PLG Global Immigration Update
June 23, 2010
Thanks for entrusting Pearl Law Group for your global immigration updates. As always, we welcome your comments and questions.
China — Immigration Procedural Changes in Shenzhen
The Department of Shenzhen Public and Security Bureau now requires translated and authenticated marriage and birth certificates for new dependent visa applications (effective June 2, 2010) and renewals (effective June 8, 2010). Marriage and birth certificates should be translated and authenticated by the Chinese consular post in the foreign national's home country. This new policy is issued for all nationalities, but excludes English language documents. The new regulations are immediately effective for new applications, although the government will allow a few months of transition before implementing the new policy for renewal cases. After this transition period, applications not meeting this requirement will be rejected.
Applicants may be required to travel to their home locations to have documents translated and authenticated.
India — Bangladesh Removed from the "Prior Reference Category"
Effective immediately, the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi has removed Bangladesh from the Prior Reference Category list. Nationals listed in the "Prior Reference Category" may not have their visa applications decided at Indian consular posts but must be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs for approval. Indian diplomatic posts may now adjudicate visa applications from Bangladeshi nationals without referring cases to New Delhi.
The Prior Reference Category still includes Sri Lanka, the People's Republic of China and Pakistan, as well as any nationals "of Pakistani origin." Applications for these nationals take several months to process and are approved only at the discretion of the Ministry of Home Affairs; in practice such approvals are rare.
We expect some confusion and delay, as is common when a decision is made centrally and implemented by diplomatic posts around the world; however, in the long run, we anticipate this change will make visa application processes considerably easier for Bangladeshi nationals. While visa applications for Bangladeshi nationals should no longer be subject to protracted processing times, there may be some delay in implementing this change at the Indian diplomatic posts worldwide.
Russia — Highly Qualified Workers Benefit from New Work Permit Program
Starting July 1, 2010, eligible companies looking to hire highly qualified foreign specialists will be exempt from Russia's work permit quota and employment permit regimes. Eligible companies must be Russian legal entities or accredited branch offices of foreign legal entities in order to sponsor foreign nationals for the new highly qualified specialist work permits. Employers must be able to demonstrate that they have not violated any rules or procedures relating to the employment of foreign nationals for the two years prior to their application.
Representative (or unaccredited) offices of foreign legal entities will not be able to sponsor foreign workers under the new permit program. They must continue to use the standard process for obtaining work permits for any potential foreign employees, even if those employees are highly qualified.
To be considered as a highly qualified specialist, a foreign employee's prospective annual gross income must exceed two million rubles (approximately $65,000 USD) and be paid in accordance with all Russian labor and contract laws. The foreign national must also have considerable experience, skills and achievements in his or her field of employment, although Russian authorities have not specified the levels necessary to qualify. There is no limit on the number of highly qualified specialists an employer may hire.
The new program is expected to reduce work permit processing times to 14 business days, from the current three- to six-month average.
The validity of work permits under the program will be three years. Highly qualified foreign workers will be able to extend their stay, provided that they file for renewal at least 30 days before the expiration of their visa. Work permits for highly qualified specialists can be issued for multiple regions within Russia, rather than a single jurisdiction, provided the highly qualified foreign national will actually work in the regions covered by the permit. Lastly, highly qualified specialists will pay lower Russian income taxes than other foreign workers.
Employers who violate any of the new program's requirements, or any other immigration regulation, may be barred from using the highly qualified specialist program for two years.
UK — Priority Processing for U.S. Visa Applications
On June 1st, British consulates in the U.S. introduced a "priority processing" route for visa applications. Details are still forthcoming.
The "priority" fee is $150 USD (on top of the standard visa fee, which varies depending on visa type) and will move the application to the front of the queue. The participating consulates (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) hope to process such applications within 48 hours, although they make no guarantees.
"Priority processing" will be available for all non-settlement visas. However, additional factors—such as an adverse immigration history—may affect decision time, even when priority processing is used.
Currently, "priority processing" is only available at the consulates mentioned above. The implementation in the United States is possible partly because biometric data (fingerscans) for visa applications are already collected for each applicant through one of the 129 Application Support Centers throughout the country.
Standard applications are not expected to be affected by the introduction of "priority processing" and remain at approximately five working days.
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The PLG Global Immigration Update provides periodic alerts about noteworthy developments in business and corporate immigration and related topics. It is provided as information only and is not a substitute for legal counsel. If you have questions about the NewsFlash, please contact your PLG attorney or write plgglobal@immigrationlaw.com.
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