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PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP

Global Immigration Newsletter - Quarter 1March 2014


As the first signs of a new season are upon us and as the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games draw to a close in Sochi, we bring you the latest immigration updates from our global network over the last quarter.

There have been many changes and we are seeing a trend of many countries placing measures in place to protect their local workforces, such as in Switzerland.

The ‘Quarterly Focus’ section looks at Europe this time.

Whilst this newsletter provides you with an overview of all updates around the globe, please do see page 16 for a snapshot of the various regional newsletters that are in circulation across the network and the relevant contacts should you wish to sign up to any of these.

We hope, as always, you enjoy reading through the various updates and please do not hesitate to get in contact should you have any queries at all or require further information on any of the matters raised.

Regards,

PwC LegalGlobal Immigration Team

Introduction Contacts

Stephan JudgeSenior Manager+44 (0)20 7212 [email protected]

Frédérique MontaltiSenior Manager+44 (0)20 7212 [email protected]

Stephanie OdumosuSenior Associate+44 (0)20 7212 [email protected]


PwC Legal has acquired a leading immigration law practice in Canada

Our Toronto based practice is now open in the name of PwC Legal Immigration LLP. We now have over 1000 immigration professionals providing immigration services in 128 countries. We are now able to perform Canadian and US immigration services in-house. The team in Canada is led by founder and managing partner Janet Bomza.

Janet Bomza


Bulgaria and Romania – Restrictions Lifted

From January 2014, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals are able to fully exercise their freedom of movement across EU member states as the last remaining restrictions have now been lifted. They will no longer require any kind of formal work permission to work in any EU member state.

Free movement of people has been one of the key rights conferred on EU member states integration and often the one most cherished by Europeans, with over 14 million EU nationals studying, working or retiring in another Member State.

There may be some short-term challenges over the next few months for clients wishing to locally hire non-EU nationals as a result of an EU directive requiring member states to implement a single application process (a process that will combine work and residence permits / visas in one). The ultimate goal of this directive is to simplify and standardise immigration procedures across the EU.

Given the official deadline for implementation for this directive was 25 December 2013, many member states have already put a combined process in place, as we have seen by some of the updates in the main newsletter, however there are still some states that have yet to implement these rules.

For the time-being, this only impacts local hires, intra-company transferees, workers staying for less than 6 months, long term residents, seasonal workers and au pairs are not affected by this directive. Denmark, Ireland and the UK are exempt from this directive.

Quarterly focus...Europe


Countries

Æ Belgium

Æ Canada

Æ Denmark

Æ France

Æ Germany

Æ Ghana

Æ Hong-Kong

Æ Hungary

Æ Ireland

Æ Israel

Æ Japan

Æ Latvia

Æ Moldova

Æ New Zealand

Æ Nigeria

Æ Norway

Æ Oman

Æ Portugal

Æ Republic of Congo

Æ Romania

Æ Saudi Arabia

Æ Singapore

Æ South Africa

Æ Switzerland

Æ The Netherlands

Æ Turkey

Æ Uganda

Æ Vietnam

Æ Russia

Æ UAE

Æ UK


Your country information

Belgium

The rules around Permanent Residence in Belgium have changed and EU nationals will now have to evidence five years of stay instead of the previously required three years should they wish to obtain an E residence card. In addition to this, the rules have also been made more stringent for non-EU nationals seeking permanent residence.

Previously, a work permit holder would be granted permanent residence in Belgium once they had obtained their third (if a managerial employee) or fifth work permit (if a highly-skilled worker) and after having resided in Belgium for a continuous period of two or four years respectively. This right will now only be granted to work permit holders who can evidence a legal and continuous residency in Belgium for at least five years from the date their first residence card was issued.

In Belgium, the work and residence permit are two separate immigration documents. In principle, the Belgian residence card of a work permit holder is valid for the same period as the work of the work permit and one additional month. It has recently been decided that the residence permit should be issued for 15 months instead of 13 months, given the issuance of a new renewed residence permit can take up to three weeks following its approval. This extended validity should now allow sufficient time for the immigration process to be completed without jeopardising the individual’s right of stay.

Changes have been made to salary thresholds for various work permit categories. From January 2014, the gross minimum salary amount to qualify is 39,422 EUR (approx. 55,000 USD) for a highly-qualified employee and 65,771 EUR (approx. 92,000 USD) for a managerial employee. We expect these changes to have little impact on our clients.

Canada

Service Canada established a program in 2012 in the province of Quebec, which assists in expediting the processing of Labour Market Opinion (LMO) applications for certain specialty occupations. Employers who wish to hire foreign nationals of these specialty fields are exempt from the standard recruitment requirements although they must still obtain an LMO.

Each year, the government of Quebec produces a new list of qualifying occupations for the expedited service. This year's list was released in February. Three National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes have been added to the list, Web designers and developers, Construction estimators; and

Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations.

The following five NOC codes have been removed from the list: Computer

and informative systems managers; Restaurant and food service managers; Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management; Administrative officers; and Underground production and development miners.

Republic of Congo

Since November 2013, it is no longer possible for foreign nationals to obtain a 15 day entry visa at the border. It was previously common practice for foreign nationals to apply for this entry visa upon arrival to the Republic of Congo and their visas would be issued at the port of entry. Foreign nationals will now need to ensure they have obtained the relevant visa ahead of their travel to the Republic of Congo and anyone who does now comply with this requirement will be required to return to their country of origin on the same flight which they arrived. We would advise all those considering short-term travel to the Republic of Congo to plan well in advance to allow time to obtain the relevant visa ahead of their proposed travel.


to use include the temporary intra-group assignment with a local French employment contract or the European Blue Card. Both these alternatives may not be favourable to companies given the assignee would be treated as a fully-fledged employee of the French entity of the group (should there be one).

We would urge any clients who are wishing to send employees to France to work under a secondment arrangement (as opposed to local employment) to reach out to their PwC contact for further guidance.

Germany

From January 2014, the minimum annual gross salary requirements for obtaining an EU Blue Card in Germany have been changed. The minimum annual gross salary has been raised to 47,600 EUR

Denmark

It is now possible to apply for a Danish Schengen visa valid up to 5 years under the Red Carpet Scheme. Applicants are required to evidence the necessity for them to visit Denmark and other Schengen countries on a regular basis amongst other requirements. Though the visa would be valid for five years, it would still only allow the holder stays of a maximum of 90 days within a 180 day period.

France

There has been considerable attention in the press and political forums concerning the issue of "fraudulent secondments" of foreign workers to France and there are signs that the French labour and immigration authorities will be scrutinising any "secondment" work authorisation applications ("détachement"). The local French immigration authorities are being more vigilant when processing work authorisation requests for assignees that will be physically working, even part-time, at a third-party (non-group entity) site as this may be seen as constituting a two-tier style secondment, which is prohibited.

The main alternative categories of work authorisation that companies may wish

(approx. 66,000 USD), (in the year 2013, 46,400 EUR [approx. 64,400 USD]). For those in ‘shortage occupations’ as listed in the international Standard Classification of Occupations, the minimum annual gross salary has been raised to 37,128 EUR (approx. 51,500 USD).

Croatian nationals’ freedom of movement rights are still restricted and they will still have to apply for an EU work permit in order to work in Germany. There are some exceptions to this rule, for instance those considered to be highly qualified workers who are working in a job adequate to their qualifications. The application of the exceptions will need to be checked in the individual case. An unlimited freedom of movement rights for Croatian nationals is not expected before 30 June 2015.

Ghana

Quota allocations have changed and now only those with paid up capital of more than 700,000 USD will be able to sponsor work permission for up to four foreign nationals.

In addition, any company that wishes to employ a foreign national will need to apply to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) for the facilitation of the employment. The application will specify the number of foreign nationals to be employed, in accordance with the relevant quota. We are still awaiting further details on how the rules around the employment of foreign nationals via the GIPC will be implemented in practice.


permanent residents keep the landing slip during their stay in Hong Kong. Should a replacement landing slip be required, it is possible for this to be obtained at no additional cost whilst in Hong-Kong.

Hungary

A new combined permit system has been implemented in Hungary which replaces the previous work permit and residency permits process for non-EU nationals. There are new filing procedures and supporting documents required. The Hungarian immigration authorities will be required to process the application in 90 days from submission, which is a longer period than under the prior system and non-EU nationals are not permitted to begin working until the combined permit has been issued. The same application process is applicable for the Blue Cards, family unification residency permits and residence permits granted for humanitarian purposes. The new combined permit is granted for maximum 2 years and is able to be extended in two

The Ghana Immigration Service has now started granting Rotator Work Permits to foreign nationals working on rotation in the upstream petroleum sector. This is granted in two main categories, those on rotation for a period of up to 6 months and those on rotation for periods of up to 12 months depending on the duration of engagement of the applicant.

The governmental immigration fees and charges also increased from January 2014 for work and residence permit applications.

Greece

Non EU-nationals who serve as carers for people suffering from a number of serious illnesses, including quadriplegia, paraplegia, mental disability or physical disability may be granted a Greek

residence permit. To be eligible, the foreign national must have been employed for at least a year prior to the date that the government decision was made on this type of permit which was September 2013.

Holders of Greek residence permits issued by the Immigration Departments in the Regions of Greece which are due to expire between 1 January 2014 and 30 April 2014 will be automatically extended for five months from their date of expiry. This is due to the fact that these departments are currently in the process of being restructured and this process has not yet been completed.

Those who hold Greek residence permits issued by the Ministry of Interior will not benefit from this extension and they should ensure that their permits are renewed within the prescribed deadlines of Greek immigration law. We would urge our clients to review the type of Greek permit they currently hold and to contact PwC for further assistance.

Hong-Kong

It is no longer necessary for stamping of travel documents to take place on non-permanent residents of Hong-Kong as per new rules that came into effect at the end of December 2013. This is the

same process that was implemented for visitors in March 2013. Under the new arrangement, stamping of travel documents for non-permanent residents during arrival clearance will be replaced by issuance of a landing slip bearing information about the individual which includes: the applicant’s name, their travel document number, their arrival date, their conditions of stay (i.e. employment, dependant or training) and their limit of stay (visa validity in accordance with the visa approved period) in Hong Kong.

In general, non-local students, foreign domestic helpers and imported workers admitted under the Supplementary Labour Scheme will be issued with a landing slip upon each arrival. For other non-permanent residents (e.g. employment visa holder/ dependent visa holder/ training visa holder etc), a landing slip will be issued upon their first entry only. Upon subsequent arrival, no slip will be issued and no stamping will be made on their travel documents.

Upon departure, no slip will be issued for non-permanent residents and no stamp will be issued on their travel documents.

The loss of a landing slip will not generally affect the departure clearance formalities; however we would advise that non-


accrue a certain amount of points will be recognised as highly skilled foreign professionals and are able to enjoy preferential immigration treatment. The system is available for both new applicants from overseas and for those already in Japan under other immigration statuses.

The Japanese government have recently undertaken a full review of the qualifying criteria in order to improve the system to enable it to be utilised by a greater number of foreign nationals. As part of the review the government drew on experiences from

year increments.

Should the non-EU national wish to stay for less than 90 days, the above mentioned combined permit will not apply and instead the employer should submit a Work Force Demand and a work permit application.

Little guidance on implementation has been provided by the Hungarian Authorities and so as the immigration officers become accustomed to the new rules and procedures, we expect applicants to experience delays in the short-term when obtaining this new combined permit. We would advise clients to plan well in advance for any proposed Hungarian assignments.

Ireland

Employers in Ireland may face an increased number of employment permit inspections as Workplace Relations, a unit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, has taken over the helpline which assists employers and foreign workers with employment permit applications and related questions. The change could signal that Ireland is planning to step up inspections of employers, which may include checking

companies for required employment permits and ensuring companies are meeting other compliance obligations.

In the past, Workplace Relations conducted inspections for wage violations and workplace harassment and has not been as rigorous when checking for employment permit violations. However with greater access to companies’ employment permit history, it is thought that Workplace Relations will begin to focus on employment permits and conduct inspections.

Under the Employment Permits Act, employers must hold employment permits for their non-EEA national workers. Violations carry monetary penalties of up to 250,000 EUR (approx. 346,900 USD) and in some cases prison terms. Given the risk of increased inspections, companies are advised to review their employment permit practices to avoid any sanctions.

Israel

Due to a labour dispute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs workers, Israeli consulates have currently ceased providing services and are not expected to resume

processing immigration applications until this has been resolved. Imminent travel plans to Israel may need to be postponed.

There are to be changes made to the B-1 work permit category which will include additional process steps added to the procedure. The changes to this work permit category will include an option to issue a short-term 30 Days Work Permit which will be issued within 15 days from submission of the application. There will also be the option of obtaining an approval notice with a two year validity as opposed to the usual one year. There would be strict criteria for securing an approval for two years and this would be at the ultimate discretion of the Israeli authorities.

Firm measures continue to be taken against employers and illegal foreign employees in Israel and we strongly urge all clients to ensure full compliance when sending foreign nationals into Israel. The new changes around the short-term work permit will greatly help to address short-term traveller non-compliance.

Japan

Japan adopted a new Point Based Preferential System for highly skilled foreign professionals in May 2012 and under this system, foreign nationals who


the last 12 months since the system was first implemented. The new guidelines were published at the end of December 2013 and changes were made across the requirements for income, research achievements, Japanese language ability, study in Japan and qualifications, small/mid-sized organisations, short-term stay, permission for bringing the parents and a domestic helper under certain conditions, and lastly permission for obtaining permanent residence.

With regards to income, the minimum income for academic research activity has now been abolished. For both advanced specialized/technical activity and business management activity, the minimum annual income has been lowered to 3 million JPY (approx. 30,000 USD) for applicants of all ages. For those who wish to bring their parents, the required minimum annual salary of the household is 8 million JPY (approx. 80,000 USD), and for those who wish to bring a foreign domestic helper, the minimum annual salary of the household is 10 million JPY (approx. 100,000 USD). This amount has been lowered from 15 million JPY (approx. 150,000 USD). This annual income can be paid on a split payroll in Japan and overseas by the home employer.

Those who complete study at a higher education institution in Japan will also have the number of points obtained increased. Holders of MBA qualifications will gain additional points as well as other professional qualification holders even if obtained overseas.

Small and mid-sized organisations who meet certain criteria will obtain additional points and the system will now apply to those on short-term stays of less than a year.

There are currently discussions being held by the authorities around whether the period of residence required to qualify for permanent residence should be reduced to three years from the current five years.

It is expected that these new changes will make the Points Based System a lot more attractive as well as allowing a greater number of people to benefit from them with the new criteria for obtaining points.

Latvia

The rules around investor visas and residence permits have been amended, in particular those around the five-year residence permit. Applicants who invest in

the equity capital of an existing or newly established company must ensure that a minimum investment of 150,000 EUR (approx. 206,000 USD) is made and the company must have at least 50 employees and its annual turnover or balance has to exceed 10 million EUR (14 million USD).

It is still possible to invest in smaller companies not meeting the above criteria and the minimum investment in these companies is 35,000 EUR (48,000 USD) on the condition that by investing in the equity capital of the company no more than three temporary residence permits can be issued to foreign nationals. In addition, these smaller companies must not employ more than 50 employees and

their annual turnover must not exceed 10 million EUR (14 million USD) as well as meeting a minimum requirement for taxes paid.

These changes have come around as a result of loopholes in the previous rules which allowed minimal investments to be made in Latvian companies which in turn allowed beneficial tax regimes for foreign investors. These new rules are to ensure that this area is more regulated.

Moldova

New rules have come into force at the end of 2013 around those who violate immigration rules and their right of stay


in Moldova. Fines have been applied in differing amounts for a number of contraventions including those who do not leave the country voluntarily on the expiration of a residence permit, the use of fake immigration documents or false identity documents to obtain Moldovan immigration permission and other more procedural infringements such as failure to comply with the deadline for submission of an extension application. Compliance with the immigration rules is thus extremely important as serious processes are put in place to counteract non-compliance.

The Netherlands

The Dutch authorities have made several changes to the Dutch Foreign Employment act. The authorities have waived the work permit requirement for foreign employees who receive training within an International company. This exemption will apply where the training is conducted for the purpose of ‘observation’ and in order for the foreign employee to become familiar with the corporate culture or to receive instruction is a classroom environment under the guidance of a trainer. The exception is also applicable for the attendance of corporate meetings. The maximum duration for this exemption to be exercised has been temporarily limited to four week in a 13 week period.

The Netherlands have however reinstated a previous ruling regarding business travellers. A change made was exempting the work permit requirement for business visitors visiting the Netherlands to attend business meetings or to sign contracts. The changes were brought in to ease the restrictions for business for business visitors, but unintentionally proved to be extremely restrictive. The Ministry of Social affairs and Employment now recognise that this new law could act as a potential barrier to business and will amend the changes as soon as possible. However, until the law is overturned, the laws prior to the changes introduced in January 2014 will be in effect. This enables foreign nationals to visit the Netherlands for multiple business trips for a maximum duration of four weeks in a 13 week period.

Changes have also been made to the salary thresholds for highly skilled workers. Those applying for work authorisation under the Highly Skilled Migrant programme will now need to show an average salary of 38,465.28 EUR (approx. 53, 370 USD) if under 30 or 52,462.08 EUR (approx. 72,790 USD) if aged 30 or older. Previously these salary thresholds could be proved on an annual basis, however due to a change in legislation the

salary threshold must now be satisfied on a monthly basis, equating to at least 3,204.44 EUR (approx. 4,446 USD) for those under 30 years and 4,371 EUR (approx. 6,064 USD) for those aged 30 years or older.

New Zealand

A new working holiday scheme for Philippines national wishing to come to New Zealand has been implemented from February 2014. Under this scheme, 100 places will be available annually for young people from the Philippines wanting to stay in New Zealand for up to 12 months.

Employers wishing to utilise this process will need to note that in order to comply, the applicants must not take up permanent employment (unless they apply for and are granted an ordinary work visa while they are there), they must not work for the same employer for more than three months, they can enrol in one or more courses of training or study of up to three months’ duration in total during their visit and that the applicant is coming to New Zealand to holiday, with work or study being secondary intentions for their visit.

New policy changes have been announced to try and attract and encourage foreign nationals to establish high quality businesses in New Zealand and with it to


there has been an improvement in the turnaround time for processing Temporary Work Permits (TWP). Previously processing time would run to around 2 weeks; however this has now been reduced to 3 – 5 working days. That said, the new C-G in exercise of his discretion has reduced the validity period of the majority of TWPs from 90 days to 60 days.

The Ministry of Interior is taking steps to implement an automated process of applying for expatriate quotas with the introduction of the ‘e-Citibiz’ automation process. The new process will replace the paper application system previously used and all new and existing companies would be required to pay an annual fee of 318.75 USD. This should assist to make the system more streamlined for companies.

The NIS has also introduced a new Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card (CERPAC) scheme for improved monitoring and regulation of foreign national’s stays in Nigeria and the validity period of CERPACs under this new scheme has been reviewed. CERPACs for Niger-Wives (i.e. foreign wives of Nigerian citizens) are now indefinite while those for foreign diplomats are valid for the duration of their diplomatic accreditation. CERPACs for other foreign nationals are now valid for 2 years.

The NIS has also recognised the increasing numbers of Nigerians that are frequent travellers and a 64 page frequent traveller passport has been introduced to meet their needs.

Norway

The government fees for dependant family member applications have increased. From January 2014, the government fee for processing a first time application for a residence permit for a family member has increased from 3,750 NOK (approx. 630 USD) to 5,200 NOK (approx. 870 USD). For renewals of a family residence permit, the fee has now increased from 1,100 NOK (approx. 182 USD) to 2,500 NOK (approx. 415 USD).

Oman

In January 2014, some large legislative changes were made to the immigration landscape in Oman which included additional levels of clearance required by the Ministry of Labour. The main changes include two provisions around women in the region. Temporarily work visas (2 years work clearance) are not currently being issued to women. This is a temporary restriction; however it is not currently known when this restriction will be lifted. Furthermore, women aged 21 -

bring new job opportunities and enhance economic growth.

From March 2014, the newly named entrepreneur work visa and points system will replace the Long Term Business Visa. A minimum capital investment of 100,000 NZD (approx. 83,000 USD) will be required to ensure the policy requirements are met and to help encourage innovative business ideas. Applicants of this visa category who invest in the regions will gain extra points. The Entrepreneur Category will be renamed the Entrepreneur Residence Visa. There will also be fast-track options for residence for applicants who have successfully established a business, run it for six months, invested at least 500,000 NZD (approx. 415,000 USD), and created full-time ongoing employment for at least three New Zealanders.

Our local team in New Zealand is closely monitoring the situation and they expect further instructions to be released in the coming weeks.

Nigeria

Following the appointment of the new Comptroller-General (C-G) of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in June 2013,

25 are currently no longer able to obtain an express business visas, which generally allows short-term business travel to Oman. This rule will affect all women who are nationals of countries that require a visa to be obtained prior to arriving in Oman. Those from visa-free countries will not be affected by this new rule.

There have been amendment to the documentary requirements and a number of additional documents have been added to the requirements of the


Ministry of Labour when processing a work and residence visa. These include, a valid attested office lease agreement, an electricity bill (issued the month preceding the filing) with the same address as on the office lease agreement, any technical job e.g. an auditor or an engineer must be accompanied by a qualification and in some occasions the Ministry might request a fully attested degree, a medical report (which is done in the Sultanate) is now required as the finger prints department now require a copy

It is thought that the main driving force behind these changes is the high number of foreign migrants currently working in Oman. The target percentage of foreign migrants in the local work force is 33%, however the current percentage of foreign migrants is reported to be closer to 66%. As such, the changes in law are an effort to try to combat this in order to help increase the number of local employees within the local workforce.

It is also worth noting that there continues to be an ongoing issue in Oman with regards to ‘unwritten laws'. This is where matters which have not been made formal policy are applied to companies on a case by case basis.

PwC Oman are closely monitoring the situation and we will keep you updated.

Portugal

The Golden Visa which was created with the aim of attracting foreign investors is proving successful and has already generated foreign investment in Portugal of more than 300 million EUR (approx. 415 million USD). There have been 471 Golden Visas issued, most of which have been granted to nationals from China (399 Golden Visas issued), Russia, Brazil, Angola and South Africa. Under the different qualifying criteria required to obtain a Golden visa, it appears that the acquisition of real estate has been the preferred method of investment.

Holders of the Golden Visa may also qualify as potential candidates for the non-habitual tax residence regime which is a more favourable personal tax regime for those who wish to transfer their residence to Portugal.

These changes have enabled Portugal to become far more established as a country with a favourable tax regime and permanent residency immigration options for non-EU nationals wishing to reside in Europe.

Romania

The work permit quota for each year is announced at the beginning of that year and in instances where the full quota has been exhausted by the end of the prior year the Romanian Government may choose to extend the quota. Please reach out to your PwC contact for a comprehensive list of the approved quota positions for this year.

There will be some changes to Romanian immigration law, namely the introduction of a combined single work and residence permit. It is expected that the immigration steps and required documents themselves will remain the same. PwC Romania is closely monitoring this situation.

Russia

Changes have been made to the processing time for World Trade Organisation members (WTO) applying from a representative, branch or subsidiary office. The new law will allow processing time to be reduced for 3-4 months to 30 working days. This is a key change as it brings the processing time for WTO members and general process almost in line with that for the Highly-Qualified Specialist (HQS) process. The salary requirements will be the same as for the HQS process and the minimum validity of the permit must be a year. Only top positions can be filled utilising this process such as ‘Head of the Representatives Office’. Companies are restricted as only 5 foreign nationals may utilise this procedure (and only 3 for those in Banking).

Upon the termination of an assignment, the employer should notify the authorities within 3 working days of this taking place. It also now a requirement that all foreign nationals working in Russia are required to obtain a personal ID number. This was previously only the case for those under the HQS work permission.

The work permit quota exemptions for 2014 have been announced for employers wishing to utilise the standard work


permit process (and provided they have not secured their own quota). There are 85 occupations on the list which is an increase from last year’s 59. Please reach out to your PwC contact for a comprehensive list of all the quota-exempt positions should a standard work permit need to be obtained. Please note that quotas do not apply to HQS work permission.

There are also some changes in the documentary requirements for obtaining standard work permits for Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nationals. Medical checks must be passed before the application is filed. This previously could be completed within 30 days of the date that the work permit was issued. The medical checks must now also be passed in Russia at an authorised hospital or medical institution. There have also been changes to the employment contract requirements.

There are also changes in the number of days during which CIS nationals (who are visa-free) are able to stay in Russia without having formal work permission. The number of days is limited to 90 days within each 180 days period which brings their stay in line with the requirements for foreign visa nationals in other countries. This new rule is being strictly regulated

and the violation may result in the individual being banned from entering Russia for three years.

Please reach out to your PwC contact for comprehensive details of the above changes.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has recently tightened immigration compliance on employers and particularly those who employ foreign nationals working on "dependant visas". These are often women who hold dependant visas that have been sponsored by their spouse or father. Most women who are currently employed by education institutions, often as teachers, are likely to be directly impacted by the enforcement of these new rules.

Dependant visas explicitly state that the holder is "not permitted to work". There has been no formal change in this regard to the immigration rules, but more a tightening of loose ends and accepted practices. Often in Saudi Arabia, what takes place in practice might differ slightly from what is written in law. As such, despite this annotation on dependant

visas, it was historically common practice for companies to hire the dependents of foreign nationals who were working in the country.

It is now mandatory for employers to ensure that they are the formal sponsors of the visas for all foreign nationals working for them. This will mean that in some instances transferring sponsorship where an individual holds a visa sponsored by another party (including family). The main purpose of this new stricter application of the immigration rules is to allow the authorities to have far greater control on the number of expatriates working in the region and to allow close monitoring of the 'Saudisation' ratio of employers (which is the is the ratio of local worker to foreign workers). The new rules are not focused on curbing the rights of dependants but more a general drive from the authorities at increasing local employment.

As such, many women are now increasingly hesitant to work given they will now need to transfer their visas from family sponsorship to employer sponsorship. They are worried that should they cease working for their employer, they may not be able to transfer their visa back to their spouse or father's sponsorship.

Though many women believe this places them in a very vulnerable position, it is worth noting that the Islamic principle of "Mahram" will still prevail. Mahram means that a woman is required to be accompanied by a blood relative or spouse (a “Mahram/guardian”) and so women would have the right to transfer the sponsorship of their visa back to the sponsorship as dependants of their spouse or father. A woman cannot be forced to leave the country should her legal 'guardian' remain in Saudi Arabia.

Should an employer hire a woman from overseas and not locally, she may be required to leave the country should she cease working for that employer. However, if she has family in Saudi Arabia and once a dependant visa has been issued, she should be able to return. It may sometimes not be possible for an in-country transfer of visa sponsorship from an employer to a family sponsorship if the employer does not issue a 'no objection certificate' and so in these instances the foreign individual may need to make an appeal to the authorities to ensure the employer issues a 'no objection certificate' for the transfer of sponsorship back to the 'Mahram/guardian'.


Singapore

In September 2013, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) which is designed to ensure that fair consideration is given to Singapore nationals before approving employment passes for foreign professional workers. The FCF includes a mandatory advertising requirement, increased scrutiny of HR practices, and enhanced employment pass qualifying requirements. While the MOM are still working to finalise the specific implementation details before August 1, 2014, further details on the changes were recently provided to PwC following meetings with MOM. Most notably, details regarding exemptions from mandatory advertising were provided. It is expected that these details and other implementation arrangements will be confirmed by the MOM in due course.

At the start of March, the MOM consolidated the different tiers of Employment Passes (ie. P1, P2 and Q1) and all will now fall under the heading of "Employment Passes". Other sub-types of Employment Passes, such as "Entre-Pass" and "Personalised Employment Passes" will remain and continue to be referred as such.

The MOM will also be enhancing the card registration services at the Employment Pass Services Centre (EPSC) later in 2014, to enhance customer experience and improve operational effectiveness.

South Africa

Long awaited amendments to the South African Immigration Act are due to be published within the next few weeks and many changes are expected to the current immigration landscape.

The proposed new South African Immigration Regulations will be published within the next few weeks for further public comment. The implementation date of the Regulations will be dependent upon the extent of the public’s response to the consultation which will be open for approximately 30 days from publication.

There are scheduled elections in South Africa in May 2014 which may further impact the timing and extent of actual changes to the new regulations.

Switzerland

Due to growing political pressure, a new constitutional initiative limiting mass immigration was passed on 9

February 2014. A majority vote by the Swiss electorate of 50.34% approved this new provision which will mean that immigration into Switzerland will be restricted by means of quantitative limits and quotas. This policy will affect all types of permits and all categories of foreign nationals.

According to provisions in the new article, quotas will be set at levels which respect the country’s overall economic interests and priority will have to be given to the local workforce when hiring new employees.

The approval of this initiative will undoubtedly have a substantial impact on Switzerland’s relationship with the European Union (EU) as the article contradicts the principles of free movement. There is also concern that the new initiative will impact the implementation of the agreement of free movement of Croatian nationals.

The Swiss Federal Council has announced that it will begin work on the details of the article and they have been given a broad deadline of three years in which to complete this. Although we do not expect any significant changes immediately, it is thought that the authorities will begin employing measures in the near future

including more rigorous checks on work permit applications and possible controls on the labour market.

Until a new legal status has been established, the current immigration laws and agreements between Switzerland and the EU remain in place.

Turkey

Holders of a Turkish residence permit should pay special attention to the expiration date of their permits as the rules around the extension process have changed slightly. Should an applicant’s residence permit expire whilst their work permit extension is being processed by the Ministry, there is the possibility that they may be required to leave Turkey and visit the relevant consulate in their home country to obtain a new work visa. Residence permit holders should therefore ensure that they allow at least 45 days for their residence permits to be extended while the work permit extension is being processed or alternatively ensure that the work permit extension application is submitted at least two months ahead of the expiration.

Resident permit applications made in Istanbul must now be made through an appointment system on the Police Department’s website. Due to the


heavy workload of the Istanbul Police Department, it can now take up to a month for the residence permit application to be approved. We would advise that appointments are scheduled as early as possible.

There has however been a noticeable improvement in the processing time for work permit applications at the Ministry of Labour. Over the last few months, most applications have been approved within 16 days, which is down from the previous 25 days over the summer months.

In order to reduce waiting times at Turkish airports, foreign nationals will no longer be able to obtain tourist and business visas upon arrival and instead will be required to utilise the e-Visa system. This change will come into effect as of 11 April 2014. However, there will be a transitional period where border authorities will maintain existing procedures.

The e-Visa application is expected to take no longer than three minutes and it may even be possible for some qualifying nationals to obtain their e-Visa at the airport using an interactive kiosk.

Please do reach out to your PwC contact should you require further details on this new process.

UAE

Following the decision of the European Parliament to allow visa-free travel for UAE passport holders to the Schengen Area countries, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now extended its visa on arrival programme to include an additional 13 EU countries. This means that citizens in all 28 countries of the EU will be able to enter the UAE without the need to apply for a visa prior to their arrival. This change will come into effect from 22 March 2014.

The 13 countries whose citizens will be eligible for this exemption are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Please note that the exemption only applies to those citizens with an ordinary passport.

This is a positive decision for many of our clients.

Uganda

The Ugandan Immigration authorities have announced that they are to strictly enforce the rule that no special pass applications will be granted to first time work permit applicants as an interim short-term solution. Legislation setting out this rule has been in place

since 2010, however it has been widely disregarded until now, in the past many immigration officers would readily issue special passes in circumstances that are not in accordance with the immigration requirements.

The only exception to this is EAC (East Africa Community) members who may be granted a Special Pass while the work permit application is being processed.

Processing time for a work permit application has improved greatly as part of the initiatives of the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, to improve service delivery. In PwC Legal’s experience applications are currently taking two (2) months to process after all supporting documentation is received and submitted in support of the application.

Those wishing to work in Uganda for short periods will still be required to apply for a special pass. The special pass is granted for a period of three (3) months and may be extended to a maximum period of five (5) months at the discretion of the Commissioner. Under this new reinforced strict approach, the special pass must not be used as an interim measure before a work permit is granted.

Furthermore, a special pass is not issued to a holder of a work permit whose permit

has expired as such a person is required to apply for a renewal of the work permit at least a month before expiry of the old permit or leave the country upon expiry of their work permit while pursuing the extension of the work permit. Companies should plan assignments carefully to ensure they are utilising the right permit for their employees from the outset to avoid any future issues.

United Kingdom

The Home Office announced its proposed fee changes for 2014-2015 for visas, immigration and nationality applications and wider premium services. The proposals will be laid before Parliament mid-March and if successful, will come into effect from 6 April 2014, with a small number of overseas fees taking effect from 31 March 2014.

Further to previous updates, applicants from certain listed countries (including China, India and Nigeria) are required to undertake Tuberculosis (TB) screening before they are able to submit an entry clearance application seeking immigration permission for more than 6 months.

We have recently obtained confirmation from the Home Office that there is an exemption to this requirement. Applicants who have been resident in the UK for at


least 6 months prior to their application, and are only returning to their country of legal residence in order to submit an entry clearance application, are not required to undertake TB screening. This exemption means that eligible migrants, and their eligible family members, can submit their applications without the usually mandatory TB screening certificate.

This exemption is very useful and has the potential to reduce the amount of time an applicant must remain outside of the UK for the submission of their application which we expect to be of great benefit to our clients.

Vietnam

Companies are now required to obtain approval of their forecasted use of foreign nationals on an annual basis. These forecasts will need to be approved by the Chairman of the People’s Committee of a province/city before a work permit can be applied for.

Details are still being released on how this will be implemented and PwC Vietnam are closely monitoring the situation.


Due to the expansive size of our network, many of our regional firms circulate newsletters which focus in more depth on immigration updates and issues relevant to their regions. Should you have an interest in any of these, please reach out to the relevant contact to arrange.

Regional Newsletters

Asia Pacific NewsletterJenny Lee, Manager, [email protected]

Africa NewsletterKimona Chetty, Manager, South [email protected]

Brazil NewsletterEduardo Depassier, Senior Associate, [email protected]

UK NewsletterAndrea Als, Manager, UK [email protected]


This publication has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this publication without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication, and, to the extent permitted by law, PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP, its members, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it.

© 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP. All rights reserved. PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP is a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity.

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