Peregrine News June 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 10 new immigration processes to Immiguru, including two new

destination countries Kuwait, and Trinidad and Tobago.

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 updated Immigo, our global immigration case management cloud software,

with a new internal document field and expiry dates for supporting documents, as well as a

new shortcut to show all hidden text on a page.

On Thursday 11 June we hosted a webinar on the NAFTA agreement in North America and

its impact on immigration. You can view and download the slides here.

Finally, we attended the AILA Immigration Law Global Forum in Washington DC on 17 June

and the CIPD Software Show in London on 18 June, and were pleased to meet old friends

and make new ones!

Table of Contents

AUSTRALIA VISA FEES INCREASE FROM 1 JULY 2015 2

UNITED KINGDOM MIGRANT CAP REACHED FOR FIRST TIME 2

MALAYSIA AUTHORITIES RESUME ISSUING I-KAD ID DOCUMENT 3

FRANCE NEW RECORD-KEEPING RULES FOR ASSIGNMENTS 4

VIETNAM ENTRY VISAS WAIVED FOR FIVE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 5

LUXEMBOURG MINIMUM SALARY INCREASES FOR EU BLUE CARD 6

MORE FROM PEREGRINE 7

PEREGRINE NEWS

June 2015



AUSTRALIA Visa Fees Increase from 1 July 2015

From 1 July 2015, Australian Visa Application

Charges (VAC) will increase.

The fee changes include an increase in line

with inflation (2.3%) for the Subclass 457 visa

for temporary skilled work, and for certain

employer-sponsored migration routes.

Key Changes The full fee changes are listed here and are in

Australian dollars.

The application fee for a Subclass 457 visa for

temporary skilled work will increase from

$1035 to $1060 for the principal applicant and

any adult dependents, and from $260 to $265

for any child dependents aged under 18 years.

The application fee for the Subclass 186

Employer Nomination Scheme and the

Subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration

Scheme will increase from $3520 to $3600 for

the principal applicant, from $1760 to $1800

for adult dependents and from $880 to $900

for child dependents.

Planned System Outages To implement the fee changes, there are a

number of planned system outages leading up

to 1 July 2015.

These outages could prevent online

submission of applications. The dates of the

planned outages are:

from 9pm Friday 26 June until 8am

Saturday 27 June 2015 AEST

(GMT+10);

from 7pm Tuesday 30 June until 7am

Wednesday 1 July 2015 AEST

(GMT+10).

Reorganisation of Immigration and

Border Services From 1 July 2015, the Department of

Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and

the Australian Customs and Border Protection

Service (ACBPS) will be consolidated into a

single Department of Immigration and Border

Protection. At this time, the Australian Border

Force, a single frontline operational border

agency, will be established within the

department.

In protest at the change, DIBP staff began

industrial action on Monday 16 June and will

continue intermittently until Friday 26 June.

During this period, airports, client service

centres, ports, container examination facilities

and visa processing offices will be affected.

Action Items

Ensure global mobility planning takes

into account the new visa charges;

Be prepared for delays in visa

processing and travel due to the

planned system outages and strikes.

UNITED KINGDOM Migrant Cap Reached for First Time

The government's immigration cap for non-EU

national skilled workers, which applies to

positions earning over 20,800, has been hit

for the first time since its introduction in

2011.

What Happened? Under the Tier 2 scheme, there is an annual

allocation of 20,700 certificates of

sponsorship, which equates to 1650 per

month. If allocations are under-subscribed in



a particular month, the surplus is carried over

to the next month.

However, in the month of June, a combination

of a low surplus plus an unanticipated spike in

application numbers meant that there was

insufficient allocation available to grant all

requests.

Applications affected are those made under

Tier 2 General outside the UK only. Tier 2

Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs), graduates

switching to Tier 2 and Tier 2 Changes of

Employment are not affected.

How Does it Work? The Home Office considers requests for

certificates of sponsorship on a points basis.

Each application is awarded a number of

points based on salary, and allocated in

descending order of score. For example, roles

with a salary between 32k and 45k are

awarded 45 points; roles with a salary

between 46k and 75k are awarded 50

points.

This month, the Home Office had a sufficient

number of certificates available to allocate to

all application requests scoring 50 points, but

an insufficient number remaining to allocate

to all requests in the points band below. As a

result, no applications with a score of 45

points or below were approved this month.

Who will be Affected? The Home Office has not confirmed how

many applications were rejected, so it is not

yet possible to estimate how many

application re-submissions there might be in

July and whether the same outcome should

be anticipated.

But a knock-on effect is anticipated; in future,

a qualifying application for a restricted

certificate of sponsorship may not be granted

on first request.

Broadly speaking, because of the greater

points score awarded for roles on the

shortage occupation lists, those with higher-

end salaries, and PhD positions, such jobs may

be protected from any visa squeeze for the

time being.

Those likely to be affected, in the short term

at least, are roles that pay the lowest salaries,

since lower salaried roles are awarded fewer

points.

Action Items

Be prepared for the possibility of a

qualifying application for a certificate

of sponsorship under Tier 2 General

not being granted on first request.

MALAYSIA Authorities Resume Issuing i-Kad ID Document

The immigration authorities in Putrajaya have

resumed issuing i-Kad ID cards (formerly

known as i-Pass) to all holders of Employment

Passes (EP) and Dependent Passes (DP).

Background The i-Kad is optional, and allows travel within

peninsular Malaysia without a passport.

Issuance of i-Kad (i-Pass) cards was suspended

in September 2014. Until then, holders of EPs

and DPs issued by the immigration authorities

at the Multimedia Development Corporation

(MDeC) or the Malaysian Investment

Development Authority (MIDA) could only

apply for an i-Pass card through the relevant

immigration authority, and the applications

were then forwarded to the Malaysian



Immigration Department in Putrajaya for

processing. Now, all applications for i-Kad are

submitted directly to Putrajaya.

How to Apply The i-Kad is no longer issued automatically

with the endorsement of the EP/DP - an

application has to be made for the card. The

application can be made any time after the

EP/DP is endorsed in the passport. The validity

of the card follows the validity of the EP/DP.

Application can be made by the foreign

national personally or through a

representative of the host company.

If the application is made in person, the

following documents are required:

Letter from the host company

requesting the i-Kad;

Application form;

Copy of the bio-data page and the

EP/DP endorsement page of the

applicants passport.

If the application is made by the company

representative, the following documents are

also required:

Letter from the company authorising

the representative;

Copy of the Malaysian ID (NRIC) of the

company representative and proof of

employment with the company in the

form of EPF statement/Company

card.

Processing time is estimated to be one

working day. However, as this initiative is

new, the volume of applications is still very

low. Presently the authorities are able to

process the card application within a day. As

the volume of applications increases,

processing time may be longer. There is no

charge for the card. However for replacement

of card (initial card lost or damaged) the

authorities will impose a small charge. Any i-

Kad card which has been issued and not

collected within a month will be terminated

and the application will need to be made

again, in which case charges will be imposed

for the card.

Action Items

Holders of Employment Passes or

Dependent Passes who wish to obtain

an i-Kad card should apply at

Putrajaya with all the required

supporting documents.

FRANCE New Record-keeping Rules for Assignments

Recent changes to French labour law for

companies sending their employees to France

on assignment, under detachment status (i.e.

remaining on home payroll). These employers

must appoint a legal representative in France

who has access to documents pertaining to

the applicants employment and the French

assignment, and to send the host company in

France certain documents prior to the start of

the assignment. Failure to comply with the

new requirements could result in fines for

both the employer abroad and the host

company in France.

Who is Affected? The new regulations affect employers

transferring their employers to France in both

the salari en mission detach (intra-company

transfer with home payroll) and the salari

detach hors mobilit intragroupe (service

provider with home payroll) categories.



What are the New Requirements? The sending company must designate a legal

representative in France who will be the

liaison between the labour inspectorate and

the employer abroad. The legal representative

must have access to the following documents:

The employees French work permit,

immigration medical certificate,

payslips, proof of salary payment and

timesheet;

Evidence of the employers business

activity abroad and in France, and

social security compliance;

The employment contract of the

employee and, if applicable, the

service agreement between the

employer and the host company in

France;

A copy of the letter designating the

legal representative.

The host company in France must now ensure

that it has access to the following documents

before the assignment starts:

The prior detachment declaration

filed with the labour inspectorate that

has jurisdiction for the place of work;

A copy of the letter designating the

legal representative;

A copy of the French work permit,

which needs to be added to the

personnel register.

Action Items

Employers sending non-EU employees

on assignment to France must ensure

that they designate a legal

representative in France and provide

them with access to the documents

required for inspection;

Companies in France hosting these

assignees must ensure that they

maintain the required documents

ready for inspection.

VIETNAM Entry Visas Waived for Five European Countries

The Vietnamese government has passed a

law, effective 1 July 2015, waiving entry visa

requirements for nationals of France,

Germany, Italy, Spain and the United

Kingdom.

How Does the Waiver Work?

The new visa waiver will allow entry

and stay in Vietnam of up to 15 days,

with no pre-approval;

The interval between the last exit

date from Vietnam and the new entry

date must be 30 days or more;

Foreigners who enter Vietnam on a

visa waiver must have a passport that

is valid for 6 months, cannot extend

their stay and must exit the country

after 15 days;

The law is set to expire on 30 June

2016, at which time the government

will consider extending it.

What is the Impact for Business

Travellers? This law has been primarily implemented to

increase tourism to Vietnam and is not

intended to relax business visa or foreign

labour laws.

Article 2 of the law states that the waiver

applies for all kinds of passports and all

purposes. As it is written, there is no



distinction in the law between tourist and

business purposes. However, it is

recommended that the visa waiver be

sparingly used for short term, business

meetings only and not for hands-on work. The

law itself is lacking details at this point and it

is unclear in practice what is allowable under

a waiver or how various local authorities will

interpret this law beyond tourism.

Action Items

Qualifying nationals should consider

using the visa waiver for business

trips, but should check with a

Vietnamese consulate in their home

country to determine whether the

visa waiver is appropriate in their

situation;

Qualifying nationals intending to

secure a work permit will still need to

enter the country on a business visa

sponsored by the Vietnam entity and

obtained at an overseas Vietnamese

consulate. This will allow them to

convert later to long-term temporary

residence cards. Visa waivers cannot

be converted.

LUXEMBOURG Minimum Salary Increases for EU Blue Card

The Luxembourg government has increased

the minimum salary requirements for

European Union (EU) Blue Cards, effective

immediately. A lower salary threshold now

applies to certain shortage occupations in the

ICT sector. The government fee for a

residence permit application has also

increased.

Salary Thresholds EU Blue Card holders in Luxembourg must

now be paid at least 71,946 per year (1.5

times the average annual salary in

Luxembourg), up from 69,858.

The immigration authorities in Luxembourg

have also announced a list of shortage

occupations to which a lower minimum

annual salary of 57,556.80 applies (1.2 times

the average annual salary).

The qualifying occupations are mostly in the

ICT sector, where the Luxembourg

government has identified a need to attract

more non-EU national workers:

mathematicians, actuaries and

statisticians;

system analysts;

software developers;

web and multimedia developers;

applications programmers;

software and application developers

and analysts not elsewhere classified;

database designers and

administrators;

systems administrators;

computer network professionals;

database and network professionals

not elsewhere classified.

Residence Permit Fee The government fee for a residence permit

application has recently increased to 80 from

50.

Background The Luxembourg government regularly

adjusts the minimum salary requirements for

foreign nationals.

The EU Blue Card is a work and residence

permit, implemented in most EU countries,



designed to attract highly skilled non-EU

nationals. To qualify, applicants need

advanced qualifications or substantial

experience, among other requirements.

Benefits include the flexibility to change

employers or move to another EU country and

work permission for a spouse.

Action Items

Review the salaries of current and

future EU Blue Card holders in

Luxembourg;

Note the occupations qualifying for a

lower minimum salary.

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 June 2015