Brazil
Digital Certificate
Since December 16, 2013, work authorization applications can be processed through the new digital certificate system. However, as it is still in the testing phase, some difficulties may arise. The good news is that processing and approval is much faster than the regular process.
FIFA World Cup 2014
Everyone coming for the World Cup should apply for a visa under RN-98, a normative resolution providing that visas for the World Cup event will be analyzed and granted on a priority basis. However, even under RN-98, there are a variety of visa categories, depending on what the person will be doing:
volunteers will receive temporary special courtesy visas;
spectators with purchased tickets will receive temporary special tourist visas;
members of the press covering the FIFA World Cup will receive temporary special business visas;
athletes and artists will receive temporary special Item III visas;
professionals working for the FIFA World Cup 2014 organization will receive temporary special item V visas; and
international correspondents covering the FIFA World Cup 2014 will receive temporary special item VI visas.
Brazil has visa waiver agreements with certain countries. For applicants needing a Temporary Special Tourist Visa or a Temporary Special Business Visa, see the visa chart to verify whether you need a visa to go to Brazil. Brazil has long-validity tourist visa agreements with Canada (5 years) and the United States (10 years).
Applicants who intend to travel to Brazil several times in the future may apply for a Temporary Special Tourist Visa at no charge and valid for 90 days, or may apply for a regular tourist visa with payment of fees for a longer term.
China
Online Residence Permit Renewals in Shanghai
A new, optional online renewal procedure for residence permits has been introduced in Shanghai, effective 2 January 2014. The streamlined process is for residence permit holders whose details have not changed, and allows applicants to keep their original passports during processing.
Benefits
Applicants qualifying for online renewal of residence permits will not have to surrender their original passport during the one-week processing period, as previously. This should make travel planning easier for residence permit holders.
Requirements
Applicants must be resident permit holders in Shanghai whose passport number, job title, employer name or residential address have not changed since their current residence permit was issued.
Procedure
After applying online, the applicant will receive a decision within one business day, along with an appointment date within approximately one week. On that date, the applicant must submit all required documentation to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and, if all the documents are in order, will have their passport returned on the same day, with the renewed residence permit attached.
Ghana
New “Rotator” Work Permit for Oil and Gas Workers
Ghana Immigration Service has announced a new category of work permit to be rolled out for rotational workers in the oil and gas sector, with the aim of reducing processing times for approvals and increasing immigration compliance in this sector.
The rotator permit is designed for technical workers on short-term assignments to carry out repairs or maintenance.
Background and Benefits
The new category is being introduced in response to companies employing technical workers on short-term assignments without work authorization, as processing time for standard work permits was so long.
The rotator permit is expected to be issued in significantly less time than the current four to six weeks for a standard work permit for oil and gas workers.
More Details
The new permit type will be valid for six or twelve months and will be renewable subject to the approval of the Petroleum Commission. The government fee is $500USD for a six month rotator permit and $1000USD for a twelve month rotator permit. Government fees for immigration processing have recently been increased across the board. A standard work permit now costs $500USD for Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) nationals and $1000USD for non-ECOWAS nationals.
Other requirements are the same as for standard work permit applications, including the necessity to prove that no Ghanaian applicants were qualified for the position. Currently, applications for the new permit type are not yet being accepted, but this is expected in the near future.
Israel
Two Year Work Permits Now Available
Effective 5 February 5, 2014, the Work Permit Unit of the Ministry of Interior will accept applications for work permits valid for two years. They will also continue to accept applications for three month or one year periods, as was the norm previously.
The new longer work permit is expected to require more supporting documentation on application, but will have to be renewed less often. The change affects only the work permit period and not the B-1 work visa period at this stage.
Extension of Visa Still Required
Note that although the work permits will be issued for either three months, one year or two years, depending on project or assignment need, the actual B-1 working visa placed in the employee’s passport will still be valid for a maximum of one year.
In cases where the work permit is approved for two years, the visa will have to be extended for an additional (second) year, without the need to extend the work permit. As a result, the extension process is expected to be shortened.
Application Process
The need for the two year work permit must be backed by in-depth information supporting the need for the longer duration. It is expected, therefore, that the process for the two year permit will be more challenging than for shorter periods, requiring additional supporting information.
No formal regulations have been published, but are expected to be issued shortly to clarify additional matters such as: processing times, government fees etc. Peregrine will keep you informed as these issues are resolved.
Luxembourg
Social Identification Badge Required for Assignees
Effective immediately, employers sending assignees (seconded workers) to Luxembourg must declare the secondment to the authorities using a new online tool. A social identification badge must also be ordered for the individual assignee, which should be carried by the assignee at all times. The declaration process was tested with some companies last year and is now fully operational.
Who Is Affected?
The social identification badge is required for every assignee seconded by a foreign employer to Luxembourg, regardless of their sector of activity (construction, finance, services, industry, IT, etc.), and, in principle, regardless of the duration of the service provision.
It applies to all sectors of activity, although the construction sector is a priority for the government because this is the sector with the most posted workers.
How Does the Online Notification System Work?
The sending employer (i.e. the foreign entity) must create an online account on the dedicated government platform, which is now live here, and provide their contact details. This can be done in French, German or English. Each individual assignee must then be declared separately, no later than on the first day of the assignment.
How Do Social Identification Badges Work?
After making the online declaration, the person making the declaration may order the social identification badge online.
The employer will then receive a notice indicating where it is possible to pick up the badge. Collection will be at one of the Labour Inspection (ITM) offices in Strassen, Diekirch or Esch sur Alzette, depending on the geographical proximity to the place of posting. The social identification badge will only show the employee’s identity and a bar code. The Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM) can simply scan the barcode to access the other data provided at the time the declaration of posted work was submitted.
The badge is free of charge and does not expire, and can therefore be used for multiple postings of the same assignee, as long as new information is declared online for each separate posting.
Switzerland
Referendum “Against Mass Immigration” Narrowly Accepted
In a national referendum on 9 February 2014, the Swiss people voted narrowly in favor of the initiative “Against Mass Immigration”, which proposes greater control of immigration into Switzerland through the introduction of quotas for European Union (EU) nationals. The quotas will have to be implemented by the Swiss government within the next three years. There are not likely to be any immediate consequences for current immigration cases.
Current Agreements
Switzerland is not a member of the European Union (EU) or of the European Economic Area (EEA). It is a member of the European Free Trade Association, along with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein. There are, however, currently several bilateral agreements in place between Switzerland and the EU/EEA allowing free movement of Swiss nationals to the EEA and vice versa.
Background of the Referendum
For the past five years, Switzerland has experienced immigration of more than 77,000 people per year. Nearly 70% of the immigrants are EU/EEA/EFTA nationals.?Meanwhile, the proportion of foreign nationals in Switzerland has reached almost 25% of the total population of around 8 million inhabitants.
As covered by Peregrine, in 2013, the Swiss government enacted a “safeguard clause” in its agreement with the EU, provisionally extending existing immigration caps on eight newer EU member states to the seventeen older EU states for twelve months. After mid 2014, this safeguard clause can only be invoked against Bulgaria and Romania.
The “Against Mass Immigration” referendum was proposed by the nationalist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) which, along with the Green Liberal Party, has been campaigning to restrict immigration.
Current Requirements for EU Nationals
Currently, there are different rules in place for different “types” of EU nationals, depending on when the EU country in question became a member of the EU. The current procedures are as follows:
EU nationals from the 17 countries which joined the EU before 2004 (aka EU17) plus EFTA nationals, and EU nationals from the 8 countries which joined the EU in 2004 (aka EU8) may apply for permits under schemes for EU nationals. Quotas are currently in place, under the “safeguard clause”, as noted above, but will be removed in June 2014 for EU17 nationals and May 2014 for EU8 nationals.
EU nationals from Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU in 2007 (aka EU2) are not currently able to use EU schemes in Switzerland and are treated like non-EU nationals for the purposes of immigration.
EU nationals from Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013, are also not currently able to use EU schemes in Switzerland and are treated like non-EU nationals for the purposes of immigration.
The Vote
The initiative was accepted by a majority of only 50.3% of the votes given. The winning margin was only about 19,500 votes with a relatively high turnout of 55.8% of eligible voters. Voting in favor of the anti-immigration proposals was highest in rural cantons, while Zurich, Geneva, Basel and other cities rejected the initiative. This map, produced by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, shows the proportion of “Yes” votes in the Swiss cantons.
What Does This Mean?
Before any practical changes can be made, the amendment must be implemented into Swiss legislation. Switzerland will enter into discussions with the EU about next steps as of course, Switzerland imposing restrictions on EU nationals moving to Switzerland will have a reciprocal effect on how Swiss nationals moving from Switzerland to EU member countries are treated.
Additionally, the Swiss parliament must give its approval to any changes. It is therefore unlikely that anything will change on a practical level for at least two or three years.
Turkey
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that as of April 10, 2014, the visitor visa-on-arrival system will no longer be available. The visa-on-arrival system allowed persons of certain nationalities to purchase their visitor visas in Turkey at the airport upon arrival. As of April 10, all nationals who had used this system must use the electronic visa system instead.
The move toward elimination of the visa-on-arrival is based on the new Law on Foreigners and International Protection (Law No. 6458). This law also mentions in Article 13 that as of the same date, border authorities in exceptional circumstances may issue a visa-on-arrival for up to 15 days. So it is not clear if the announcement of the elimination of the visa-on-arrival system means that this 15-day visa option will be eliminated as well, or will be extremely limited.
Also specified in the new law is a new special visa exemption for those tourists who arrive at sea ports of entry and whose tourist activities will not exceed three days. In April 2014, many changes are expected in entry processing, residence permits, and visas.
United Kingdom
Fees for Home Office Immigration & Nationality Services 2014/2015
On February 3, 2014, the Home Office announced proposals for fee changes for visas and immigration and nationality applications effective April 6, 2014. In addition, new fees for premium services overseas will be effective one week earlier.
The majority of fees will increase 4%. Significantly, the 25% discount applied to dependents’ fees when submitting an application at the same time as the main applicant will be removed. This represents a considerable increase for employers sponsoring migrants with several dependents. The increase will make applications for indefinite leave to remain particularly costly; the new fee of £1,093 will apply to the main applicant and each dependent. Application fees for a family of 4 thus will total more than £4,000.
For Tier 2 applications, the fee rises a modest 4%, from £494 to £514 for overseas applications and from £578 to £601 for those made within the United Kingdom.
Of particular interest is the announcement that new rules will be introduced to enable Tier 2 applicants to apply for entry clearance or leave to remain for up to 5 years, but this comes with a hefty price tag: £1,028 for overseas applicants and £1,202 for those applying within the UK. The same fee also applies for each dependent. This will be a significant up-front cost for employers sponsoring long-term migrants, although it will remove the need to submit an extension application after 3 years, as is the case under the current arrangements.
The fee to submit an application in person at a Premium Service Centre (known as Public Enquiry Offices until April 1) will rise from £375 to £400, in addition to the standard application fee. The priority postal fee will rise from £275 to £300.
Under the Registered Traveller scheme for frequent business visitors, a yearly fee of £50 will be introduced following a successful pilot.
Outside the UK, the Home Office will expand the number of premium services, which are currently only available in a limited number of countries. The Home Office also is introducing a global fee for services that are currently charged at local rates. A fee of £100 for a 3- to 5-day priority visa service and a similar service for settlement applications will also be available, for a fee of £300. The availability of a super priority visa service will be expanded; for a fee of £600, the visa application will usually be decided within 24 hours.
The passport pass-back service will also be rolled out to more locations to enable applicants to hold onto their passports for most of the application process to facilitate travel. The fee for this will be £40 per applicant.
There are a number of fee reductions, notably in the fee for a Sponsor Licence application, to £1476. Also Tier 2 shortage occupations fees are reduced to £428 for both overseas applicants and in-country applicants.
The new fee schedule and additional information is available in Minister for Immigration Mark Harper’s February 3 announcement.
Penalty for Illegal Working Doubles to £20,000 as Government Toughens Up on Employers
Beginning on April 6, 2014, the maximum civil penalty for employing unauthorized migrant workers will double from £10,000 to £20,000. This change was headlined in the Home Office consultation in 2013, in response to which 62% of employers agreed that the maximum penalty should be increased for those who repeatedly breach the law.
The new upper limit for civil penalties will apply to employers who breach the illegal working rules on more than one occasion. Under current law, all employers must undertake checks on each employee to satisfy themselves that the person is eligible to work in the UK.
In addition to these initial checks, employers must carry out a repeat document check at least once every 12 months for any employee whose leave to remain in the UK is limited in time. It is possible that this requirement could be removed and replaced by a check linked to the expiration of the employee’s leave to remain, a change which 81% of employers responding to the consultation favored.
Annual Certificates of Sponsorship for April 6, 2014, to April 5, 2015
One of the first tasks sponsors must attend to is applying to renew their Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS). The Home Office is now emailing sponsors that they can apply for the next annual allocation of CoS for Tier 2. An email from the Home Office on this subject will be from a “no-reply” email address and therefore may arrive as spam or junk mail.
Because the current CoS allocation for each sponsoring organization will expire on April 5, 2014, sponsors should submit their requests as early as possible.
Working Restrictions Lifted for Bulgarian and Romanian Nationals
As of January 1, 2014, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals no longer require permission to work in the United Kingdom and now have full access to the UK labor market. Any such potential employees with a pending application for a work permit or Accession Worker Card can simply withdraw their applications and begin employment.
Purple Registration Certificate Required for Croatian Nationals
The work authorization process for Croatian nationals differs somewhat from the work authorization process in place for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals.
Croatian nationals must ensure that their employers are registered sponsors under the Points-Based System for Tier 2. The employer must issue a CoS to the applicant. Thereafter, the applicant must apply for a Purple Registration Certificate using Form CR3. The applicant can apply for this from overseas if he or she has not yet arrived in the UK. There is a fee of £55. The applicant must not begin employment in the UK until the Registration Certificate has been received because the penalties for non-compliance are severe: up to 3 months’ imprisonment or a £1000 fine.
New Electronic Visa Waiver Scheme for Middle Eastern Business Travelers
The Home Office recently proposed changes to the Immigration Rules to provide a new, straightforward, and free alternative to a visa for short-term visitors from Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The intention is to extend the program to Kuwait later in 2014. These countries are currently visa nationals for the UK, which means that until now they have been required to apply for visas to enter the UK as visitors.
As of January 1, 2014, a passport holder from these countries can travel to the UK visa-free if he or she has obtained an electronic visa waiver (EVW) document online at least 48 hours in advance of travel to the UK and presents the document to an Immigration Officer upon request on arrival. A simple online form needs to be completed for which there is no fee and no requirement to give biometrics or attend a visa application center. Full guidance will be provided on the Home Office website. Some visitors may still prefer a long-term multi-entry visit visa and the facility to obtain these visas will remain. This change is expected to ease business travel for these passport holders and make the UK a more attractive destination for business travelers.
The concept is similar to the Visa Waiver Program available for certain nationalities traveling to the United States, although a fee is charged for the U.S. program.
Launch of New ePassport Gates at Gatwick
On December 4, 2013, the Home Office unveiled new, state-of-the-art machines at London’s Gatwick airport that allow passengers with electronic chips in their passports to pass quickly and efficiently through immigration control.
This is one of the measures the Home Office is focusing on to improve services at the border. Another service is the Registered Travellers Scheme, which is being piloted at both Gatwick and Heathrow airports until March 31, 2014. If the pilot proves successful, Registered Travellers qualifying to take part will benefit from faster processing at the border as they will not need to be processed through the normal passport desks. There will be a dedicated lane for Registered Travellers.
Registered Travellers with a compatible biometric-chipped passport will be able to use the electronic passport gates at Gatwick. There will be an annual membership charge and a fee for registering new passports and using this service. (See eligibility and criteria.)
This scheme is only open to visitors who previously registered under the IRIS scheme during the pilot. As part of its consultation on fees and charging, however, the Home Office is considering extending this type of premium service to other visa categories, including limited leave to remain.
New Visa4 UK Website
The Home Office recently launched a new Visa4 UK website. Applicants must register for an account before applying for entry clearance to the UK. The format has changed and a number of additional questions have been added. For those applying under Tier 2, a CoS number is now requested, as well as details of the proposed employment in the UK. There have been some problems with this form that the Home Office is seeking to fix.