Peregrine News August 2015

peregrine: GLOBAL IMMIGRATION MADE SIMPLE VAT registration number: 111 7916 32

Peregrine Immigration Management Ltd, Registered in England and Wales: 7569415

This month we have added 8 new immigration processes to Immiguru, including a new

destination country - Malta.

Immiguru now contains more than 1100 immigration processes to 90+ destination

countries, which our 190+ partners help us to keep up-to-date to reflect changes to rules

and procedures around the world.

We have also launched a useful new feature within Immigo, our global immigration case

management cloud software automatic emails to specific contacts on key milestones in a

case.

Table of Contents

SWITZERLAND QUOTAS FOR EU/EFTA L PERMITS EXHAUSTED FOR THIRD QUARTER OF 2015 2

INDIA E-TOURIST VISA EXTENDED TO 36 COUNTRIES 2

PORTUGAL PORTUGUESE IMMIGRATION AND BORDERS SERVICE STRIKE 3

AUSTRALIA UPCOMING DATA MATCHING PROGRAMME 3

APEC BUSINESS TRAVEL CARD TO BE EXTENDED TO FIVE YEARS 4

PHILIPPINES NATIONALS OF 41 COUNTRIES MAY BE ADMITTED WITH PASSPORTS VALID FOR UNDER 6 MONTHS

4

UNITED KINGDOM TIER 1 INVESTOR AND ENTREPRENEUR APPLICATIONS REQUIRE CRIMINAL RECORD

CERTIFICATE FROM 1 SEPTEMBER 2015 5

SPAIN CHANGES TO ENTREPRENEURS LAW INCLUDE NEW EU INTRACOMPANY TRANSFER AUTHORISATION 6

MORE FROM PEREGRINE 7

PEREGRINE NEWS

August 2015



SWITZERLAND Quotas for EU/EFTA L Permits Exhausted for Third Quarter of 2015

The quota for L permits for the third quarter

of 2015, for short-term assignees from

European Union (EU) and European Free

Trade Agreement (EFTA) countries, has been

filled.

Who is Affected? New, incoming EU/EFTA nationals who are

assigned to Switzerland but remain on foreign

employment contracts will not be issued L

permits until the fourth quarter of 2015. New

short-term L permit quotas for EU/EFTA

nationals will be available from 1 October

2015. Some cantons may, in exceptional

circumstances, continue to accept new

applications in this category; other cantons

will not. This should be checked on a case-by-

case basis.

Who is Not Affected? The quota for B permits, and permits not

subject to quotas, such as the 120 day permit

and the 4 month short term permit) are not

affected. Quotas for non-EU/EFTA nationals

are also not affected.

Background The Swiss government has reduced the work

permit quotas for the year 2015 (see our alert

of 1 December 2014). The quotas are

allocated to the cantons on a quarterly basis.

Action Items

Allow for possible delays with sending

EU/EFTA nationals to Switzerland.

Contact your supplier for any new

EU/EFTA national assignments to

Switzerland, as pending applications

will be treated differently depending

on the canton..

INDIA e-Tourist Visa extended to 36 Countries

The Indian government extended its e-Tourist

Visa (eTV) scheme twice, firstly to include

nationals of China, Hong Kong SAR (Special

Administrative Region) and Macau SAR , and

then to include applicants from a further 36

countries effective Saturday 15 August, thus

bringing the number of eligible nationalities

for the eTV scheme to 113. It has also added

seven more Indian airports as designated

entry airports for this immigration status.

Who is Eligible? The eTV is now available to nationals of the

following additional countries (unless they are

of Pakistani origin or holders of Diplomatic or

Official passports): Andorra; Argentina;

Armenia; Aruba; Belgium; Bolivia; Colombia;

Cuba; East Timor; Guatemala; Hungary;

Ireland; Jamaica; Malta; Malaysia; Mongolia;

Monaco; Mozambique; Netherlands; Panama;

Peru; Poland; Portugal; Seychelles; Slovenia;

Spain; St Lucia; St Vincent & the Grenadines;

Suriname; Sweden; Taiwan; Tanzania; Turks &

Caicos Island; United Kingdom: Uruguay and

Venezuela. A full list of eligible nationalities

can be found here.

Which Airports are participating? The airports that were already part of the

scheme were Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa,

Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and

Trivandrum and they have all been

successfully issuing e-TVs since the launch of

the scheme on 27 November 2014.



Seven more airports have now been

designated as additional ports of entry for the

eTV, bringing the total airports that issue the

eTV on arrival to 16. The new airports

included in the scheme are Ahmedabad,

Amritsar, Gaya, Jaipur, Lucknow, Tirchy and

Varanasi.

Permissible Activities and Duration

of Stay The visa is available to those traveling on

leisure, for short duration medical treatment,

for a "casual business visit" or to meet friends

and relatives. Travellers must show proof of

onward travel and sufficient funds.

As mentioned in previous alerts the definition

of "casual business visit" is not clear and if

there is any uncertainty over whether the

activities to be carried out qualify as a

business visit or not please contact us.

The eTV is valid for 30 days from the date of

arrival in India, is non-extendable, non-

convertible and allows a maximum of two

visits in a calendar year.

How Does it Work? This visa applicant must apply online, at least

four days before the intended date of arrival

to India, for an e-TV. The visa fee (about

US$60) should be paid at this time. A digital

photograph and copy of the passport

information page must be uploaded as part of

the application.

The successful applicant should receive their

eTV within 72 hours, which they must carry at

the time of travel. On arrival in India at one of

16 designated airports, the traveller will go

through biometric registration.

Action Items

Review upcoming trips by qualifying

nationals and bear in mind that the e-

Tourist Visa may be a suitable route in

some business travel cases.

PORTUGAL Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service Strike

Portuguese immigration offices will be closed

today, 13 August 2015, and tomorrow, 14

August 2015, as the administrative staff from

the Portuguese Immigration and Borders

Service (SEF) stage a two day strike.

All booking for appointments for immigration

applications during this time will be re-

scheduled causing delays in current residence

permit applications.

Action Items

Note the closure of Portuguese

immigration offices today and

tomorrow and plan applications

accordingly.

AUSTRALIA Upcoming Data Matching Programme

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

announced on 4 August 2015 that, beginning

in September 2015, it will request

immigration data from the Department of

Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) as

part of a data-matching programme intended

to ensure that certain taxpayers are correctly

meeting their taxation obligations.



What Data Will Be Collected? The ATO will acquire data about visa holders,

their sponsors and migration agents covering

four financial years (from 2014 to 2017),

including names and addresses, visas granted

and arrivals and departures information.

It is estimated that records relating to

approximately one million individuals will be

obtained under this programme and checked

against the ATOs tax records.

Action Items

Ensure that the relevant details of

temporary visa holders are available,

including:

notification to the DIBP if any 457 visa

holder has ceased employment;

any change of position requiring a

new nomination;

any decrease in guaranteed earning;

record of any exemption from

superannuation payments;

notification to the DIBP of any merger

and/or acquisition.

APEC Business Travel Card to be Extended to Five Years

The APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation)

Business Mobility Group, has announced that

its APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) will be

valid for five years from 1 September 2015,

rather than the current three years.

What are the Benefits of the ABTC? The ABTC allows business travellers who are

nationals of participating APEC member

countries to enter participating member

countries for multiple short-term stays (two

to three months) without having to apply for

individual visas or entry permits.

ABTC holders also benefit from fast-track

immigration lanes at major airports in

participating countries.

Who Qualifies for the ABTC? APEC Member Economies fully participating in

the scheme include Australia, Brunei

Darussalam, Chile, China, Hong Kong,

Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico,

New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru,

Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand,

Vietnam, and the Russian Federation.

Canada and the United States are transitional

members of the scheme which allow

cardholders from participating economies to

use fast-track immigration lanes.

Action Items

Consider the newly extended ABTC

for frequent business travellers who

are nationals of participating APEC

economies, to benefit from savings in

immigration costs and visa processing

time;

Postpone applications for the ABTC

until 1 September 2015 or after, to

benefit from the new five-year

validity.

PHILIPPINES Nationals of 41 Countries May be Admitted with Passports Valid for Under 6 Months

Effective 15 July 2015 nationals of 41

countries may enter the Philippines with a

passport or official travel document valid for

less than six months from the date of arrival.



The usual passport validity required for entry

to the Philippines is at least six months from

the date of arrival.

Which Nationalities are Affected? Nationals of the following countries may now

enter the Philippines with passports of less

than six months validity:

Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,

Benin, Brazil, Cambodia,, Canada, Chile,

Cyprus, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece,

Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan,

South Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar,

Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Papua New

Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Saudi

Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland,

Thailand, Turkey, USA, Venezuela.

These are countries whose nationals are

allowed entry to the Philippines without a visa

for a stay not exceeding 30 days, and which

also have an embassy or consulate located in

the Philippines which is authorized to renew

or extend the validity of passports or official

travel documents.

The Bureau of Immigration National

Operations Center (BINOC) will regularly

update the list by confirming with all

embassies and consulates located in the

Philippines on their authority to renew or

extend passports.

Action Items

Ensure that your foreign national

employees or assignees travelling to

the Philippines have sufficient validity

remaining on their passport or other

travel document;

Note that nationals of the above

countries may enter the Philippines

with less than six months passport

validity, provided there exists no

other ground to deny them entry

under existing laws, rules and

regulations.

UNITED KINGDOM Tier 1 Investor and Entrepreneur Applications Require Criminal Record Certificate from 1 September 2015

The requirement for applicants to provide an

overseas criminal record certificate will start

in September with the Tier 1 (Investor) and

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) categories.

Which Applicants Are Affected? This requirement will be introduced in phases,

starting on 1 September with Tier 1 (Investor)

and Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) applicants and their

adult dependents, before applying more

widely.

The change does not currently apply to

extensions or in-country switching

applications.

Background The Home Office introduced a new rule in

April 2015 which would require applicants to

provide the certificate from any country in

which they have lived continuously for 12

months or more over the past 10 years.

The Home Office has stated that by starting

with a small category of applicants, it will be

able to monitor and evaluate the

implementation of the policy.

Action Items

Applicants in the Tier 1 Investor and

Entrepreneur categories should allow



enough time to obtain a criminal

record certificate from any country in

which they have lived continuously

for 12 months or more over the past

10 years.

SPAIN Changes to Entrepreneurs Law Include New EU Intracompany Transfer Authorisation

Effective 30 July 2015, a new law (Ley

25/2015) amending the entrepreneurs law

(Ley 14/2013) introduces some significant

changes, especially in the investor and

intracompany transfer categories.

New Intracompany Transfer

Category The new law states that there are now two

categories of intracompany transfer (ICT)

authorisation new EU ICT category and the

existing national ICT category:

The new EU (European Union) ICT

authorisation has a maximum validity

of three years for directors and

specialists and one year for trainees.

Processing time is 20 days, according

to the new law.

This authorisation can in principal also

be used to work in other EU member

states. For example, a non-EU

national holding an EU ICT

authorisation from another EU

country can enter Spain after

communicating with the Unidad de

Grandes Empresas (UGE or Special

Unit of Large Companies) and can

start work once they have registered

in Spain. However, it remains to be

seen how this will work in practice.

The existing (national) ICT category

is still in place for applicants other

than directors, specialists and

trainees, or once the maximum

validity of the EU ICT authorisation

has been reached.

Background

The EU intra-corporate transferees directive

(2014/66/EU, adopted in May 2014) must be

transposed by the EU member states into

their legislation by 29 November 2016.

This directive complements three existing

legal migration directives setting out the

admission criteria for and the rights of highly

qualified third- country workers: the EU Blue

Card directive on highly qualified workers

(adopted in May 2009), the Single Permit

directive on third-country workers legally

residing in an EU member state (adopted in

December 2011) and the Seasonal Workers

directive (adopted in 2014).

Changes for Investors

Investors no longer need to obtain an

investment visa to be able to apply for

a residence permit, if they are already

in Spain with a different legal status,

but can apply for residence

authorisation directly;

An investor can now appoint a

representative to submit their

immigration applications in Spain, and

is no longer required to appear in

person;

A six-month investment visa can now

be obtained if a property purchase is

in process but not yet completed;

the new law also regulates in detail

the investment required in various



categories of investment fund to

obtain an investment visa and/or

residence status.

Companies Employing Highly

Qualified Employees The new law regulates the registration

process for companies registering under

corporate criteria to apply for work

authorisation for highly qualified foreign

nationals, and specifies the validity of the

registration and how to report any changes to

the UGE.

Action Items

Directors, specialists and trainees may

be able to take advantage of the EU

mobility benefits of the new EU ICT

authorisation, depending on the

practical implementation of this rule;

Companies registering to employ

highly-qualified foreign nationals

under corporate criteria should

ensure that they report any changes

correctly to UGE;

Investors can consider entering Spain

with a non-Investor status, and

appointing a representative to

manage their immigration

applications.

MORE FROM PEREGRINE

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DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this immigration newsletter has been

abridged from laws, court decisions, and administrative rulings and should not be

construed or relied upon as legal advice. If you have specific questions regarding the

applicability of this information, please contact Peregrine 2015 Peregrine

Immigration Management Ltd.

Documents

Peregrine News August 2015