Académique Documents
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July 2016
PEREGRINE NEWS
Welcome to the Peregrine News digest for July 2016!
Immiguru
In July we added four new immigration processes to Immiguru:
Table of Contents
CANADA GOVERNMENT LIFTS VISA REQUIREMENT FOR MEXICAN NATIONALS
2
VIETNAM VISA WAIVER FOR FIVE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES EXTENDED FOR ONE YEAR
2
COLOMBIA NEW QUOTA FOR OIL, MINING AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN BARRANCABERMEJA
MUNICIPALITY
3
INDIA CONVERSION OF PERSON OF INDIAN ORIGIN (PIO) TO OVERSEAS CITIZENS OF INDIA (OCI) EXTENDED
UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2016
4
GHANA VISA ON ARRIVAL FOR ALL AFRICAN UNION NATIONALS
4
BULGARIA NEW LABOUR ACT ESTABLISHES SIMPLIFIED EU BLUE CARD FOR HIGHLY-QUALIFIED IT SPECIALISTS,
AND SETS NEW RULES FOR INTRA-CORPORATE TRANSFERS
5
POLAND NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS OF SECONDED WORKERS
7
FRANCE MINIMUM SALARY INCREASES FOR EU BLUE CARD
8
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES FAMILY VISAS CAN NO LONGER BE PUT ON HOLD
8
INDONESIA FIVE-YEAR MULTIPLE-ENTRY VISITOR VISAS NOW AVAILABLE
9
LUXEMBOURG MINIMUM SALARY INCREASES FOR EU BLUE CARD
10
TAIWAN UPCOMING VISA-FREE ENTRY FOR NATIONALS OF THAILAND AND BRUNEI, AND EXPANSION OF TRAVEL
AUTHORISATION CERTIFICATE
11
MALAYSIA EXPATRIATE SERVICES DIVISION REQUIRES EMPLOYMENT PASS APPROVAL BEFORE ENTRY
11
GHANA ENFORCEMENT OF COMPANY OBLIGATIONS
12
MORE FROM PEREGRINE
13
CANADA Government
Lifts Visa Requirement for
Mexican Nationals
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau announced
this week, that the visa requirement for
Mexican citizens will be lifted on 1 December
2016. The announcement was made during a
state visit by Mexican President Pena Nieto
and follows through on a promise that
Trudeau made during his recent election
campaign.
Background
Canada imposed a visa requirement on
Mexican citizens in 2009 in response to a
dramatic increase in the numbers of Mexican
citizens making refugee claims in Canada. The
visa requirement was not well received by
Mexico and has been an irritant in bilateral
relations between the two countries. Mexico
and Canada are partners in NAFTA.
It has been reported that Canadian
immigration officials were opposed to the
lifting of the visa requirement citing increased
risk of visa fraud, asylum claims and
international crime.
Action Items
Ensure that, after 1 December
2016, Mexican nationals travelling
to Canada have obtained an eTA,
unless they hold a valid Canadian
visa.
Action Items
Qualifying nationals should
consider using the visa waiver for
business trips, but should check
with a Vietnamese consulate in
their home country to determine
whether the visa waiver is
appropriate in their situation;
Qualifying nationals intending to
secure a work permit will still
need to enter the country on a
business visa sponsored by the
Vietnam entity and obtained at an
overseas Vietnamese consulate.
This will allow them to convert
later to long-term temporary
residence cards. Visa waivers
cannot be converted.
Action Items
Companies engaging in projects in
the oil, mining and infrastructure
sectors in Barrancabermeja must
ensure that their workforce
complies with the quota for local
labour
INDIA Conversion of
Person of Indian Origin
(PIO) to Overseas Citizens
of India (OCI) Extended
Until 31 December 2016
The Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj announced at a press conference on
19 June 2016 that the deadline for the
conversion of PIO (Person of Indian Origin)
cardholders to OCI (Overseas Citizen of India)
status would be extended to December 2016.
Background
An ordinance of 6 January 2015,
amending the Indian Citizenship
Act, unified the two schemes and,
on 9 January 2015, the immediate
withdrawal of the PIO scheme
was announced.
The OCI is valid for the holders
lifetime and is accompanied by a
lifelong multiple entry visa to
India, with no requirement to
report to the FRRO, regardless of
length of stay.
The deadline for the conversion of
PIO to OCI has been extended
several times since January 2015.
Action Items
Applicants should submit their
PIO in lieu of OCI applications at
their local FRRO (Foreigner
Regional Registration Office) or
the overseas mission or consulate
of jurisdiction.
PIO card holders can continue to
use their valid PIO cards until
converted.
Background
The African Union (AU), founded in 2001,
consists of 54 countries in Africa. The only
African state that is not a member is Morocco.
Previously, only nationals of the fifteen
countries of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) were visa
exempt for travel to Ghana.
Action Points
Business travellers who are
African Union member state
nationals, and their employers,
can now benefit from facilitated
travel to Ghana.
Work permit holders can now
enter Ghana without a prearranged visa to complete the
residence permit application
procedure.
Intra-corporate Transfer
Action Items
Employers considering hiring
highly qualified non-EU nationals
to work in one of the officially
listed IT sector occupations can
take advantage of expedited EU
Blue Card application processing
and extended validity, provided
the salary offered is at least 2
times the national average.
Smaller companies in Bulgaria
intending to employ assignees
POLAND New
Requirements for
Employers of Seconded
Workers
Effective 18 June 2016, new legislation
establishes rules for employers of workers
seconded, or posted, to Poland for a shortterm assignment.
The Act requires employers of seconded
workers to notify the National Labour
Inspectorate (PIP), keep records and establish
a point of contact, and introduces fines for
non-compliance.
The legislation implements European Union
(EU) Directive 2014/67/EU (The Enforcement
Directive), which Member States were obliged
to transpose into their national legislation by
18 June 2016.
Action Items
Any employer with employees
already seconded to Poland
before or on 18 June 2016 must
ensure that they comply with the
notification and data retention
requirements of the new
legislation within three months
(i.e. by 18 September 2016).
Employers seconding employees
to Poland since 18 June 2016
must ensure that they are already
compliant with the new
regulations.
Salary Threshold
Blue Card holders in France must now be paid
at least 53,836 per year (up from 53,331) or
4486 per month (up from 4444).
Background
On 20 June 2016 the French Ministry of the
Interior published the latest average yearly
gross reference salary. The minimum salary to
qualify for the EU Blue Card in France is
calculated as 1.5 times this reference salary.
The EU Blue Card is a work and residence
permit, implemented in most EU countries,
designed to attract highly-skilled non-EU
nationals. To qualify, applicants need
advanced qualifications or substantial
Action Items
Review the salaries of current and
FUTURE EU Blue Card holders in
France
Who is affected?
This change affects family members of
principal residence visa holders transferring
from or to an employer outside of one of the
UAEs many Free Zones.
Principal visa holders changing from one job
to another within the UAE Free Zones are not
required to cancel their visa and obtain a new
visa, so their family members are not affected
by this change.
Action Items
Family members of principal
residence visa holders
transferring from or to an
employer outside of the UAEs
Free Zones should be prepared to
leave the country if the principals
new residence visa is not issued
within 30 days, and apply for a
new family residence visa once
the principals visa is issued.
INDONESIA Five-Year
Multiple-Entry Visitor Visas
Now Available
Effective 28 June 2016, foreign nationals can
apply for a multiple-entry visitor visa (Visa
Kunjungan) valid for five years, rather than for
just one year, as previously.
Another change is that former Indonesian
citizens and their families with multiple-entry
visitor visas can now have their initial 60-day
stay permit extended twice for 60 days each
time, for a total stay of 180 days before they
have to leave the country and re-enter (under
the same five-year multiple-entry visitor visa).
Legislation
the changes were introduced in Regulation
No. 26 of 2016 which amends Government
Regulation No. 31 of 2013 on the
Implementation of Law No. 6 of 2011 on
Immigration.
Action Items
Note that pending and future
multiple-entry visitor visas will be
valid for five years;
Note also that multiple-entry
visitor visa holders who are
former Indonesian citizens or
their families are now allowed to
extend their stay permit twice for
60 days each time, for a maximum
total stay of 180 days, before they
have to exit and re-enter the
country on the same five-year
multiple-entry visitor visa.
LUXEMBOURG Minimum
Salary Increases for EU Blue
Card
Salary Thresholds
EU Blue Card holders in Luxembourg must
now be paid at least 73,296 per year (1.5
times the average annual salary in
Luxembourg), up from 71,946.
For EU Blue Card Holders with jobs in
shortage occupations within group 1
(managers) or 2 (professionals) of the ISCO
(International Standard Classification of
Occupations), the minimum salary is now
fixed at 58,636.80 per year (1.2 times the
average annual salary), up from 57,556.80.
The list of shortage occupations is as follows:
mathematicians, actuaries and
statisticians;
systems analysts;
software developers;
web and multimedia developers;
applications programmers;
software and application
developers and analysts,
multimedia developers not listed
elsewhere;
database designers and
administrators;
systems administrators;
computer network professionals;
Background
The Luxembourg government regularly
adjusts the minimum salary requirements for
foreign nationals.
Background
Action Items
Action Items
Note the upcoming new visa-free
privileges for nationals of some
Southeast Asian countries, which
will allow more nationals of
Southeast Asian countries to
travel to Taiwan for up to 30 days
on business or service contract
fulfilment.
MALAYSIA Expatriate
Services Division Requires
Employment Pass Approval
Before Entry
Effective 1 August 2016, the Expatriate
Services Division (ESD) of the Immigration
Background
The ESD is one of the agencies which issue
Employment Passes for foreign nationals in
Malaysia. Malaysia Digital Economy Sdn Bhd
(MDEC) processes Employment Passes for
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
companies and companies registered for
Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia (MSC
Malaysia). MDEC is expected to announce
that it is implementing a similar requirement
to obtain an approval letter before entering
Malaysia in the next few weeks.
Action Items
Employers sponsoring foreign
nationals for Employment Passes,
Professional Visit Passes,
Dependant Passes or Long Term
Social Visit Passes via the
Expatriate Services Division or
MDEC should ensure applicants
are not in Malaysia at the time of
application filing, and allow more
time before assignees can enter
Malaysia.
Employment Pass III applicants of
one of the above nationalities in
the construction, mining or
manufacturing sectors must
undergo a medical test at a
FOMEMA panel clinic in Malaysia.
GHANA Enforcement of
Company Obligations
Effective Monday 1st August 2016 the
Ghanaian Registrar of Companies will enforce
financial penalties for any local entity that has
not filed Annual Returns or renewed their
company partner registration. These penalties
will apply until 31st December 2016 when any
companies that are not up to date will be
removed from the Registry.
Companies registered with the Registrar
Generals Department before October 2011
are also now required to re-register with the
Registry by the end of this year (31st
December 2016) or risk being deleted from
the records thereafter.
Background
All companies are required by the Companies
Act to file their first Annual Return within
eighteen months of incorporation and once
every year thereafter. The Incorporated
Private Partnership Act also requires that
company partners submit a statement
renewing the registration of their partnership
once every year. These requirements are now
being enforced more vigorously.
The RGD has also requested all companies
incorporated and registered in Ghana prior to
October 2011 to re-register as part of an
ongoing e-Government Project which seeks to
network the RGD and the Ghana Revenue
Authority for the purposes of operational
efficiency and effectiveness. This process
usually takes three weeks.
Applicable Penalties
Action Items
All businesses registered in Ghana
should ensure that their company
registration is complete and
Annual Returns have been filed
up to 2016 prior or as soon after
1st August 2016 as possible.
Any company partners should
make certain that the partnership
registration has been renewed.
Businesses that were registered
before October 2011, should
ensure that their re-registration