What’s new in global immigration?
This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, New Zealand and Portugal.
Belgium: Upcoming changes to single permit processing in Flanders
On 9 May 2025, the Flemish government approved a concept note, establishing an updated labour migration policy based on ten core principles. The proposed measures will tighten requirements and increase processing costs, but also promise faster processing times. These changes will be implemented gradually over the coming months.
Highly-educated individuals will be prioritised and low-skilled people from outside the EU will be excluded from labour migration. There will be an exception for seasonal work such as fruit growing.
Since 1 May 2025, decisions on highly-skilled applications are given within 15 days. From 1 January 2026, decisions on applications for non-highly-skilled applicants will be communicated within 30 days (45 days during peak periods). A new fee of EUR 200 will be introduced for those applying for a work permit from outside the European Union.
Applications for so-called “bottleneck” professions will be possible only for medium-skilled professions with a commensurate salary, and must be supported with a comprehensive application file, as well as a labour market test. The eligibility criteria for inclusion on the Migration List for ‘medium-skilled’ positions will be revised.
Denmark: New residence route for foreign national on a master’s degree programme for working professionals
On 27 May 2025, the Danish Parliament adopted rules on a new study residence scheme that allows foreign nationals to obtain a residence permit to complete a master’s degree in Denmark. On 1 July 2025, the new study scheme came into effect.
The purpose of the master’s degree programme for working professionals is to strengthen the connection between university education and the needs of the labour market. The programme enables students to gain relevant work experience while continuing their education at master’s level, part-time.
Third-country nationals seeking admission to a master’s degree programme for working professionals must have entered into a valid employment agreement with a public or private employer for concurrent relevant part-time employment. The part-time employment must correspond to an average of up to 112.5 hours per month.
Positive Lists updated
The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) has updated the Positive Lists for people with a higher education and for skilled work. The new lists are applicable from 1 July 2025.
The Positive Lists are lists of professions experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals in Denmark. Those offered a job included in the Positive List can apply for a residence and work permit in Denmark based on the scheme.
The new Positive List for People with a Higher Education includes 190 job titles, while the Positive List for Skilled Work includes 65.
In the current update, more positions have been added to the Positive List for People with a Higher Education. This is partly due to slightly more positions where there is a labour shortage, and partly because the positions on the list with effect from 1 April 2023 are on the list for at least 2 years at a time.
The Positive List for Skilled Work has fewer positions as fewer positions where there is a labour shortage have been registered.
France: Government approves immigration quota decree for 2026-2028
On 13 June 2025, the French government published Decree No. 2025-539, which consolidates and clarifies the new rules for ‘talent’ residence permits introduced over the last year and a half. Among the changes are the following:
- The salary threshold required to qualify for the “Talent – Qualified Employee” status must now be at least equal to the average annual gross reference salary, as set by order of the Minister in charge of immigration. The reference salary is currently EUR 35,891 per year, following an order dated 28 October 2016. Previously, the salary threshold for this category was twice the French legal minimum wage (currently EUR 43,243.20).
- To qualify for the “Talent in the Medical and Pharmacy Profession” status, the gross annual salary must be at least equal to the second level of the salary scale for associate practitioners. Currently this is EUR 41,386.48 per year.
- Holders of an EU Blue Card issued by another EU member state who apply for a “Talent – European Blue Card” residence permit on arrival in France will be notified of a decision on the application within a maximum of 30 days, rather than 90 days as for holders of a long-stay visa. If approved, the applicant will also receive a Temporary Residence Permit permitting work.
The decree also introduces changes to the “Entrepreneur/Liberal profession” and the “Job Search or Business Creation” residence permits.
Italy: Government approves immigration quota decree for 2026-2028
On 30 June 2025, the government approved a proposed quota decree (“decreto flussi”) establishing a three-year immigration plan with a quota of 497,550 non-EU nationals permitted to enter for work between 2026 and 2028.
The previous quota decree allowed 452,000 entries in the years 2023-2025.
The quota will be divided between 230,550 for non-seasonal and self-employment and 267,000 for seasonal work in the agricultural and tourism sectors.
A total of 164,850 entries for non-EU workers are permitted for 2026.
The final decree is expected to be published later in the year.
Application pre-filling period for seasonal tourism
The Ministry of Labour and Social Policies has announced that the next period for the pre-filling of online applications for seasonal tourism jobs as part of the 2025 quota runs from 1 to 31 July 2025.
Aspiring employers of foreign nationals in this sector can pre-fill applications every day in July, from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m., on the ALI Services Portal of the Ministry of the Interior, where the procedure to follow is detailed. The questions can be saved and can then be sent starting from 9.00 am on the click day scheduled for 1 October 2025.
New Zealand: Update to the Parent Resident Visa Category
From 1 July 2025, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is making minor updates to the Parent Resident Visa category.
The Parent Resident Visa allows New Zealand citizens and residents to sponsor their parents for residence—supporting family reunification and skilled migration.
The changes are as follows:
- The reference to 2000 visas being set aside for the queue is being removed, as the queue has nearly been cleared. This change frees up more places for those in the ballot pool, improving their chances of being selected.
- Reference to the temporary cap increase for the 2024/25 financial year has been removed. While not all applications from this increase have been fully processed, those that have received approval in principle will still count under the previous year’s cap.
- The cap will reset on 1 July 2025 for the 2025/26 financial year.
These changes aim to provide greater certainty about the number of visa places available and make the process more straightforward for families planning to reunite in New Zealand.
The next Parent Category ballot draw is expected to take place on 12 August 2025. To be included, applicants must submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) by 31 July 2025.
Portugal: Extension of residence permit validity
The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has announced that decree law No. 85-B/2025 has extended the validity of residence permits until 15 October 2025. This is in response to ongoing processing delays.
Holders of residence permits that expired between 22 February 2020 and 30 June 2025 will be notified by email in chronological order of the expiration date and must then access services.aima.gov.pt to arrange the renewal of their residence permit.
Holders of residence permits which expire after 30 June 2025 must apply for the renewal of the residence permit directly on the Renewals Portal.
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