BRAZIL – Police Strike to Mean Delays in Immigration Services

Posted on October 31, 2014

A Federal Police strike in Brazil is expected to begin indefinitely this week, causing delays in all immigration services. Reduced staff will result in longer wait times for new work visa holders that must register within 30 days of entry… Read more »


IRELAND – Scanned Signatures Now Allowed on Employment Permit Applications

Posted on October 31, 2014

Effective immediately, Ireland’s Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation recently announced that scanned signatures will now be accepted on employment permit applications. This will streamline the process and reduce the time involved. However, the legal representative’s signature must still be… Read more »


ITALY – Expedited Process for Intracompany Transferees

Posted on October 31, 2014

As a result of a fast track program implemented by the Ministry of Interior, non-EU intracompany transferees in Italy will now be eligible to receive expedited two to three-week work permit processing. The same documentation requirements are still expected of… Read more »


MALAYSIA – Processing Delays at Expatriates Services Division

Posted on October 31, 2014

Severe processing delays have been experienced at the Malaysian Immigration Department (MYID), including applications in process and also those that currently being reviewed by the Expatriates Services Division (ESD). Most applications are taking more than double the processing time in… Read more »


MEXICO – New Rules for Several Visas

Posted on October 31, 2014

These new rules come as a result from earlier legislation that placed all Mexican visas into only three categories. The first main change to the legislation is that there are lower financial thresholds, which means that all visa applicants (visitor… Read more »


PHILIPPINES – Implementation of Alien Registration Program

Posted on October 31, 2014

Registration with the Philippine Bureau of Immigration’s new Alien Registration Program (ARP) currently remains voluntary, but will eventually become mandatory for certain categories of foreign nationals. The time at which registration becomes required has yet to be determined. The program… Read more »