PEREGRINE NEWS
Welcome to the Peregrine News digest for April 2016!
Immiguru
In April we added three new immigration processes to Immiguru:
We also welcomed new partners in Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru and Argentina to our
network.
More News and Events
In April the Peregrine team had a great time at the EuRA conference in Malta this April, successfully
hosting EuRAs first ever Immigration Symposium on Tuesday 19 April and meeting many of our
partners, clients and friends. If you attended, dont forget to complete the EuRA survey here so we
can continue to make this an event everyone looks forward to!
Finally, join us for an Immigo webinar on Tuesday 24 May at 1.30PM GMT (UK time). The webinar
topic is Creating Template Processes and is free to attend for Peregrines Immigo clients. Places
are limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, so please contact us at
training@peregrineimmigration.co.uk to book your spot now.
Table of Contents
UNITED STATES FISCAL YEAR 2017 H-1B CAP REACHED ALREADY
2
COLOMBIA ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR TP-4 WORK VISA APPLICATIONS
2
VENEZUELA DELAYS IN DOCUMENT PROCESSING UNTIL JUNE
3
MOZAMBIQUE NEW RULES FOR ANNUAL SUBMISSION OF NOMINAL LIST OF EMPLOYEES
3
SWITZERLAND END OF IMMIGRATION LIMITATIONS FOR BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN NATIONALS
4
INDIA CHANGES TO POLICE VERIFICATION IN BANGALORE
5
CTE D'IVOIRE BIOMETRIC DATA CAPTURE INTRODUCED FOR RESIDENCE PERMIT APPLICATIONS
6
GHANA PETROLEUM COMMISSION INTRODUCES NEW FEES AND APPLICATION INFORMATION FORM FOR WORK
PERMIT CASES
6
RUSSIA IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES REORGANISED
7
INDONESIA VISA-FREE ENTRY EXTENDED TO 79 MORE NATIONALITIES; NOW APPLIES TO BUSINESS VISITS
7
AUSTRALIA ADDITIONAL SPONSORSHIP OBLIGATION FOR SUBCLASS 457 VISAS
8
MORE FROM PEREGRINE
9
Exemptions
USCIS will continue to accept and process
petitions that are otherwise exempt from the
cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B
workers who have been counted previously
against the cap, and who still retain their cap
number, will also not be counted toward the
Fiscal Year 2017 H-1B cap.
USCIS will continue to accept and process
petitions submitted to:
Extend the amount of time a
current H-1B worker may remain
in the United States;
Change the terms of employment
for current H-1B workers;
Allow current H-1B workers to
change employers; and
Allow current H-1B workers to
work concurrently in a second H1B position.
Action Items
Note that the H-1B caps for Fiscal
Year 2017 have already been
reached, although bear in mind
that many H-1B petitions are
exempt from the cap.
COLOMBIA Additional
Documents Required for
TP-4 Work Visa
Applications
Since early March 2016, the Colombian
Foreign Ministry has been requesting
additional documents in support of
applications for TP-4 temporary work visas
and beneficiary visas for dependents.
Action Items
Employers in Colombia should be
ready to submit these additional
documents at the time of
application, to avoid delays. If the
documents are requested by the
Ministry at a later stage, it may
take up to 30 calendar days to
finally approve the visa.
At present, the employment
contract is only being requested
in the case of TP-4 visas.
However, it is expected that the
employment contract may also be
requested for applications for TP13 work visas for local hires.
Action Items
VENEZUELA Delays in
Document Processing Until
June
From 7 April until the end of June 2016, delays
are expected in all governmental entities in
Venezuela related to document processing,
including document legalisations, work permit
applications and visa renewals.
Nominal List of
Employees
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and
Social Security has implemented Decree
number 104/2015, published in November
2015, amending the procedure for the
mandatory annual submission by employers
of the nominal list of their local and foreign
national employees.
Action Points
Employers in Mozambique must
ensure that they submit their
nominal list by 30 April via the
new online portal.
SWITZERLAND End of
Immigration Limitations for
Bulgarian and Romanian
Nationals
The Swiss government has confirmed that the
limitations on immigration which are currently
valid for nationals from the European Union
member states Romania and Bulgaria will, as
expected, be lifted as of 1 June 2016. Croatian
nationals will, however, remain subject to
immigration limitations.
Background
According to the safeguard clause (Art. 10
Abs. 4c of the Agreement on free movement
of persons with the EU), the Swiss
government is, until 31 May 2019, entitled to
impose quotas in case immigration from
Bulgaria and Romania surpasses by 10% or
more the median of the previous three years.
Such a decision can be made between 1 June
2017 and 1 June 2018. So far the population
with Bulgarian or Romanian nationality is
relatively small in Switzerland. At the end of
2015 this category made up 0.9% of the
permanent residing population. In the year
2015 the available quotas were not
exhausted.
Action Items
Companies working in Switzerland
should take into account the
forthcoming lifting of immigration
restrictions on Bulgarian and
Romanian nationals.
What is New?
Form C
Action Items
What to Expect
A temporary residence permit application or
"Titre Provisoire de Sjour (TPS)" should be
filed with the National Office of Identification
(ONI) eleven weeks after entry into Cte
d'Ivoire (i.e. a week before the three months
mark).
GHANA Petroleum
Commission Introduces
New Fees and Application
Information Form for Work
Permit Cases
Effective 4 April 2016 the Petroleum
Commission (PC) of Ghana has introduced an
administrative fee of US$100 for work permit
applications.
Also effective 4 April 2016, all work permit
applications should include a completed
information gathering sheet.
New Fee
Action Points
Ensure that resident permit applicants
(including any dependent family
members) attend the ONI in person to
have their biometric data captured,
eleven weeks after entry to
Cted'Ivoire.
New Form
The information gathering sheet must be
completed, printed and attached to every
application. Copies of the sheet are available
to download or can be sent to the applicant
by email upon request. An electronic
application is being developed to facilitate the
process.
Action Items
Action Items
Ensure that the new fee is paid
according to the new fee payment
procedure, and that an information
gathering sheet is correctly
completed and submitted in support
of each work permit application at the
Petroleum Commission.
RUSSIA Immigration
Authorities Reorganised
Effective 5 April 2016, the Russian President
has signed a decree reorganising the federal
immigration authorities.
INDONESIA Visa-Free
Entry Extended to 79 More
Nationalities; Now Applies
to Business Visits
Effective 10 March 2016, visa-free entry to
Indonesia for up to 30 days has been
extended to 79 more nationalities, bringing
the total number of qualifying countries to
169.
The new law also allows visa-free visits for
business meetings for the first time for nonASEAN nationalities.
Purpose of Travel
A major advantage for businesses in
Indonesia, according to PNB Immigration Law
Firm, is that the new Regulation now allows
business meetings without the requirement to
obtain a business visa in Indonesia.
However, it is important that a foreign
national entering Indonesia visa-free only
attends meetings, and does not participate in
any activity which could be construed as
"work", as this can lead to deportation.
AUSTRALIA Additional
Sponsorship Obligation for
Subclass 457 Visas
Effective 19 April 2016, business sponsors
must declare in writing that they do not (and
will not) engage in discriminatory recruitment
practices on the grounds of immigration
status or citizenship.
This is in addition to the existing Sponsorship
Obligations outlined here by our partner in
Australia, Visa Executive.
Action Items
Note that nationals of the 169
countries listed here can now travel
to Indonesia visa-free for business
meetings as well as for tourism.
Action Items
Business sponsors should be prepared
to provide a written declaration that
they do not and will not engage in
discriminatory recruitment practices.
Processing times, however, should
not be affected.