Immigration news updates for APAC and EMEA regions
Asia-Pacific
New Zealand: Three new residence categories announced
The New Zealand government has advised on three new residence categories, to help attract highly skilled migrants and foreign candidates for hard-to-fill occupations. The new categories are as follows: Straight to Residence Visa, Work to Residence Visa, and Highly Paid Residence Visa.
The Straight to Residence Visa and Work to Residence Visa categories relate to the green list occupations, require foreign nationals to have a job or job offer and to meet the specific requirements, including a permanent or 12-month fixed contract with at least 30 hours per week. Contractors applying for the Straight to Residence Visa will have to meet additional requirements.
The Work to Residence Visa and the Highly Paid Residence Visa require foreign nationals to have been working in New Zealand for 24 months and the Highly Paid Residence Visa also requires that the applicants earn at least twice the median wage.
The Straight to Residence Visa can be applied for from September 5, 2022, whereas the Work to Residence and Highly Paid Visas can be applied for from September 29, 2023.
This summary was prepared using information obtained from the New Zealand Immigration website.
Europe, Middle East and Africa
France: Increase of minimum wage
The minimum wage is set to increase by 2.01% on August 1, 2022, which will affect the requirements for some immigration categories.
- Intra-company Transferees (ICT’s): will now require a minimum monthly wage of EUR 1,678.95
- Passport-Talent: employees on assignment will now require a minimum monthly wage of EUR 3,022.11 and for qualified employees the requirement is now EUR 3,357.90 per month
- EU Blue Card holders: the minimum wage requirement remains the same (EUR 53,836.50 per year)
Applications submitted before August 1, will not be affected.
This summary was prepared using information obtained from the French Ministry of Labour website.
Germany: Suspension of visa issuance for Vietnamese blue passports
The German Embassy in Vietnam has advised it cannot issue visas to Vietnamese citizens who have the new charcoal-blue passports because they do not provide information about the place of birth.
Vietnamese citizens who have a German visa stamp in their new blue passports are advised to check with the authorities prior to travel, in case they may experience difficulties at the German borders. It is unclear how long the suspension will last.
This summary was prepared using information obtained from the German Embassy website.
U.K. & New Zealand: Youth Mobility Scheme and Working Holiday Scheme
Both the U.K. and New Zealand governments have updated their Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) and Working Holiday Scheme (WHS). The following changes have been agreed:
- The eligible age range will be increased to 18-35 (previously 18-30).
- The length of stay will be increased to three years for both programs (previously two years for YMS visas and 23 months for WHS visas).
- Extend the rights of the visa holders to work for the full duration of the visa.
- For those applying for the WHS visa, a cap of 15,000 will be put in place for the U.K.
Further information on these schemes can be obtained from the gov.uk website and the New Zealand Immigration website.
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 Roberta Carnaccini (Global Operations Director) or Debra Jane Beynon, (Regional Immigration Manager, APAC).
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