What’s new in global immigration?

15.10.2024

This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Colombia, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Colombia: Deadline extended for conversion of permanent residence visas

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has extended the deadline for the transfer of the Permanent Residence Visa until 31 October 2026.

Foreign nationals holding a Permanent Residence (“R”) Visa issued before 22 October 2022 must exchange their existing R Visa for a new one in line with the 2022 immigration law.

Users who must carry out the Permanent Resident visa transfer process must:

Comply with the general visa application requirements;
Provide a copy of the visa you want to transfer and the corresponding immigration card;
Provide a certificate of migratory movements issued by the Special Administrative Unit Migration Colombia;
Provide a document that accredits the activity carried out by the foreigner in the country;
Provide a letter stating the reason for the transfer.

In the case of those holders of residence visas issued before the year 2000 who declare that they cannot provide the original visa document, the applicant can provide an affidavit during the transfer process in which they justify the reasons why it is not possible to present it. Likewise, they must provide an extended certificate of migratory movements valid for the year in which the visa was issued, and the last immigration card issued during their stay in Colombia.

Iceland: Directorate of Immigration adopts new communications system

The Directorate of Immigration has started using the Digital Mailbox on Island.is in communication with applicants for Icelandic citizenship. This means that the Directorate will no longer send documents by mail or e-mail to applicants, such as requests for further documents, notifications of granting citizenship or refusals of applications.

All individuals with an Icelandic ID (kennitala) have access to their own Digital Mailbox on Island.is. The Mailbox can be configured to notify its owner by email or by a push notification to the Island.is app that a new document is waiting for them in their Mailbox.

The Directorate of Immigration notes that when documents have been made available in a Digital Mailbox, they are considered to have been disclosed to the recipient and have legal effect. It is not necessary for the recipient to log in to the Mailbox and read the documents, instead the documents have been disclosed as of the date when they were made available in the mailbox and the recipient could have read the documents. Deadlines mentioned in documents from the Directorate start counting from the date when documents have been made available in the Mailbox. This applies for example to deadlines for submitting further documents for the processing of applications or deadlines for appealing the Directorate’s decision.

So far the Directorate has taken six out of nine Digital Steps defined by Digital Iceland. Connecting to the Digital Mailbox is a very important step as it increases efficiency of application processing and reduces costs. The Mailbox also improves service to applicants who will receive documents from the Directorate of Immigration faster and more securely than before.

In the next phase, the Mailbox will be implemented for communication with applicants for residence permits.

Ireland: ISD urges customers intending to travel over the coming Christmas period, whose current permission will expire, to submit a renewal application

The Department of Justice has issued a warning that the Immigration Services Registration Office Burgh Quay Dublin is currently experiencing a very large volume of applications for renewal of permission with a current processing time to renew an Irish Residence permit (IRP) card of 3-4 weeks.

Following the completion of the renewal of registration it may take a further two weeks to receive the new IRP card via post. An in-date IRP card may be required to facilitate travel to and from Ireland.

To facilitate non-EEA nationals legally resident in Ireland and who are intending to travel over the Christmas holiday period the Minister is urging customers to submit a renewal application online by 31 October 2024, should their current permission be expiring between now and their intended departure date or during travel.

Therefore, non-EEA nationals in Ireland, who are required to apply for a renewal of their IRP card, before or during any intended international travel over the coming Christmas holiday period, should apply online via the ISD online portal as soon as possible.

The Immigration Services Registration Office Burgh Quay Dublin cannot guarantee that any renewal submitted after the 31 October 2024 will be processed and an IRP card delivered in time to facilitate travel over the Christmas holiday period (although every attempt will be made to do so).

ISD notes that, regardless of the date on which a renewal application is submitted or processed, the validity period for renewal of the permission will be based on the current expiry date.

Italy: Decree to urgently streamline quota work permit application procedure

On 2 October 2024, the Council of Ministers approved a Decree Law containing “Urgent provisions regarding the entry into Italy of foreign workers, the protection and assistance to victims of corporal, the management of migratory flows and international protection, as well as the related judicial proceedings”

The first part of the decree updates the entry rules for foreign workers under the quota system for 2023-25 as established in the flussi (“flows”) decree of 27 September 2024, following a government review which found problems with the application of the entry procedures.

These urgent measures are as follows:

Pre-filling of work permit applications will be permitted before the “click day” (the day that applications can be submitted), so as to extend the time for checks;
The IT systems of the Ministries of the Interior and Labor, INPS, Chambers of Commerce, Revenue Agency and Agid (Agency for Digital Italy) will be integrated in order to automatically verify some types of data in work permit applications;
Further “click days” will be established for specific sectors, without altering the quotas;
Employers will be required to confirm their intention to employ the foreign worker, before the issuance of the entry visa;
The employer must elect a digital domicile; and sign and send the contract of stay digitally, removing the need for the employer and the worker to visit the immigration office in person;
The number of permitted applications will be restricted for three years for employers who do not sign the employment contract after the entry of the foreign worker or who use foreign workers without a contract;
The number of applications that can be submitted by an employer will be limited in proportion to their turnover, number of employees and sector of activity;
Seasonal workers will be able to sign a new contract with the same or with another employer within 60 days of the expiry of the previous contract, during the period of validity of the work authorization;
Seasonal workers will also be able to convert to a fixed-term or permanent work permit outside of the quota limits;
Special entry channels will be established for refugees and stateless persons;
An experimental entry route will be introduced in 2025 for up to 10,000 foreign care workers through employment agencies and employer organizations;
The principal that silence implies assent will be removed for the examination phase of applications relating to workers from countries at risk (in 2025 these are Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka);
More staff will be dedicated to entry procedures for work reasons at the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs.

The remaining chapters of the decree cover special residence permits for victims of illegal labour exploitation and trafficking, asylum seeker applications and the possibility of appeals against detention decisions.

The decree comes into effect immediately on publication in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic (or the following day), but must be presented to the Parliament for conversion into law.

New Zealand: The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) to be replaced

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) used by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) for visa applications, is to be replaced by comparable but separate systems for both countries.

Statistics New Zealand will be introducing a new New Zealand classification system called the National Occupation List (NOL). The first version of the NOL will be released on 20 November 2024.

The announcement was made on 8 October 2024 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Statistics New Zealand. It follows a consultation period which found strong support for separate systems because the labour market in both countries has changed so much.

It will take some time for Immigration New Zealand to transition to the new classification system. INZ will continue to use the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) until then and will provide a further update in 2025 when there is a confirmed switch over date.

ANZSCO grades occupations according to skill level. ANZSCO skill levels range from 1 to 5, with 1 being the most skilled and 5 being less skilled.

New Zealand: Changes to the China Special Work Visa

From 14 October 2024 changes to visa caps for the China Special Work Visa will align the visa with the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement upgrade.

The 2008 New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement allowed up to 800 non-labour market tested work visas for Chinese nationals in five specific occupations: Chinese chefs, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, Mandarin teacher’s aides, Wushu martial arts coaches, and Chinese tour guides. These work visas have a maximum duration of three years, after which individuals must remain outside New Zealand for three years before reapplying for a visa under this category.

The New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement was upgraded in 2018. As part of this upgrade, visa caps for these occupations were reallocated, taking effect from April 2022. This increased the number of visas available for Chinese Tour Guides from 100 to 200 and Mandarin Teachers’ Aides from 150 to 300, while decreasing allocations for lesser-used categories, Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Wushu Martial Arts Coaches. The Chinese Tour Guides category was also broadened to ‘Chinese Tourism Specialist’ to make it easier for New Zealand businesses to hire staff through this visa category.

From 14 October 2024, immigration requirements will be updated to align with the upgraded New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement. This means that 200 visas will be available to Chinese tourism specialists rather than Chinese tour guides. Separately from the FTA Upgrade, the qualification requirements for Chinese chefs are also broadened to allow them to hold a Certificate of Occupational Skill Level (COSL) Level 3 in traditional Chinese cuisine.

United Arab Emirates: Reduced passport validity requirement for immigration amnesty

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security (ICP) has reduced the passport validity required for foreign nationals to take advantage of the current immigration amnesty,

Those in the country with an expired residence status can now apply to have their status regularized if their passport has at least one month of validity remaining, rather than six months as previously.

During the amnesty period, which runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 October 2024, violators can either adjust their status or leave the country and will be exempt from any financial penalties in accordance with the Federal Law on the Entry and Residency of Foreigners.

United States: Updated guidance on the International Entrepreneur Rule

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated guidance on the International Entrepreneur Rule in its Policy Manual to clarify the required triennial increase in investment, revenue, and other thresholds, and to clarify how we arrange biometrics appointments for certain applicants.

The updated guidance reflects the International Entrepreneur Program: Fiscal Year 2025 Automatic Increase of Investment and Revenue Amount Requirements Final Rule published in July 2024. The final rule codifies the automatic adjustment of the investment, award, grant, and revenue amounts for applicants under the International Entrepreneur Rule.

The guidance also clarifies that USCIS generally coordinates with the US Department of State when arranging biometrics appointments for conditionally approved applicants under the International Entrepreneur Rule who are outside the United States or who choose to receive their parole documentation at a US embassy or consulate.

The revised investment and revenue amounts are effective 1 October 2024 and apply to requests filed on or after 1 October 2024.

This guidance updates Volume 3 of the Policy Manual and is effective immediately.