Global Immigration News
May 2010
Angola
New regulations on recruitment and employment in the Oil Sector
The Ministry of Petroleum has recently enacted two executive decrees which cover the hiring of foreign personnel for carrying out petroleum operations in Angola. This act includes further specific provisions in respect of program contracts, human resources development plans and the hiring foreign personnel.
Should you require further information in relation to these decrees, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Australia
New Skilled Occupation List published
The new Skilled Occupation List (“SOL”) was announced by the Minister for Immigration on 17 May 2010 and is designed to deliver highly skilled migrants and crackdown on people seeking permanent residency through low-value education courses.
The new SOL contains 181 highly valued occupations, only people with relevant qualifications in the occupations listed on the SOL will be eligible for independent general skilled migration.
The new SOL will come into effect on 1 July 2010 to replace the old list which contained more than 400 occupations. It will be updated annually. People who have already applied for a General Skilled Migration visa will not be affected by the implementation of the new SOL.
Hong Kong
Visa Extensions
Foreign nationals in the following immigration categories may now apply online for their visa extensions through the Government of Hong Kong website:
- Employment visa holders and their dependents
- Nationals of the People’s Republic of China who are admitted under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals and their dependents
- Foreign graduates of Hong Kong educational institutions and their dependents
- Technical or service personnel admitted under the Supplementary Labor Scheme
- Student visa holders and their dependents
- Dependents of Hong Kong permanent residents
- Dependents of Hong Kong residents who are not subject to a limit of stay
Online applications should be filed at least four weeks before the expiration of a foreign national’s current visa. The applicant should be in Hong Kong both at the time of the application and when it is time to collect the extended visa.
Qatar
Extension of visas upon arrival
The Qatari embassy has extended the visas upon arrival to nationals of 34 countries. The traveller must have a passport valid for a minimum of 6 (six) months as of the date of entry into Qatar and a valid credit or debit card to pay the fees (which are approximately 16 GBP).
The countries whose nationals can acquire a visa upon arrival are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, The Netherlands, USA, UK, and Vatican City.
UK
New UK immigration policy
Following the UK election, the new coalition Government has stated that there should be an annual limit imposed on the number of non-EU visas granted and that the broad aim of the government is to bring net migration down from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands.
It is intended that a consultation will be undertaken in due course with business and other groups to determine the most suitable mechanism for setting the annual limit.
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