Immigration news: China eases fingerprinting mandate for some visas, New Zealand extends maximum continuous stay period

Applicants eligible for single- or double-entry visas to China for business (M Category), tourist (L Category), short-term family visit to Chinese citizens (Q2 Category), transit (G Category), and crew (C Category) will not have to undergo the fingerprint data collection process. (Photo by Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels)

The Embassy of China in India has announced that until December 31, 2023, Indians applying for several Chinese visa categories will be exempt from collection of biometric data (fingerprints). According to the Embassy’s press release, applicants eligible for single- or double-entry visas for business (M Category), tourist (L Category), short-term family visit to Chinese citizens (Q2 Category), transit (G Category), and crew (C Category) will not have to undergo the fingerprint data collection process. Until now, all Indian applicants aged 14-70 had to provide fingerprint data.

If those under age 14 and those over 70 years of age had their biometric data collected in the past five years and hold the same passport, they are also exempt from fingerprinting.

To apply for a Chinese visa, applicants must also submit a passport photo, proof of current address, proof of roundtrip flight or departing flight, proof of accommodation, and itinerary for the trip. All previous Chinese visas issued to the applicant must also be submitted.

Maximum continuous stay in New Zealand

From November 2023, migrants seeking an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) on the basis of a permanent role, may be granted a visa valid for up to 5 years. After 5 years on an AEWV, they will have to leave New Zealand for at least 12 months, unless they are on a pathway to residence or have a residence application pending.

This revision is under the Skilled Migrant Category Resident visa, which will require many migrants to gain work experience in New Zealand, before they can apply for residence.

Existing AEWV holders with a 3-year visa will be able to apply for another AEWV that will allow them to stay in New Zealand for up to 5 years (in total). Employers will not need a job check for this if the workers' visa conditions remain identical.

Currently, there are three skills-based pathways that allows individuals to get New Zealand residence:

· Skilled Migrant Resident pathway

· Green List pathway, and

· Care Workforce and Transport Sector Agreement pathways.

Some of the visas on these pathways allows individuals to apply for residence straight away, such as the Straight to Residence Visa. Other pathways may require to work in New Zealand before one can apply for residence, such as the Work to Residence Visa.

All applicants will have to meet specified requirements for their pathway, along with standard requirements in areas like age, English language proficiency, health, and character.

UK eases visa rules for construction workers

Reeling under severe labour shortage, the United Kingdom has decided to make changes to its rules and allow the building industry to bring in workers from abroad more easily. Bricklayers and masons; roofers, roof tilers and slaters; carpenters and joiners; plasterers and other construction workers have been added to the government’s ‘shortage occupation list’. Fishing jobs have also been added to the list. The list already includes care workers, engineers, web designers and laboratory technicians, along with healthcare roles.

Applicants, however, will need a sponsored job offer from an employer and must meet English language requirements.

Spain restructures temporary residence permit rules

Spain has eased its temporary residence permit rules by stating that foreigners who hold a temporary residence permit will no longer have their permit revoked even if they spend over six months outside the territory of Spain.

Under the revised rules, foreigners who hold a Spanish temporary residence permit can travel abroad for more than six months within a year without having to worry about the status of their permit.

Previously, the temporary residence permit was revoked if the holder stayed outside Spain for more than six months.

The current rule that does not permit a foreigner to stay out of the country for more than ten months within a five-year period prior to the permanent residence permit application continues to remain in place.

USCIS publishes revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form

On August 1, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised version of Form 1-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form). Among the improvements to the form is a checkbox employers enrolled with E-Verify can use, to indicate they remotely examined identity and employment authorization documents under an alternative procedure authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Federal Register document will now provide an alternative for certain employers to remotely examine Form I-9 documents, instead of the current requirement to examine documents in-person. To participate in the remote examination of Form I-9 documents under the DHS-authorized alternative procedure, employers must be enrolled in E-Verify, examine and retain copies of all documents, conduct a live video interaction with the employee, and create an E-Verify case if the employee is a new hire.

Renew Portugal Residence Permit Automatically

All foreigners whose residence permits will expire by September 30,2023, can now renew them automatically, the Portuguese government has announced. It may be noted that the renewal can be  done only online on the portal of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).

The residence permits expiring in the following quarter can be renewed automatically without the need to go in person to a service desk, with the citizen simply accessing ‘Área Pessoal’ with their details (email and password) on the SEF portal and going to ‘Renovação Automática’ (automatic renewal), SEF said in a statement.