Immigration Insights

December 10, 2018

On 14 November 2018, the UK government reached an agreement with the European Union (EU) on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The deal, which still needs to be ratified by both the UK and European parliaments, includes arrangements about the legal status of EU citizens in the UK post Brexit.

December 10, 2018

On 7 December 2018, the Swiss federal council announced it will maintain until 31 December 2021 the transitional provisions of Protocol III, which extended to Croatian nationals the Agreement on Free Movement of Persons (FMPA) between Switzerland and the European Union.

December 5, 2018

Effective 1 December 2018, the "First Amendment of the Immigration Regulations, 2014" eases the requirements for parents and legal guardians travelling with children through South African ports of entry, which were first introduced in 2015.

December 5, 2018

All new and renewal Employment Pass and Dependant Pass applications for companies with pre-approved positions under the Malaysia Investment Development Authority must be submitted via the the online Expatriate Services Division portal, rather than manually at the Immigration Unit at MIDA.

December 5, 2018

Effective 1 January 2019, the Dutch immigration authorities (IND) have announced new minimum salary levels for knowledge migrant workers (aka Highly Skilled Migrants), graduates and Blue Card applicants coming to the Netherlands.

December 4, 2018

As a new administration takes office in Mexico, major staff changes are expected to take place in the upcoming days within the offices of the National Immigration institute (INM) around the country, including at international airports.

December 4, 2018

On 1 April 2019, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start to accept H-1B petitions from cap-subject employers for skilled foreign workers starting work in fiscal year 2020 (from 1 October 2019).

December 3, 2018

Effective 1 January 2019, the minimum qualifying salary for the S Pass in Singapore will be increased from SGD 2200 to SGD 2300.

December 3, 2018

Effective 3 December 2019, companies who are registered with the Expatriate Services Division (ESD) in Malaysia can start to apply for their 2019 Foreign Knowledge Worker (FKW) projection for Employment Passes and Professional Visit Passes.

December 3, 2018

The latest global immigration news in your weekly newsletter from Newland Chase. We bring you news from Ukraine, Malaysia and the UAE. Why not register for our latest live webinar, Kickstart 2019: 3 Global Immigration Updates You Need to Know...

November 30, 2018

Effective 26 November 2018 until 27 December 2018, Ukraine has declared martial law in the regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Odessa, Nikolaev and Vinnitsa.

November 30, 2018

Companies who are registered with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) can start to apply for their 2019 Foreign Knowledge Worker (FKW) projection for Employment Passes from 3 December 2018.

November 28, 2018

On 24 November 208, the UAE cabinet approved new long-term residence visas, and announced further details of the qualifying requirements for certain key professionals, investors and entrepreneurs. Currently, residence visas are valid for up to three years.

November 26, 2018

The latest global immigration news in your weekly newsletter from Newland Chase. We bring you news from Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Singapore and New Zealand. Why not read our latest blog post, Brexit Deal Reached: What Does It Mean for UK-EU Immigration?

November 23, 2018

Effective immediately, all Indian nationals travelling to any of 18 “notified” countries for employment purposes are advised to register with the eMigrate portal of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) at least 24 hours prior to departure.

November 23, 2018

Australia has become the sixth signatory to the ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership’ (TPP-11), after Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore, which comes into force on 30 Dec 2018. Chile, Peru, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam are yet to ratify the TPP-11.

November 23, 2018

The Peruvian government has launched a new online system for registering and subsequently managing employment contracts.

November 22, 2018

The National Immigration Council in Brazil has published Normative Resolution 36/2018, which regulates the issuance of a residence permit on the basis of real estate investment in Brazil.

November 22, 2018

There have been some recent changes to the Australian Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa programme, which allows qualifying applicants to have a holiday in Australia and work there to help fund their trip.

November 21, 2018

Effective immediately, the Saudi Ministry of Labor has suspended the requirement for companies intending to hire foreign nationals to first advertise jobs on the Taqat jobs portal.