of All Foreign Employees [UPDATED]

December 12, 2019

Employers engaging foreign labour in Russia have until 31 December 2019 to confirm the vaccination against measles of all foreign nationals they currently employ.

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CZECHIA: New Appointment Booking Lottery at New Delhi Consulate Allows Only 33 Applications

December 12, 2019

The Czech embassy in New Delhi, India, has implemented a new appointment booking system for nationals of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives applying for employee cards.  Under this system, only 33 employee card applications will be accepted between January and March 2020.

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FRANCE: Decree to Extend Rights of Posted Workers from July 2020

December 12, 2019

Ministerial order 2019-116 of 20 February 2019,  which will come into effect on 30 July 2020, transposes into French law European Directive 2018/957 of 28 June 2018, extending the employment rights of posted (seconded) workers.

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SWITZERLAND: Reminder that Job Advertisement Threshold to Change from January 2020

December 11, 2019

Effective 1 January 2020, employers wishing to hire foreign nationals for occupations with an unemployment rate of 5% or above will have to test the Swiss labor market by advertising.

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UNITED STATES: Electronic Registration Required for Upcoming H-1B Cap Season

December 10, 2019

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will implement its new electronic registration process for H-1B applications for the upcoming H-1B lottery.

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ARGENTINA: Police Clearance Certificates Required for Certain Visas

December 10, 2019

Holders of 30-day Technical visas or Technical visas valid for 30 days who apply to renew the visa for a sixth time must now submit police clearance certificates from their country of origin and/or all countries where they have lived during the previous three years.

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Global Immigration Weekly Roundup – 9 December 2019

December 9, 2019

The latest global immigration news and insights in your weekly newsletter from Newland Chase.

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