Cyprus Changes to citizenships rules On 30 November 2023, the parliament passed amendments to the Civil Registry Law designed to encourage highly skilled workers to apply for citizenship in Cyprus. Highly qualified employees of foreign companies who have level A2 Greek language knowledge can apply for citizenship after residing for five years in Cyprus. Those
Immigration Updates – 7th of December Read More »
Estonia Residence permit appointment booking opens Effective 27 November 2023, applicants can book appointments for submitting applications in December for residence permits on the basis of the 2024 immigration quota. The recently-announced 2024 quota is 1303 permits, in the following categories: Some foreign workers are excluded from the quota, including those working in information and
Immigration Updates – 1st of December Read More »
European Union The Council of the EU has agreed its negotiating mandate for updating the EU Long-Term Residents Directive. This directive, from 2003, sets out the conditions under which third-country nationals can acquire EU long-term resident status. In order to acquire EU long-term resident status, third-country nationals have to legally and continuously reside in a
Immigration Updates – 24th of November Read More »
On November 7th, China took a significant step in international cooperation by simplifying the process of certifying public documents used abroad when it joined the Hague Apostille Convention. What is the Hague Apostille? As mentioned previously, the Hague Apostille is an agreement established in The Hague (Netherlands) that streamlines the authentication of public documents used abroad
China takes a step forward by eliminating the hague apostille Read More »
European Union Council adopts online visa plan On 13 November 2023, the European Council adopted new rules allowing people who plan to travel to the Schengen area to apply online for a visa. The two regulations adopted will create an EU visa application platform. With a few exceptions, applications for Schengen visas will be made
Immigration Updates – 17th of November Read More »
Denmark New short-term work permit exemption According to Danish business groups, from 17 November 2023, a new rule issued by the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration will exempt non-EU/EEA nationals employed by an intra-company group from requiring a work permit for two separate 15-day periods within a 180-day period. Germany Skilled worker law implementation
Immigration Updates – 10th of November Read More »
Denmark Extension of Residence for Refugees from Ukraine The government has decided that residence permits issued for people displaced from Ukraine can be extended until 17 March 2025. The Immigration Service will automatically assess whether a residence permit under the Special Act can be extended. If the holder still complies with the requirements laid down
Immigration Updates – 3rd of November Read More »
Denmark Updated calculation of residence under short-term track SIRI has updated the guidelines for calculating residence under the short-term track, within the Fast Track Scheme. Under the short-term track, applicants can be granted a residence and work permit that will last for up to 90 days. The update provides further information on how to calculate
Immigration Updates – 27th of October Read More »
Finland Pilot of automated decision-making for residence permits for study Effective 19 October 2023, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has started using automated decision-making in the processing of residence permits for study. Negative decisions and decisions that require individual consideration are not issued automatically. Migri issues an automated decision if the application meets all the
Immigration Updates – 20th of October Read More »
Finland Extension of temporary protection Finland is implementing the extension of the temporary protection mechanism agreed by the Council of the European Union on 28 September 2023. The temporary protection mechanism was originally activated on 24 February 2022 and will now be extended until 4 March 2025. According to the decision of the Council of
Immigration Updates – 13th of October Read More »
