Global Immigration News
April 2010
India
Justification Letter for E-visas
All applications for employment visas to India (E-visas) must now be supported by a ‘justification letter’ from the Indian employer. The ‘justification letter’ must clearly state:
- The reasons as to why the foreign national is being employed over an Indian national.
- The details of the prospective employee’s expertise and qualifications
- Whether the prospective employee will fill a managerial position
- Any steps undertaken to try to hire an Indian national
This new requirement follows a series of changes by the Ministry of Home Affairs that started in October 2009 in a bid to crack down on foreign nationals working in India under the business visa status.
Bonheur has been working on assisting our clients with drafting the ‘justification letters’, please contact us for more information and assistance.
Qatar
Visitor visa no longer available
After May 1, 2010, foreign visa national will no longer be able to apply for a visitor visa on arrival in Qatar. Currently nationals from 33 countries including the U.S. and the UK are able to obtain visas on arrival as long as they enter using Qatar Airways. From May 1, 2010, foreign visitors should obtain the necessary visa from the Qatari Embassy in their country of residence prior to visiting Qatar.
Nationals from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries or nationals holding residence permits for a GCC member country will not need to apply for additional entry visas. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Bonheur is able to offer a dedicated visa service for Qatar, please contact us for further information and assistance.
Switzerland
New federal quotas
As you are aware from our previous newsletter, the quotas in most cantons in Switzerland were exhausted and only permits falling under the quota exemption were being issued in Switzerland. This follows the decision by Switzerland to reduce the quotas for 2010 at the end of 2009 in an attempt to ease the rising unemployment rate.
On April 28, the Federal council announced the opening of new federal quotas for foreign nationals employed on assignment in Switzerland. An additional 4500 spaces for short term (“L”) permits have been approved, and an additional 1000 spaces for long term (“B”) permits. The new quota will be released on July 1, 2010.
We are already preparing applications to be filed as soon as the new quota is released and understand that a large number of Swiss based entities have been voicing their concern about the lack of quotas and claiming that they have were suffering from a “drastic reduction” in specialist staff.
Please note that the new quotas announced are not applicable for assignments of less than four months’ duration or for EU 17/EFTA nationals (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) who are employed by a Swiss entity (under a local contract), as neither category is subject to quota provisions. Please further note that renewals are also not affected by quotas.
We would recommend that our clients who are considering Swiss assignments in the future should proceed with applications as early as possible.
Should you require further information or assistance in relation to any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us at contact@bonheuroutsourcing.com