Global immigration news
round-up

3 April 2024

This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and the United States.

Brazil: Reinstatement of visa requirement for citizens of Australia, Canada and the USA postponed until April 2025

On 27 March 2024, the Brazilian parliament postponed a vote which, if passed, would overturn a government decree requiring a visa for nationals of Australia, Canada and the United States.

The government instead proposed a new decree which again postpones the reinstatement of visa requirements for tourists of these nationalities, this time until 10 April 2025.

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 and again until 10 April 2024.

In May 2023, Brazil and Japan signed a bilateral visa exemption agreement which came into force in September 2023.

Canada: Adjustments to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Employment and Social Development Canada has announced that some time-limited measures under the TFW Program Workforce Solutions Road Map will not be renewed and will end, earlier than planned, in spring 2024.

Effective 1 May 2024:

• New Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) will be valid for six months (a decrease from 12 months) to ensure accurate labour market needs.
• All employers identified in the 2022 Workforce Solutions Road Map will have a reduction from 30% to 20% of their total workforce that can come in through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, under the low wage stream, with an exception for the construction and health care sectors.
• Employers will need to explore every option before applying for an LMIA — including recruiting asylum seekers with valid work permits in Canada.

In addition, as of 1 January 2024, employers are required to annually review the wages of temporary foreign workers to ensure they reflect increases to prevailing wage rates for their given occupation and region of work. Through wage increases, these reviews will ensure that employers continue to pay temporary foreign workers at the prevailing wage level throughout their period of employment. For the vast majority of cases, when wages are reviewed, they are increased for the workers. If not, they remain the same and cannot go down upon review.

The Workforce Solutions Road Map announced in 2022 applied to the following seven sectors: Food Manufacturing (NAICS 311); Wood Product Manufacturing (NAICS 321); Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (NAICS 337); Accommodation and Food Services (NAICS 72); Construction (NAICS 23); Hospitals (NAICS 622); and Nursing and Residential Care Facilities (NAICS 623).

Canada: Update on rule changes for certain international students

In January 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that, effective 1 September 1, 2024, international students who begin a study program that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement will no longer be eligible for a post­graduation work permit upon graduation.  This is intended “in order to better align the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program”.

On 22 March 2024, the date of this change was brought forward so that international students who begin a study program on or after 15 May 2024 that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement will no longer be eligible for a post­graduation work permit upon graduation.

Under curriculum licensing agreements, students physically attend a private college that has been licensed to deliver the curriculum of an associated public college. These programs have seen significant growth in attracting international students in recent years, though they have less oversight than public colleges and they act as a loophole with regards to post-graduation work permit eligibility.

Denmark: Adjustment and clarification of practice regarding foreign interns in the hotel and restaurant industry

From 1 April 2024, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) adjusts the practice on how to assess salary conditions for foreign interns in the hotel and restaurant industry, and the current practice for assessment of the professional connection is clarified.

Adjustment of practice:

The adjustment of practice means that, when SIRI assesses whether salary conditions meet the Danish standards in the industry, the foreign interns will be divided into two categories; interns in education and graduates.

For interns still in education, SIRI will, as a starting point, assess that the salary offered is normal if it corresponds at least to the first salary level (during the first 12 months of internship, then the second salary level) in the current Student Agreement (Elevoverenskomst) between HORESTA and 3F.

When assessing whether the salary offered graduate interns meets the Danish standards, SIRI will be using the salary levels for unskilled workers in the current Restaurant Agreement (Restaurationsoverenskomst) or Hotel Agreement (Hoteloverenskomst) between HORESTA and 3F.

The adjustment of practice applies to all applications received from and including 1 April 2024.

Clarification of practice:

In addition, SIRI also makes a clarification of practice regarding the assessment of the professional connection between internships and the educational programmes of foreign interns.

In those cases where an educational programme does not in itself support a professional connection to the internship, the applicant must have passed a sufficient number of subjects relevant to the internship, so that the subjects make up one semester’s worth of credits.

Hong Kong: New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme opened for application on 1 March 2024.

An eligible applicant must make investment of a minimum of HK$30 million in the permissible investment assets, including investing a minimum of HK$27 million in the permissible financial assets and non-residential real estate (at Annex), and placing HK$3 million into a new CIES Investment Portfolio.

The Portfolio will be set up and managed by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited to make investments in companies/projects with a Hong Kong nexus, with a view to supporting the development of innovation and technology industries and other strategic industries that are beneficial to the long-term development of Hong Kong’s economy.

A successful applicant may bring dependants (including spouse and unmarried dependent children aged under 18) to Hong Kong. Permission to stay will normally be granted to them for two years. Upon expiry of the two-year period, they may apply for an extension of stay for three years, and may subsequently apply for further extensions of stay for three years upon the expiry of each three-year period.

They may, upon a period of continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong of not less than seven years, apply to become Hong Kong permanent residents in accordance with the law. If an applicant is unable to fulfil the continuous ordinary residence requirement, while continuously satisfying the financial requirements under the new CIES for not less than seven years, he/she may apply for an unconditional stay in Hong Kong. If the application is approved, the applicant will be free to dispose of the invested assets.

Invest Hong Kong is responsible for assessing whether the applications fulfil the financial requirements under the Scheme, and the Immigration Department is responsible for assessing the applications for visa/entry permit and extension of stay.

Ireland: Transfer of registration responsibility for Meath, Kildare and Wicklow

The Department of Justice has announced that, effective 8 April 2024, the first-time registration of Irish residence permissions for customers based in counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow will be carried out at the Registration Office, 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.  Previously, registration of foreign national residents was carried out in these three counties was carried out at the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

Appointments for first time registration can be booked using the Freephone number (1800 800 630) Operators are available between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday to arrange appointments.

Customers will be required to provide operators with passport details and an email address to arrange appointments.

Also effective 8 April 2024, online renewals of permissions from customers living in counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow should be submitted using the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) online renewal portal https://inisonline.jahs.ie. Applicants will not need to attend the Burgh Quay Registration Office in person.

GNIB will continue to undertake first registrations and renewal responsibilities for applicants living outside of counties Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.
It should be noted that all applications nationwide for renewal of residence permission, including when changing Stamp category, are accepted by ISD and GNIB up to 12 weeks prior to expiry to allow sufficient time for processing.

Luxembourg: Increased minimum salary thresholds for EU Blue Card

A Ministerial Regulation of 15 March 2024 has fixed the average gross annual salary, thereby increasing the minimum salary threshold for highly skilled third-country national workers applying for an EU Blue Card, effective 24 March 2024.

The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies of Luxembourg has determined that the average gross annual salary for the year 2022 was EUR 58,968.

Therefore, the threshold of the minimum salary level for a highly qualified worker is set at 1.5 times the average gross annual salary, which is EUR 88,452 per year (up from EUR 84,780 per year).

For jobs in professions for which a special need for workers who are nationals of third countries is established by the Government, the threshold for the minimum salary level is set at 1.2 times the average gross annual salary, which is EUR 70,762 (up from EUR 67,824 per year).

Norway: Changes in the financial support and Norwegian language requirements for permanent residence applications

The Norwegian government has recently introduced changes to the rules for those applying for permanent residence in Norway.

Financial support:

From 18 April 2024, the requirement that the applicant has not received financial assistance under the Social Services Act is lifted. Applicants are still required to have their own income.

Norwegian language:

The following applies to applicants who have a residence permit as a skilled worker or self-employed person, or have come to Norway on family immigration with someone who is a skilled worker or self-employed person:

• Those who received their first residence permit in the period between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021 are required to have completed 250 hours of tuition or achieved a minimum level in the Norwegian language and 50 hours of tuition in social studies.
• Those who received their first residence permit after 1 January 2022 are required to have completed 225 hours of tuition or achieved a minimum level in the Norwegian language and 75 hours of tuition in social studies.

The following applies to applicants who received another type of residence permit:

• Those who received their first residence permit in the period between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021 are required to have achieved a minimum level of the Norwegian language and completed 50 hours of tuition in social studies.
• Those who received their first residence permit after 1 January 2022 are required to have achieved a minimum level of the Norwegian language and completed 75 hours of tuition in social studies.

There is no change in the requirement for tests in the Norwegian language and social studies.

Those who have passed all four parts of the Norwegian test at level A2 or higher, or who have been exempted by the municipality because they have sufficiently good knowledge of the Norwegian language or the Sami language, do not need to have completed training in the Norwegian language to receive a permanent residence permit.

United States: Simplified process for social security update requests

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, effective 1 April 2024, applicants filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, will have the option to request an original or replacement Social Security number (SSN) or card and update their immigration status with the Social Security Administration (SSA) without having to visit an SSA office.

Noncitizens applying for naturalization using the new edition of Form N-400 (edition date 04/01/24) will be able to request an SSN or replacement card when submitting Form N-400. New citizens may no longer need to visit an SSA field office to apply for an SSN or replacement card or to provide documentation as evidence of their new US citizenship status. Note that SSA may request additional information, if needed.

Applicants who use the 09/17/19 edition of Form N-400 will not have this option as the SSA questions are only included in the 04/01/24 edition. The 04/01/24 edition of the Form N-400 will be available for online filing on 1 April 2024. To file Form N-400 online, applicants must first create a USCIS online account, which provides a convenient and secure method to submit forms, pay fees, and track the status of any pending USCIS immigration request throughout the adjudication process. There is no cost to set up a USCIS online account, which offers a variety of features, including the ability to communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox and respond to Requests for Evidence online.

United States: US Embassy in Mexico allows limited rescheduling of appointments

The US Embassy in Mexico City launched a program on 20 March 2024 to offer the opportunity to first-time visitor visa (B1/B2) applicants to move their appointments to an earlier date with no additional fee, which will reduce the wait time for hundreds of thousands of applicants.

Throughout 2024, new earlier appointment slots will be opened and offered at no cost to certain Mexican visitor visa applicants who have an existing visitor visa appointment in 2025 or later.

If eligible and selected, applicants will receive an email notification with instructions on how to reschedule to an earlier appointment date.

Legitimate offers to reschedule to an earlier appointment will come directly from the online appointment website via donotreply@usvisa-info.com.

If offered the opportunity to reschedule to an earlier appointment date and the appointment system does not show availability, applicants should periodically check back as appointments specifically for those selected will be continuously added throughout the year.

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