Immigration Insights

September 14, 2018

Decree Law no. 9/2018, published on 11 September 2018 and effective 1 October 2018, implements the latest amendments to the immigration law in Portugal, which in turn were published on 28 August 2017.

September 14, 2018

On 9 July 2018, the Official Journal of the European Union (EU) published Directive (EU) 2018/957 of 28 June 2018, amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services.

September 13, 2018

The Bureau of Immigration in the Philippines has issued a "Note With Recommendation" warning that it has run out of the visa stickers that are usually issued for the extension of temporary visitor or 9(a) visas (“TV Sticker”).

September 13, 2018

A trade deal between eleven Pacific Rim countries is set to be ratified by the Australian Government, after support for the deal was raised by the Labor Party.

September 12, 2018

Effective immediately, third country nationals resident in another member state who work in the Netherlands with a work permit but return to their country of residence at least once a week (i.e. “cross border workers” / “frontier workers”) are no longer limited to 90 days stay in any 180-day period.

September 12, 2018

Effective 10 September 2018, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in Singapore no longer requires employers to endorse forms using their company stamps. This easing of requirements applies to all MOM forms, including the declaration page of the In Principle Approval (IPA) letter.

September 11, 2018

Effective 5 September 2018, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in Australia has ceased accepting priority processing requests for the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482) and Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457).

September 11, 2018

The number of non-EU nationals attending the Foreign Police office in Bratislava, Slovakia to submit initial and renewal applications for temporary residence permits (including single permits) has increased significantly in recent weeks, leading to very long queues.

September 10, 2018

On 4 September 2018 the main offices of the General Directorate of Migration in San Jose were closed after a raid by the Judicial Investigation Directorate. [UPDATE] Despite an indefinite strike of public-sector workers, due to start on 10 September 2018, the DGME offices will be open as normal.

September 10, 2018

Discover the latest immigration news and updates from around the globe with your weekly newsletter from Newland Chase. In this week’s edition, we bring you news from New Zealand, China, Spain and Iraq.

September 7, 2018

Currently, Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is experiencing delays in the processing of applications for visas under the Entrepreneur’s Act (14/2013) due to staff shortages, as well as ongoing delays in processing of residence authorisations.

September 7, 2018

As we reported in August, the Chinese government has abolished the work permit requirement for residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (HMT residents). Effective 1 September 2018, HMT residents can voluntarily apply for a new mainland residence card.

September 7, 2018

Effective immediately, interim visas in New Zealand are valid for 21 days after a temporary entry visa application is declined or withdrawn.

September 6, 2018

On Tuesday 4 September 2018 the main offices of the General Directorate of Migration (DGME) in San Jose, Costa Rica, were closed after a raid by the Judicial Investigation Directorate (O.I.J.).

September 6, 2018

Is NAFTA dead? Examining recent developments in the NAFTA negotiations, the new bilateral deal between the U.S. and Mexico, the prospects for a deal including Canada, whether President Trump can really kill NAFTA, and what it means for corporate mobility and immigration in North America.

September 6, 2018

On 4 September 2018, Iraq’s Ministry of Interior (MOI) announced several important changes to the immigration rules.

September 5, 2018

On 25 July 2018, the Brazil National Immigration Council published Normative Resolution 30/2018 regulating procedures for the renewal of residence authorisation for foreign professionals, effective immediately.

September 4, 2018

Support staff in the consular sections of all Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide have gone on strike, resulting in a suspension of operations. The duration of the strike has not been announced.

September 4, 2018

Discover the latest immigration news and updates from around the globe with your weekly newsletter from Newland Chase. In this week’s edition, we bring you news from the USA, Israel, Switzerland and Germany.

September 4, 2018

The German immigration authorities (Ausländerbehörde) will require official evaluation of university diplomas submitted in support of EU Blue Card applications, according to the Frankfurt authorities, who are already implementing this new rule.