China
Shanghai to introduce online pre-assessment
High-level foreign nationals applying for Residence Permits will experience improved processing times.
Who qualifies?
- Highly-skilled foreign nationals recruited by the Chinese government.
- Highly-skilled foreign nationals endorsed as “Talents” in a recommendation letter issued by the Shanghai Expert Bureau.
- Highly-skilled professionals employed by a company on the Shanghai Sci-tech Innovation List with a recommendation letter from their employer.
- Qualified foreign nationals who hold a Master’s degree or above (the degree should be legalized if issued outside of China and translated if not in Chinese).
- Foreign nationals who previously held work-type Residence Permits endorsed as “Talents” or previous holders of a Talent (R) Visa.
What’s new?
- The service is expected to reduce the overall processing time of Work-type Residence Permit applications to less than seven days.
- Eligible applicants will have more flexible traveling capability during the processing period. They will no longer need to submit their passport or travel documents to the authorities.
Key considerations
Qualified high-level talent need to provide related approved documents to use the online pre-assessment tool.
Original documents must be provided to the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration for onsite application should pre-assessment be rejected. This process will take approximately seven working days.
This update was prepared using information from the China Police Authorities.
Disclaimer: The above information is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have any further inquiries regarding the applicability of this information, please contact Emily Wang, China Team Lead, Visa and Immigration Services or Debra Beynon, Regional Immigration Manager, APAC.
Russia
Increased security measures
Increased security measures will be enforced in connection with the 2018 FIFA World Cup, between May 25 and July 25, 2018. The effected cities include:
- Volgograd
- Yekaterinburg
- Kazan
- Kaliningrad
- Moscow
- Nizhniy Novgorod
- Rostov-on-don
- Samara
- Saint-Petersburg
- Saransk
- Sochi
The increased safety measure will effect travelers as follows:
- Migration registration must be completed by the foreign national within one day of arrival in these specified cities. This applies to foreign nationals arriving from abroad and from other cities within Russia.
- The migration registration can only be done by local divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. They will be open for registration every day, including the weekends.
- This procedure applies to all foreign nationals including Highly Qualified Specialists (HQS) and their family members, nationals of EAEU, arriving under business purposes and residence permit holders.
- Foreign nationals included in the FIFA lists are exempt.
Key considerations
The Head of Migration Department of MIA advises foreign nationals arriving before May 25, 2018 to register as soon as possible. Hotels can carry out registration within one day. Invited foreign guests are advised to stay in a hotel instead of a foreign nationals home.
The following documents should be carried during a stay in the specified cities: Passport, migration card, detached part of notification on arrival (migration registration), work permit or patent and receipts confirming tax on income payments (for patent holders).
This summary was prepared using information obtained from Migrant Media and President of Russia
Disclaimer: The above information is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have any further inquiries regarding the applicability of this information, please contact Michele Giordani, Regional Immigration Manager EMEA.
Schengen
Agreement on European travel information and authorization system
EU ambassadors have confirmed the Council Presidency and European Parliament representatives have reached an agreement on the proposal for a European travel information and authorization system (ETIAS). ETIAS will apply to visa-exempt third-country nationals traveling to the Schengen area.
Travel authorization must be obtained before the trip, via an online application. Each application has a fee of 7 Euros.
The travel authorization will be valid for three years or until the travel document registered expires, whichever comes first.
Key considerations
Now that the agreement has been confirmed, the regulation will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote, and subsequently to the Council for adoption.
This summary was prepared using information obtained from the European Council and Schengen visa info.
Disclaimer: The above information is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have any further inquiries regarding the applicability of this information, please contact Michele Giordani, Regional Immigration Manager EMEA.
