Global immigration news
round-up

12 December 2023

This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar and Sweden.

Brazil: eVisa platform now open

Effective 1 December 2023, the electronic visa system for nationals of Australia, Canada and the United States is operational. Nationals of these countries can apply now for entry from 10 January 2024.

In March 2023, Brazil decided to reinstate the visitor visa requirement for citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States, effective 1 October 2023.  In August 2023 this measure was postponed until 10 January 2024.

Canada: Revised cost-of-living requirement for study permits

On 7 December 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRC) announced that, starting 1 January 2024, the cost-of-living financial requirement for new study permit applicants will be increased to CAD 20,635.

This threshold will then be adjusted each year when Statistics Canada updates the low-income cut-off (LICO). LICO represents the minimum income necessary to ensure that an individual does not have to spend a greater than average portion of income on necessities.  CAD 20,645 represents 75% of LICO.

Applicants must, in addition, have enough to pay for their tuition and travel costs.

The cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants has not changed since the early 2000s, when it was set at CAD 10,000 for a single applicant.

Canada: Update on temporary policies affecting international students

IRCC also provided an update on the following three temporary policies affecting international students that were all set to expire at the end of 2023:

  • The waiver on the 20-hour-per-week limit on the number of hours international students are allowed to work off campus while class is in session will be extended to 30 April 2024. International students already in Canada, as well as applicants who have already submitted an application for a study permit as of 7 December 2023, will be able to work off campus more than 20 hours per week until that time. We continue to examine options for this policy in the future, such as expanding off-campus work hours for international students to 30 hours per week while class is in session.
  • The facilitative measure that has allowed international students to count time spent studying online towards the length of a future post-graduation work permit, as long as it constitutes less than 50% of the program of study, will continue to be in place for students who begin a study program before 1 September 2024. This measure will no longer apply to students who begin a study program on or after that date. Distance learning facilitation measures were first implemented in 2020 in response to travel restrictions during the pandemic, and were reduced in scope in September 2022. At this point, the vast majority of international students are studying in person in Canada.
  • In response to labour market disruptions during the pandemic and post-pandemic recovery, a temporary policy was introduced on three occasions to provide an additional 18-month work permit to post-graduation work permit holders as their initial work permit was expiring. Foreign nationals with a post-graduation work permit expiring up to 31 December 2023, remain eligible to apply. However, this temporary policy will not be extended further.

Canada: New global immigration processing centre in Romania

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced the launch of a new global operations centre in Romania. The new centre is located within the Embassy of Canada in Bucharest and will be supported by 20 new employees, including both Canada-based and locally-engaged staff.

This is IRCC’s second global operations centre outside Canada—the first one opened this past March in the Philippines. These centres complement Canada’s processing network, extend the work day over multiple time zones, and help boost IRCC’s overall processing capacity for the benefit of applicants.

Canada: Extended deadline for permanent residence applications

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), some applicants for permanent residence through Express Entry have been unable to submit their applications due to technical problems with the online form. This has affected applicants with dependent children aged over 18 years residing in Canada. The issue has now been resolved.

For those affected, IRCC has extended the deadline to submit a permanent residence application for an additional 60 days.

Those who were invited to apply on

  • 26 September 2023 have until 26 January 2024 to submit their application
  • 27 September 2023 have until 27 January 2024 to submit their application
  • 28 September 2023 have until 28 January 2024 to submit their application.

Cyprus: Changes to citizenships rules

On 30 November 2023, the parliament passed amendments to the Civil Registry Law designed to encourage highly skilled workers to apply for citizenship in Cyprus.

Highly qualified employees of foreign companies who have level A2 Greek language knowledge can apply for citizenship after residing for five years in Cyprus.  Those with level B1 Greek language can apply after four years of residence.  Periods of absence of up to 90 days per year are not deducted from the total period of stay.

The spouse or civil partner of the main applicant can also apply for citizenship under the same conditions.

These applications will be examined under a fast-track procedure within eight months for an additional fee.

Further guidance and implementing regulations are expected to be provided by the government.

Denmark: Brexit Withdrawal Agreement residence application deadline approaches

British citizens and their family members covered by the Withdrawal Agreement between EU and the United Kingdom are reminded of the 31 December 2023 deadline for submissions of residence applications. The deadline was extended in Spring 2023.

British citizens and their family members who do not already hold a residence document in Denmark under the Withdrawal Agreement must submit an application – SIRI will not send out individual reminder letters.

Applications can be submitted here.  The extended deadline applies for individuals who have not previously submitted an application.  Applicants who have previously received a rejection due to submitting the application too late can, based on the extended deadline, ask SIRI to have their case reopened.

Applicants must have had legal residence in accordance with the EU rules on free movement before 31 December 2020. Individuals who already have residence in Denmark under the Withdrawal Agreement should not apply again.

Finland: Appointment booking update

Appointments can now be booked for identity checks at service points in early 2024 for applicants for new residence cards or for Finnish citizenship.

From 2 January 2024, the time required for renewing a residence card, applying for citizenship or submitting a citizenship application at the service point will be 20 minutes. Until the end of 2023, 30 minutes must be allowed for these applications.

Applicants should note that applying for a new residence card is different from applying for an extension. An application for a new residence card can be made in the following cases:

  • Permanent residence permit (P) holders whose residence card is about to expire or has expired; or
  • valid residence permit (A, B or P permit) holders if
    • the residence card is lost; or
    • the residence card is damaged and illegible; or
    • the personal data on the residence card have changed.

Applicants should complete the application form in advance using the Enter Finland e-service.

  • Those who log in to Enter Finland with, for example, their online banking credentials don’t necessarily need to visit a service point.
  • Those applying for citizenship who cannot use Enter Finland should complete a paper application before visiting the service point. Applications for the residence card renewal are available online only.

Appointments should be booked via the appointment service.

The appointment service will be updated on 2 January 2024. After that, all appointments for the renewal of the residence permit card, the citizenship application or the citizenship declaration will be 20 minutes.

Ireland: Form 11 for citizenship applications

An online form (Form 11) for citizenship applications for minors is now available.

The Department of Justice previously announced (on 16 October 2023) that citizenship applications can now be made online. At that time, work was still ongoing on the development of an online form for minor applications.

Malaysia: ESD opens expatriate quota projection applications

On 1 December 2023, the Expatriate Services Division (ESD) of the Immigration Department of Malaysia announced that from 15 December 2023, companies registered on the Expatriate Services Division (ESD) online portal may apply for the projection of expatriates for Employment Pass (EP) and Professional Visit Pass (PVP) for 2024.

As reported in March 2023, the process for Expatriate Services Division (ESD) projection (quota) applications has been simplified and requests will be instantly approved.  Previously, processing time was four weeks.

The projection application is only applicable for utilisation in its respective year. Any projection balance for the year 2023 needs to be utilised in the year 2023 and will not be carried forward for year 2024.

ESD reminds employers to:

  • update the latest e-SSM before the submission of the projection request;
  • fill out all the information required;
  • choose the correct projection year (i.e. 2024) and position group (e.g., top Management etc.)

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) opened its system on 1 November 2023 for submission of Foreign Knowledge Worker (FKW) Projection for Employment Pass (EP) for 2024.

Malaysia: Digital arrival card

Effective 1 December 2023, the Immigration Department of Malaysia will require foreign nationals to complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) for entry to Malaysia.

Until 31 December 2023, MDAC may be completed at Malaysia’s entry checkpoints.  From 1 January 2024, MDAC must be completed three days in advance of arrival.

Moreover, Singaporean passport holders are exempted from completing MDAC, along with Malaysian Permanent Residents and Malaysian Long-Term Pass holders, Brunei Common Certificate of Identification (GCI), Brunei Malaysia Frequent Traveller Programme participants, Thailand Border Pass holders and Indonesian Cross Border Pass (PLB) holders.

Permanent residents, holders of the Malaysian Automated Clearance System (MACS) card and transit passengers are also exempted from this requirement.

It is not clear whether holders of long-term passes are required to complete the MDAC before entry.  However, long-term pass applicants entering Malaysia to have their passes endorsed in their passports are required to complete MDAC.

New Zealand: Permanent residence visa applications go online

Effective from the end of January 2024, customers will be able to submit the following applications electronically using Immigration Online (instead of using a paper-based application):

  • Permanent resident visa
  • Second or subsequent resident visa
  • Variation of travel conditions of a resident visa.

Currently, these applications are submitted using paper forms, limiting an applicant’s ability to track the progress of their applications online. Moving to Immigration Online means applicants:

  • can check their application status online without having to call the INZ contact centre, and
  • no longer have to submit physical documents, such as passports.

Foreign nationals are only eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa once they have held their resident visa for at least two years.

  • If someone was outside of New Zealand when their resident visa was issued, the start of the two-year period is when they arrived in New Zealand on their resident visa.
  • Submitting an application within the two-year period may result in the application being declined, meaning customers will need to reapply and pay an additional application fee.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) notes that an update sent to some Resident Visa 2021 holders on 5 December 2023 may contain an incorrect date for when they will be eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa, and they should check the eligibility criteria before they apply.

Qatar: New rules for family members

Effective immediately, the Ministry of Interior has revised certain regulations and procedures to streamline and simplify the entry process for residents’ families intending to visit or reside in Qatar.

Sponsoring families is now subject to the provisions in the employee’s electronic work contract concerning salary and accommodation. Government and semi-government sector employees must secure family housing through their employer or maintain a salary not less than QAR 10,000, verified by an employment contract. For private sector employees, the profession should belong to technical or specialized fields (non-labour), with a salary not less than QAR 10,000, or QAR 6000 along with family housing verified in the employment contract.

Moreover, for family sponsorship, children should not exceed 25 years of age, and daughters must be unmarried. It is also mandatory to provide health insurance covering the entire duration of their stay, effective from their date of entry into the country. Additionally, children within the mandatory education age bracket (6-18 years old) must be enrolled in licensed schools within the country or provide evidence of their education enrolment outside the country through the educational platform supervised by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

For family visits, the sponsoring resident’s profession must belong to non-labour sectors, with a salary not less than QAR 5000. They should have family housing accredited by the relevant authorities. The visitor should be a relative within the permissible degrees of relation to the sponsoring resident, with no specific age restriction; however, it is mandatory to have health insurance covering the visitor’s period of stay in Qatar.

Sweden: Closing of certification process

The Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) has reminded interested parties that its certification process ends on 15 December 2023 and, on 29 January 2024, its new working method for handling work permit applications will be introduced.  The last day to submit an application for a work permit as a certified employer is 14 December 2023.

Between 15 December 2023 and 29 January 2023, Migrationsverket will focus on finalizing the new way of working and handling the applications received from certified actors.

Through the certification process, employers have been able to access faster processing. Migrationsverket has striven to make decisions for complete applications for a work permit within ten working days for the first application and 20 working days for a renewal application.

According to the authorities, the system has grown so large that it has come to include a large number of applications that should not be prioritised according to the Swedish Migration Agency’s mission to promote the recruitment of highly qualified labour.

Expert advice on global immigration

If you need support with any aspect of global immigration, Smith Stone Walters is here to help.

To speak to a member of our global immigration team, please contact us today.

Share story
Back to top of page