Estonia
Effective 17 July 2023, posted worker notifications must be submitted in TEIS, the self-service platform of the Labour Inspectorate.
Previously, employees posted to Estonia had to register by filling in a registration form found on the website of the Labour Inspectorate and forwarding it to the Labour Inspectorate by email.
Employers are obliged to register employees posted to Estonia with the Labour Inspectorate before the employee commences work.
To register a posting notice, the following information must be submitted in TEIS:
- the name, personal identification code or registry code, area of activity, details of residence or location and means of communication of the employer of the posted employee;
- the name and details of the means of communication of the contact person who represents the employer of the posted employee;
- the number of posted employees, their names and personal identification codes or dates of birth and numbers of their identity documents;
- the expected duration of the posting and the scheduled start date and end date;
- the name, personal identification code or registry code, area of activity, details of residence or location and means of communication of the contracting entity or contracting authority for whom the posted employee works in Estonia;
- the name and/or details of the means of communication of the contact person who represents the contracting entity or contracting authority for whom the posted employee works in Estonia;
- information regarding the area of activity in which the posted employee will be working in Estonia, and the address of the place in which the posted employee will perform the work.
Finland
Effective 1 September 2023, the customer service counter at the Finnish Consulate general in St Petersburg will be closed. This follows the Russian government’s announcement on 6 July 2023 that the Consulate General will close on 1 October 2023.
From 1 August 2023, the St Petersburg office of Visa Facilitation Services Global (VSF) will not receive applications for visas and residence permits to Finland.
- Moreover, due to limited resources, applications for visas and residence permits to Finland will not be received at the Embassy of Finland in Moscow or at any of the VFS offices in Russia between 1 August and 31 August 2023. Applications submitted before 1 August 2023 will be processed as normal.
From 1 September 2023, the Finnish Embassy in Moscow will assume the duties for consular and immigration matters previously handled in St Petersburg (all passport and notarial services and all cases of Finnish nationals needing help in Russia).
The Foreign Ministry will provide updates regarding the possible submission of applications for visas and residence permits at the VFS office in St Petersburg from 1 September 2023.
Ireland
Effective 31 July 2023, the government has implemented significant amendments to citizenship and naturalisation law in Ireland, contained in the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023.
Among the changes are the following:
- Children born in Ireland who do not automatically qualify for Irish citizenship by birth are now eligible for naturalisation after three years of residency in Ireland, rather than the five years required previously.
- Minor applicants for naturalisation aged 14 or above will be subject to a good character assessment.
- Applicants are now permitted up to 70 days of absences from Ireland in the continuous year preceding a naturalisation application. This replaces the “six-week rule”.
- An additional 30-days of absences may be permitted if these are due to exceptional circumstances. These exceptional circumstances may include health, family, employment and study.
These changes apply to naturalisation applications which are pending as well as to new applications.
Lithuania
The government has approved increased fees for immigration services, including for the issuance and renewal of passports, identity cards, residence permits and citizenship status.
The fee for issuance or renewal of a personal identity card is increased from EUR 8.6 to EUR 10, while the passport fee is increased by EUR 7. The rates for five-day or same-day service have also increased.
United Kingdom
Effective 31 July 2023, the government has introduced stricter “good character” rules for citizenship applications from convicted criminals who have received prison sentences of 12 months or longer.
The changes remove the previous rule whereby some criminals could be granted British citizenship after a prescribed number of years had passed since the end of their sentence – regardless of the type of crime or where it was committed.
Good character requirements now also include factors such as criminal convictions, immigration offending and serious behaviour like war crimes, terrorism or genocide.
