What's new in global
immigration?

15 April 2024

This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Denmark, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Romania and the United States.

Denmark: Government proposes tightening permanent residence and family reunification rules

On 11 April 2024, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration presented a proposal to the Danish Parliament to change the rules regarding permanent residence permit and family reunification of spouses.

If the proposal is passed, the requirement not to have been convicted of certain crimes is tighten, so that also a charge or indictment of certain crimes in the future will hinder applicants from obtaining a permanent residence. The same applies to the transferred requirements for permanent residence permit, which must be met on application for family reunification of spouses if the spouse in Denmark is a foreigner but not a refugee.

According to the draft proposal, the new rules will apply on applications for permanent residence permit and for family reunification of spouses submitted from the time where the proposal is presented to the Danish parliament, unless a decision is made in such cases before the time of entry into force. This means applications for permanent residence permit and certain applications for family reunification of spouses submitted from and including 11 April 2024.

Japan: Four new industries added to Specified Skilled Worker program

Effective 29 March 2024, the government has expanded the list of industries eligible for the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program. Four new fields have been added for applicants to the Type 1 SSW visa: automotive transport, railways, forestry and lumber.

The SSW is a status of residence allowing foreign nationals to work in certain fields. The Type 1 visa allows workers with considerable knowledge or experience to stay in Japan for five years but not to bring their families.  The Type 2 visa allows workers with “proficient skills” to remain in Japan indefinitely with the possibility of bringing their family members.

Type 1 applicants must pass Japanese language proficiency skills proficiency tests, unless they have satisfactorily completed Technical Intern Training.

Mexico / Peru: Mexico requires visa for Peruvian nationals; Peru resumes visa exemption for Mexican nationals

On 10 April 2024, the Peruvian government issued a Supreme Decree resuming the tourist and business via exemption for Mexican nationals which had been suspended by a previous decree on 7 April 2024.  The revocation of the previous decree comes in response to protests from the tourism industry among others.

The initial suspension was a response to the Mexican government announcement that it would introduce a temporary requirement for Peruvian nationals to obtain an entry visa, effective 20 April 2024.  Exemptions are made for Peruvian nationals who are:

  • holders of a valid visa from Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States or any Schengen area country;
  • permanent residents of Canada, Chile, Colombia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States or any Schengen area country.

Romania: Changes to work immigration rules

Effective 22 March 2024, Emergency Ordinance no. 25/2024 introduced changes to the immigration law to transpose the decision (EU) 2024/210 on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania, including the lifting of controls at the air and sea borders from 31 March 2024.

The main changes include the following:

  • Employers must now have conducted business for at least one year in the field of activity for which an employment permit is requested and this may be checked by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI).
  • Employers must now conclude an individual employment agreement within 15 business days from the entry of the foreign national to Romania, or from obtaining a new employment permit (in the case of a long-stay visa for employment). From 21 April 2024, failure to comply with this requirement will be subject to a fine of between RON 5000 and RON 10,000, unless the failure to conclude the employment agreement in time is the fault of the foreign national;
  • Foreign nationals who have entered Romania for the purpose of employment will be granted the right of temporary stay for the purpose of employment on presentation of their full-time employment agreement concluded within 15 business days from their entry into Romania or, as the case may be, from obtaining the new employment permit;
  • The period within which the employer or, in the case of secondees, the beneficiary of the service must notify the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) about any amendment or termination of an employment agreement or about the termination of the secondment of the foreign national, is reduced from 10 days to 5 business days;
  • Foreign nationals are required to declare to the Romanian Immigration Office which granted them the right of stay, any change in connection with their employment, within no more than three days instead of ten days;
  • IGI will also allocate a personal number code to foreign nationals for whom employment or secondment permits have been issued.
  • Foreign nationals holding a long-stay visa or residence permit issued by another Schengen state can enter Romania for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period preceding each day of stay in Romania, cumulative with the days spent in the other Schengen states, other than the state that issued their long-stay visa or residence permit.
  • Foreign nationals who are visa exempt have the right to enter Romania and stay for 90 days in any period of 180 days preceding each day of stay in any Schengen state.

United States: Updated policy guidance includes new definition of “science or art”

US Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing policy guidance (PDF, 321.14 KB) in the USCIS Policy Manual to add the US Department of Labour (DOL) definition of “science or art” for Schedule A, Group II cases.

For many employment-based 2nd and 3rd preference (EB-2 and EB-3) petitions, employers must obtain a labour certification from DOL before filing Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, with USCIS. For certain occupations, referred to as Schedule A occupations, DOL has predetermined that there are not sufficient US workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available. For these occupations, employers submit the labour certification directly to USCIS, bypassing DOL review. Currently, DOL has designated two groups of occupations under Schedule A: registered nurses and physical therapists (Group I); and beneficiaries with exceptional ability in the sciences or arts (except performing arts) and beneficiaries with exceptional ability in performing arts (Group II).

Since USCIS considers DOL regulations when adjudicating petitions based on Schedule A occupations, it is now adding reference to DOL’s regulatory definition of “science or art” into its policy to align with DOL, as it relates to Group II. When designating Schedule A, Group II, DOL defines science or art as “any field of knowledge or skill with respect to which colleges and universities commonly offer specialized courses leading to a degree in the knowledge or skill.” USCIS made an additional update to explain that, as with all adjudications, it reviews both the quantity and the quality of the evidence provided.

This guidance, contained in Volume 6 of the Policy Manual, is effective immediately upon publication. This update does not change policy or operations.

Expert advice on global immigration

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