Latest updates in global immigration
This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Australia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand and Sweden.
Australia: New Designated Area Migration Agreement for Northern Territory
On 19 March 2025, a new Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) for Northern Territory comes into effect.
The DAMA is the third DAMA established for the territory and will be in effect until 30 June 2030. It enables employers facing workforce shortages to access an additional 1,500 overseas workers annually across a broad range of occupations that are in critical shortage in the territory.
There are currently 13 DAMAs in place. DAMAs are a formal arrangement between the Commonwealth of Australia and a designated area representative (DAR). A DAR may be a state or territory government or regional body.
Under the terms of a DAMA, the designated area may be able to access a broader range of overseas workers than is available through the standard skilled visa programs by allowing variation to standard occupations and skills lists and/or negotiable concessions to visa requirements.
Individuals cannot directly access a DAMA. Individuals need to be sponsored:
- by an employer operating in a designated region, and
- for an occupation that is specified in the head agreement
Individual DAMA labour agreements are between the Australian Government and endorsed employers/businesses operating within the relevant designated region. They:
- are generally in effect for five years, and
- use the subclass 482 Skills in Demand (SID), subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional), and subclass 186 Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) visa programs.
Employers must seek and gain endorsement from the DAR before lodging a labour agreement request online through ImmiAccount. The online form in ImmiAccount outlines the requirements and supporting documentation required for labour agreement requests.
Where a DAMA labour agreement is approved, the business will be able to nominate and sponsorskilled and semi-skilled overseas workers for certain occupations (each DAMA head agreement covers a specified range of occupations).
Denmark: Authorities publish updated income statistics applicable from 1 April 2025
The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) uses income statistics made by the Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) in the case processing of applications to decide if an offered job is within the Danish standards for salary. This applies to the Pay Limit Scheme, the Positive List and the Fast Track Scheme, among other routes.
The new income statistics contain information from the fourth quarter of 2024 and will take effect for applications submitted from 1 April 2025. It is expected that the income statistics will be updated each quarter and that the next update will take effect from 1 July 2025.
SIRI will usually assume that the salary corresponds to Danish standards, and will not make further assessment, if it is stated in the application form and employment contract that:
• The employer is covered by a collective agreement.
SIRI will assess whether the salary corresponds to Danish standards when the employer is a member of an employers’ organisation, but the employment relationship is not covered by a collective agreement. If the salary is just above the regular pay limit, SIRI will generally assume that the salary corresponds to Danish standards.
In cases where the employment relationship is not covered by a collective agreement and the employer is not a member of an employers’ organisation, SIRI will assess whether the salary corresponds to Danish standards up to approximately DKK 71,000, using the income statistics from the DA as a guideline.
Hong Kong: Government launches Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons
On 18 March 2025, the government launched the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons to provide more convenient immigration arrangements for invited persons from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, in order to promote economic and trade exchanges and cultural co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN.
Currently, frequent travellers to Hong Kong can apply for self-service immigration clearance. Among the 10 ASEAN countries, visitors from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam need a visa for visiting Hong Kong.
Under the Scheme, relevant policy bureaux/departments will actively invite ASEAN nationals who are able to make considerable contributions to Hong Kong’s economic development or who have been invited to attend important events in Hong Kong to enjoy the facilitation. The Immigration Department (ImmD) will provide one-stop processing of relevant applications from invited persons through an electronic platform, relax the application criteria for self-service immigration clearance and simplify the information required for visa applications.
Details of the new facilitations are shown in the below table from the Immigration Department website:
| Facilitation | Details |
| Multiple-journey visit visa with an extended period of stay per visit (2 months) under relaxed application requirements | Extended period of stay per visit – Invited persons will enjoy an extended period of stay (i.e., 2 months) per visit on the strength of a multiple-journey visit visa. Relaxed application requirements – Online submission with relaxed requirements on travel history and supporting documents. |
| Using the e-Channel under relaxed enrolment requirements | Relaxed criteria for using the e-Channel – Under normal circumstances, only persons meeting certain requirements (e.g. being a frequent visitor to Hong Kong) can apply for using the e-Channel at control points in Hong Kong. The concerned criteria have been waived for invited persons so that they are eligible to enrol for the e-Channel service (subject to holding a passport valid for at least 6 months). |
| Status valid for 3 years | “Invited Person Status” valid for 3 years – Apart from the multiple-journey visit visa, invited persons will be issued with an “e-Card” for enjoying facilitation during immigration clearance at control points of Hong Kong (i.e. using the courtesy channels and enrolling for the e-Channel service). Both the “e-Visa” and the “e-Card” will be valid for 3 years. |
Note that the period of stay for nationals of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Singapore, who are currently enjoying a visa-free period of 90 days on each visit, will remain unchanged.
Malaysia: Investor Pass effective date announced
A newly introduced Investor Pass will come into effect on 1 April 2025.
The Investor Pass is a multiple-entry visa (MEV) facility introduced for business visitors or foreign investors to facilitate their business activities, particularly for those who have committed to investing in Malaysia through investment agencies or relevant authorities.
Investor Pass holders are permitted to enter Malaysia for a period of six months, with the option to extend for an additional six months, subject to the applicant’s justification and requirements. Applicants are not eligible to bring a dependent or apply for a Dependent Pass.
Business visitors or foreign investors who fall under either of the following categories are eligible to apply for the Investor Pass:
- New Investor: Potential investors who have not had any investment record in Malaysia.
- Investor in Pipeline: Potential investors who have been identified as interested in making investments in Malaysia, are currently in negotiations with the Malaysian Government, or have applied to MIDA for project approvals.
The Investor Pass can be applied through Xpats Gateway. Applicants must be located outside of Malaysia at the time of application for the Investor Pass. Once all required documents have been submitted, all applications will be processed within five working days.
New Zealand: Health screening for children of temporary visa holders to change
The government has announced changes to the immigration health requirements for dependent children of temporary visas holders.
From 17 March 2025, dependent children of work, student or military visa holders will no longer be eligible for student and visitor visas if they have a severe cognitive or development disability that requires significant support.
This change aligns the health requirements for temporary entry visas for dependent children with those in place for resident class visas.
New Zealand: The 2025 Pacific Access Category and Samoan Quota ballots open on 1 April 2025
Registrations will open for the 2025 Samoan Quota and the Pacific Access Category on 1 April 2025 at 08:00 New Zealand Daylight Saving Time (NZDT). The ballots will close on 30 April 2025 at 17:00 NZST. When the ballots open, applicants can register online.
The Samoan Quota and Pacific Access Category are longstanding visa categories that allow people from the Pacific to become permanent residents in New Zealand. Both schemes operate through an annual ballot.
This year, up to 1,650 Samoan citizens, 250 Tongan and 250 Fijian citizens and 75 Kiribati and 75 Tuvaluan citizens may be granted residence.
Sweden: Track change abolished and rules on statutory limitation period changed
The Swedish Parliament has decided to abolish the possibility of changing tracks, to change the rules on statutory limitation periods for deportation decisions, and to give the Swedish Migration Agency the possibility to decide on longer re-entry bans. The new rules will enter into force on 1 April 2025, without transitional arrangements.
The system of changing tracks has meant that those whose asylum applications have been rejected, and who have worked during their asylum process in Sweden, under certain circumstances can have their application for a residence permit on the basis of work examined without having to leave the country. This means that they have been exempted from the main rule that applications for residence and work permits must be made from the home country or other country in which the person has the right to stay. The Swedish Migration Agency estimates that it affects around 4,700 people.
The abolition of track changes means that it is no longer possible to apply for an extension of existing permits. Most people who have been granted a residence permit on the basis of work through a so-called change of track will have to leave Sweden when their current permit expires.
At the same time, the Parliament has decided to change the rules on statutory limitation periods and re-entry bans. From 1 April, decisions on expulsion or deportation will be valid for five years from the date the person leaves the country in accordance with the decision, which in most cases also includes leaving the territory of EU countries and the Schengen area. The difference from before is that the statutory limitation period then started to run from the date the decision entered into force, regardless of whether the person had left Sweden or not, and applied for four years.
The new rules apply to persons who have a rejection or expulsion decision that has not expired by 31 March 2025.
The new amendments also introduce the possibility for the Swedish Migration Agency to decide on a longer re-entry ban than before, if a person has not left the country when the deadline for voluntary departure has expired.
A better way to manage global immigration
Smith Stone Walters is now part of Envoy Global, the leading corporate immigration services provider committed to delivering a better way for companies to manage global immigration.
This partnership will greatly enhance our global footprint and enable us to meet the growing needs of our clients even more effectively.
If you would like to find out more about the enhanced level of global immigration services now available to your business, please contact us today.
