The visa application charge for subclass 457 visa applications will increase to AU$900 (from AU$455), effective July 1, 2013. Government programs to monitor employer compliance with 457 program requirements will receive increased funding. The new fees and other immigration changes were announced in the 2013-2014 budget.

The visa application charge for subclass 457 visa applications will nearly double for applications submitted on or after July 1, 2013, the Australian government announced Wednesday in its 2013-2014 budget. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) will receive additional funding for subclass 457 compliance activities.

The overall number of permanent migration visas available in 2013-2014 will remain at 190,000. The total number of employer-sponsored migration visas will be 128,550, a decrease of 700 that will be reallocated to family-sponsored programs. More Work and Holiday program visas will be available for applicants from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Visa Application Charge Increases

The visa application charge for subclass 457 visa applications will increase to AU$900 (from AU$455). This will be the second significant increase in 457 application fees this year; in January, the fees increased 30 percent.

Significant fee increases are also expected for other temporary and permanent visa categories, though the exact amounts have not been announced. Later this year, the government is expected to implement a fee for each dependent included in a principal applicant’s visa application, across all visa categories. The amount of the dependent fee has not been announced.

The new fees are part of a government effort to shift costs of the country’s visa system onto applicants and away from taxpayers. Fragomen is working to identify client cases in which applications can be submitted prior to July 1 to avoid the fee increase.

Additional Funding For Fair Work Ombudsman

The FWO will receive additional funding of AU$3.4 million over the next four years to accommodate its new 457 program monitoring powers.

The FWO is an independent agency responsible for ensuring compliance with national workplace relations laws and that all workers in Australia receive correct wages and entitlements. In March 2013, it was announced that the FWO would be given powers to monitor and enforce compliance with 457 visa regulations, particularly whether sponsored foreign employees are working in their most recently nominated position and are paid the market salary rates specified in their visa applications. Fair Work Inspectors have the power to enter business premises at any time during work hours and request to inspect any relevant documents or interview any person.

More Subclass 462 Work and Holiday Visas for Malaysia and Indonesia

The number of places available in the Work and Holiday program to applicants from Malaysia and Indonesia will increase to 1,000, from 100, as part of the Australia in the Asian Century program. The Work and Holiday visa program allows young individuals to take extended holidays in Australia and authorizes them to work for any one employer for up to six months. The number of visas available in this program are capped based on reciprocal country arrangements.

Source: Fragomen

The current six visa categories will be consolidated into three, with several subcategories under each, and new visa names will result. New business visa categories will also be created. The changes will take effect on June 24.

The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a new law that will restructure the current visa regime. Changes include new names for visas and a total of three visa categories, down from the current six. The new law will take effect on June 24 but is not expected to affect document requirements or processing times for employers and foreign workers. 

The current six visa categories will be consolidated into three: Temporary TP, Business NE and Resident RE. The three categories will each have several subcategories.

Temporary TP Category. This category will include subclasses for temporary workers, interns, students, religious workers, volunteers, property owners, pensioners, refugees, individuals involved in adoption proceedings, and participants in academic, artistic, scientific and cultural events.

The temporary worker visa will be the TP-4 visa, which will be valid for up to three years. The current temporary worker visa is valid for just one year.

Short-term technical workers will seek the new TP-13 visa, which will allow stays of up to 180 calendar days per year.

Business NE Category. Business visa options will expand with the creation of several new subcategories.

The multiple-entry NE-1 visa, valid for up to three years, will be available to entrepreneurs and investors establishing new business in Colombia.

The NE-2 visa will be open to foreign nationals engaged in business dealings related to treaties, including the Pacific Alliance trade bloc, of which Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru are members. Representatives of foreign government institutions will be eligible for the NE-3 visa. The NE-2 and NE-3 visas will allow foreign nationals to receive local remuneration and establish residence in Colombia for up to two or four years respectively.

The NE-4 visa, valid for up to five years, will be available to high-level executives of multinational corporations seeking to invest and promote business in Colombia.

Resident RE Category. The Resident RE category will provide a path to permanent residence for the following groups:

• Parents of children who were born in Colombia;
• Former Colombian nationals who renounced their citizenship;
• Temporary residents who have remained in Colombia under a TP visa (subcategories 3 through 9) for at least five years;
• Partners or spouses of Colombian nationals who have resided in Colombia for at least three years under the TP-10 visa; and
• Individuals who have registered an investment with the Bank of the Republic of at least 650 times the Colombian monthly minimum wage.

Visas in this category will not be tied to a local employer and will be valid for five years.
Resident RE visa holders who remain outside of Colombia for two continuous years will lose their residence.

As the June 24 implementation date approaches, further changes may be announced. Fragomen is monitoring the implementation of the new law and will provide updates as details are announced.

Source: Fragomen

The Chinese central government has issued proposed regulations to implement the new Exit and Entry Administrative Law that will take effect July 1, 2013. The proposed rules would introduce a new visa category for business visitors, create new subcategories for the principal work visa, define situations that constitute illegal work and illegal stay for enforcement purposes, and make various eligibility and process changes. Employers and other interested parties have until June 3 to provide feedback on the proposals.

Changes to Visa Classifications 

A new M visa category would be created for foreign nationals visiting China for business or trade purposes. The F visa currently used for business visitors would be reserved for visitors engaged in science, education, culture, health, sports and other non-commercial activities.

The Z work visa would be divided into two subcategories: the Z1 category for foreign nationals who will work in China for more than 90 days, and the Z2 category for those who intend to work in China for up to 90 days. The Z1 visa would need to be converted to a residence permit within 30 days of the visa holder’s arrival.

To implement the Talent Introduction visa introduced in the new law, the rules would create a new R visa with two subcategories: the R1 category, which would enable long-term residence in China, and the R2 category, which would be suitable for short-term stays. The draft regulations do not specify eligibility criteria or implementation details for the new R visa, which is intended to attract high-caliber talented foreign nationals from overseas to work and live in China.

Clearer Definitions of Illegal Work and Illegal Stays

The draft regulations provide more clarity on the acts that would constitute staying or working illegally under the new law. Illegal stays would include, but not be limited to, visa or residence permit overstays, and traveling or staying outside the permitted area of stay. Illegal work would include, but not be limited to, working outside of the jurisdiction of the work authorization, or at an entity other than that listed in the work authorization.

Changes to Eligibility and Process Requirements

The proposed regulations would allow holders of certain short-term stay visas to extend a visit in China under the visa used to enter the country. Under current rules, visa extensions are not permitted. Instead, a foreign national who wants to extend a stay must have the visa cancelled and request a new one.

Medical reports would be required for foreign nationals who are at least 16 years old and applying for the first time for residence permits of one year or longer. Currently, this requirement applies only to first-time applicants who are aged 18 or older, regardless of the length of the residence permit sought.

The official processing time for in-country residence permit renewals would increase to 15 calendar days, from the current five to seven working days.

Student permit holders would be allowed, with the permission of their sponsoring school, to work part-time to support their study in China or to take up an internship while studying. The current rules do not allow for these arrangements.

Public Consultation

Companies and other stakeholders are invited to review and provide comments to the draft regulations by June 3. The official draft regulations are in Chinese only and the government has not released an official English translation. Please check with your Fragomen professional in China if you wish to obtain a copy of the official draft regulations or an English translation.

Employers can opt to provide comments to Fragomen China, which will submit consolidated feedback to the authorities before the due date.

Fragomen will continue to monitor developments on the new China immigration law and issue an update once the regulations are finalized.

Source: Fragomen

Effective January 2, 2104, children over the age of 18 will no longer qualify for immigration benefits as dependents under any Canadian immigration program. Also on January 2, 2014, the government will resume accepting new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents for permanent residence, with an annual cap of 5,000 applications for 2014.

Effective January 2, 2014, children over the age of 18 will no longer qualify for immigration benefits as dependents under any Canadian immigration program. On the same day, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will resume accepting new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents for permanent residence, with an annual cap of 5,000 applications for 2014.

Currently, Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor a dependent child for permanent residence up to his or her twenty-second birthday, and foreign temporary workers may be accompanied or later joined by a child under the age of 22. CIC will continue to consider children aged 19 to 21 as dependents for applications submitted before January 2, 2014. After that date, children over the age of 18 will be able to qualify for benefits as dependents if they are financially dependent due to mental or physical disabilities. Current exceptions to the maximum age for full-time students will be eliminated.

CIC has not accepted new parent and grandparent permanent residence applications since November 2011, when it instituted a two-year moratorium to reduce backlogs. New applications will be subject to increased financial responsibility requirements. The minimum income requirement will increase by 30 percent, and sponsors will be required to demonstrate that they met the requirement for three years prior to applying, up from one.

CIC will also make permanent the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa, a 10-year multi-entry visitor visa for the parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents that allows holders to stay in Canada for up to two years per trip without the need to renew their status.

Source: Fragomen

Today, the Committee will begin to consider an array of suggested amendments, including proposals to broaden DOL’s H-1B enforcement authority.

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin debate and mark-up of Title IV of S. 744, the employment-based nonimmigrant section of the comprehensive immigration reform bill. The Committee will consider an array of proposed amendments concerning the H-1B and L-1 programs and the optional practical training rules for F-1 students. Mark-up of the employment-based green card proposals is expected in the coming days, though no specific date has yet been set. 

Among the key nonimmigrant amendments are proposals from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) to further broaden the Department of Labor’s authority to review and investigate employers’ compliance with the labor condition application (LCA) regulations and to limit post-graduate employment options for F-1 students. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has proposed requiring H-1B employers to post offered positions on the websites of state workforce agencies.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is seeking to increase the H-1B cap baseline to 115,000, with a reformulated market escalator that would allow for just-in-time quota increases within a given fiscal year, based on immediate demand for H-1B numbers. He is also seeking more moderate restrictions on offsite placement of L-1B specialized knowledge workers, with a $500 L-1B outplacement fee.

The markup will begin at 10:00 a.m. EDT and will be streamed live. Fragomen will be closely following the proceedings and will provide updates on principal changes.

Source: Fragomen

The new highly-skilled worker permit requires a bachelor’s or post-graduate degree, but no minimum level of professional experience. The Panamanian government also introduced new work permit categories for Italian nationals and parents of Panamanian citizens. All three categories are exempt from sponsorship requirements and work permit quotas.

Highly-skilled workers holding a bachelor’s or post-graduate degree are now eligible for a new Panamanian work permit that is exempt from quotas and local sponsorship requirements. The Panamanian government also introduced new quota- and sponsorship-exempt work permit categories for Italian nationals and parents of Panamanian citizens. The government processing time for all three permit types is expected to be approximately three months.

The highly-skilled worker permit is available to foreign nationals who hold a bachelor’s or post-graduate degree. The legalized original diploma is the main supporting document required for the application. No minimum level of professional experience is needed, and the permit must be renewed on an annual basis.

The work permit for Italian nationals is valid for an indefinite duration, based on a treaty between the two countries. The work permit for foreign nationals with children who are Panamanian nationals can be renewed annually.

The employment-based immigration process in Panama involves an initial application for temporary or permanent residence and a separate application for a work permit from the Ministry of Labor. Residence permit categories for highly-skilled workers, Italian nationals and parents of Panamanian citizens have existed for some time, but there were no specific work permit categories for these groups. A foreign national who applied for a residence permit in one of the three categories had to apply for an employer-sponsored work permit subject to Panamanian quotas.

As with all foreign nationals in Panama, work permit holders are not permitted to practice certain professional occupations, such as that of public accountant, architect, doctor, attorney, dentist or engineer.

Source: Fragomen

The EB-3 subcategory for professionals and skilled workers will advance by more than nine months for China and most other countries in June, though India will advance only two weeks. In the EB-2 category, priority date cut-offs will advance two months for China, but will remain unchanged for India.

According to the State Department’s June Visa Bulletin, the EB-3 subcategory for professionals and skilled workers will advance by more than nine months for China and most other countries, to September 1, 2008. EB-3 India will advance a modest two weeks, however, to January 8, 2003. In the EB-2 category, priority date cut-offs for China will advance two months, to July 15, 2008, and will once again remain unchanged for India, at September 1, 2004.

The State Department continues to advance EB-3 priority dates in order to generate demand and ensure that the annual quota of EB-3 immigrant visas is fully used this fiscal year. The agency predicts that demand could increase significantly in the next several months, leading to an eventual slowdown or stoppage in priority date movement for EB-3.

June 2013 Priority Date Cut-Offs

In June 2013, EB immigrant visa priority date cut-offs will be:

EB-1
Current for all countries.

EB-2 
China: July 15, 2008
India: September 1, 2004
All other countries: Current

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
China: September 1, 2008
India: January 8, 2003
Philippines: September 22, 2006
All other countries: September 1, 2008

EB-3 Other Workers 
China: October 22, 2003
India: January 8, 2003
Philippines: September 22, 2006
All other countries: September 1, 2008

EB-5
Current for all countries and subcategories.

Source: Fragomen

Reforms scheduled to take effect in April 2014 will create new residence permit categories, allow foreign nationals to apply for residence permits at consular posts abroad, and create a new government office to oversee the admission of foreign nationals.

A new immigration law taking effect in April 2014 will streamline Turkey’s work permit process by allowing foreign nationals to apply for residence permits at consular posts abroad. It will also create new categories of residence permits, including options for those who will open a business or buy real estate in Turkey.

Residence permit application deadlines will be extended, giving those opting to obtain a residence permit from within Turkey 90 days to apply after entry, up from 30 days. Residence permit renewal applications will be accepted 60 days prior to expiration, up from the current 15 days.

Business visits will be limited to a maximum cumulative stay of 90 days in a 180-day period. Currently, there is no such restriction.

There will be a new government office to oversee the admission of foreign nationals and harsher penalties for foreign nationals who are out of status or violating the terms of their stay.

Until the government finalizes its interpretation of the new law and issues implementing regulations, the specifics of the reforms and their effect on employers will not be fully known. Fragomen is monitoring the implementation of the new law and will provide updates as details are announced.

Source: Fragomen

The UK government announced a new immigration bill that seeks to curb unauthorized immigration through tougher employer compliance measures and new restrictions on access to public services by immigrants. The bill was presented today in a speech by Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of the new session of Parliament.

The bill would increase fines for businesses that employ unauthorized foreign workers. Fines for foreign nationals who work in the UK without authorization would also increase.

There would be new limits on appeals of immigration decisions, and immigration officers would be given broader enforcement powers.

The bill would also make it easier for the UK government to deport those without valid immigration status, prohibit unauthorized immigrants from obtaining driving licenses, compel private landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants, and prevent immigrants from accessing public services to which they are not entitled. Temporary migrants would be required to pay for some health care.

Source: Fragomen

The earliest available local registration appointments throughout India were twelve days from the time of online filing, as of May 3. Foreign nationals should gather the necessary documents and provide travel details to their immigration service provider in advance, so that appointments can be scheduled as soon as possible after arrival. Registration must be completed within 14 days of entry into India.

In recent days, foreign nationals have seen unexpected delays in the scheduling of registration appointments at Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs) throughout India. As of May 3, the earliest available appointments were twelve days from the time of online filing. Previously, appointments were typically available one or two days after filing.

Foreign nationals must complete registration within 14 days of their arrival in India. In order to apply for registration appointments online, they must be present in India and have all necessary documents in their possession.

In light of the scheduling delays, foreign nationals should plan to apply for an appointment on the day of their arrival. Before traveling to India, they should gather the necessary documents and inform their immigration service provider of their arrival date and address in India. They should not expect to have a choice in appointment dates or times. Foreign nationals cannot travel abroad until the registration process is complete.

Once a registration appointment is scheduled, it cannot be changed without a new filing, which would result in additional delays.

Foreign nationals extending their status should plan to apply for an appointment at least twelve days before their current status expires.

Source: Fragomen