General Updates
Belgium
Effective 26 May 2022, government fees for residence applications have been amended.
The changes include:
- A decrease from €366 to €126 for a single permit application for researchers, highly-qualified employees, work, seasonal work or intracompany transfer.
- A decrease from €209 to €181 for the spouse or partner of a residence permit holder.
- An increase from €63 to €168 for holders of long-term residence in another EU member state.
Finland
Effective 1 June 2022, a new fast-track service promises residence permit processing in two weeks for specialists, start-up entrepreneurs, and those applying for an ICT residence permit or an EU Blue Card.
Simultaneously, the government has introduced the national D visa to enable visa-required applicants to travel to Finland and start work as soon as they receive a positive residence decision. Successful applicants with a D visa (or from a visa-free country) will not have to wait for their residence permit card to be delivered abroad. Instead, the residence permit card will be delivered to the address in Finland that they have given in the application.
Fast-track applications must be submitted via the Enter Finland online service. In addition, the employer of a specialist, ICT residence permit applicant and EU Blue Card applicant must use the Enter Finland for Employers online service. The fast track can only be used for applications sent from abroad.
United Kingdom
Effective 30 May 2022, the new High Potential Individual (HPI) route allows people who have graduated from certain eligible universities in the past five years to live and work in the UK without a sponsoring employer for at least two years. Those with a PhD or other doctoral qualification can stay for three years.
The HPI visa allows the holder to work in most jobs, look for work, be self-employed, live in the UK with their partner and children (if eligible) do voluntary work, travel abroad and return to the UK
HPI holders cannot apply for most benefits or the State Pension, work as a professional sportsperson, extend the visa or apply to settle permanently in the UK.
The lists of eligible universities, based on global rankings, vary according to the month and year of graduation. Applicants must prove they can read, write, speak and understand English to at least level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale.
COVID-19 Updates
Germany
- Effective 1 June 2022, the requirements to register before entry, provide a negative test result and to quarantine only applies to travellers who have stayed in an area of variant of concern.
- Entry is permitted without restrictions for residents of:
- EU member states.
- Schengen-associated states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland).
- The following non-EU countries: China (on condition of mutuality), Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan.
- Residents of other countries are only permitted to enter Germany if they have an urgent need to travel (please see “What constitutes an urgent need for travel?“) or if they are fully vaccinated (please see “What rules apply for fully vaccinated people?”). A person is considered a resident of a country if they have their domicile or habitual residence there. A person is specifically considered to have their domicile in a country if they have spent the past six months there.
- Entry is permitted for any purpose for fully vaccinated travellers 14 days after they received their last required vaccine dose.
- Travellers need to have been vaccinated with one of the vaccines listed by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut to benefit from the eased restrictions. Currently, only vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are recognised.
- Certificate of vaccination completed at least 14 days and up to 270 days after receiving the full vaccination (or any time after a booster dose). Double dose or single dose vaccines authorised by the Paul Ehrlich Institute are accepted: Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZenica, Novavax, and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen.
- Regardless of country of origin, entry is also permitted for third-country nationals with an urgent need to enter (see more here).
- Effective 1 June 2022, the COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin is recognized by the Germany authorities for entry to Germany.
- A 2-dose course of Covaxin is valid from the 14th day up to 270 days from the second dose, after which a booster is required.
- Entry is not permitted from areas of variant of concern, regardless of vaccination status or urgent need, with few exceptions:
- German citizens and persons who are resident in Germany with a current right to reside in the country, as well as their spouses, partners (if entering Germany from outside the EU or the United Kingdom / Northern Ireland: only partners living in the same household) and minor children
- persons catching a connecting flight who do not leave the transit zone of a passenger airport and
- few other special cases.
- No states/regions are currently considered high-risk or virus variant areas.
Italy
- Effective 1 June 2022, travellers to Italy from any country are no longer required to submit a COVID-19 green certificate (COVID pass) or other equivalent certification.
