On February 29, 2016, ABIL submitted comments to the USCIS with suggestions regarding the retention of EB?1, EB?2 and EB?3 immigrant workers and program improvements affecting high?skilled nonimmigrant workers.
On January 25, 2016, ABIL submitted comments to the USCIS with suggested revisions for the Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I?9.
This article provides an overview of various countries’ short-term visa options for temporary assignments.
Belgium
Under Belgian law, there are several work permit exemptions for short-term assignments. One is the Vander Elst exemption: if some conditions are met, no work permit is required for non-EEA (European Economic Area = European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) workers employed by a company that is established in an EEA Member State and who come to Belgium to provide services.
Training at the Belgian site of a multinational group can also be possible depending on the circumstances (for example, nationality of employee and location of employer) without a work permit for up to three months. On-the-job training is possible on a very limited scale only: the training cannot involve “significant productive interventions” within the company.
Foreign employees who test prototypes of vehicles or other prototypes developed by an accredited research facility do not need a work permit. The exemption is limited to the required testing time, and up to four weeks per calendar year per employee.
Initial product assembly and/or first installation does not require a work permit if it is an essential part of a supply agreement, is necessary for the use of the product, and is provided by qualified and/or specialized employees of the supplier who are posted to Belgium. This exemption is limited to eight days and does not apply to construction workers.
The exemption for urgent maintenance and repair work performed by specialized technical workers on a product supplied by the foreign employer to a Belgian customer is limited to a stay in Belgium of five days per month.
Fast-track work permits are available for specialized technical workers who are posted to Belgium and who come to Belgium to install, start up, or repair products manufactured or supplied by their foreign employer. The work may not take longer than six months.
Training at the Belgian site of a multinational group may be fast-tracked if no work permit exemption can be invoked.
Canada
Companies sending their employees to Canada for six months or less may opt for their employees to enter Canada as Business Visitors where their activities will be confined to “business visitor” activities within the meaning of Canada’s regulatory framework and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if the employees are citizens of the United States or Mexico. Permissible business visitor activities include attending business meetings, performing after-sales services, scoping and information gathering, giving training at a Canadian affiliate, and performing sales to defined clients. While business visitors cannot perform hands-on work in Canada, their business visitor activities may permit companies to achieve certain short-term objectives in Canada without requiring a work permit. Citizens of countries requiring a temporary resident visa (TRV) to enter Canada must apply for the TRV by demonstrating their required business activities in Canada, whereas foreign nationals who do not require a TRV to enter Canada should travel with a Business Visitor Invitation letter from the Canadian destination company.
In other cases where hands-on work will be performed in Canada during the short-term assignment, the employees will need work permits and, in some instances, Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) to be granted the work permits. Companies may wish to seek an exemption to the costly and lengthy LMIA process wherever possible via one of the LMIA exemption categories, such as Intra-Company Transferees (C12 or NAFTA T24) or NAFTA Professionals (T23). If proceeding by way of the LMIA, companies should consider whether a variation to the minimum advertising requirements exists for the Canadian position in question, to ease their recruitment and advertising efforts in seeking the LMIA if applicable.
If the Canadian company is a start-up, it may be possible to obtain an initial work permit for up to one year if the company is sufficiently advanced in its operations. Typically, a start-up should have leased premises, particularly in the case of Specialized Knowledge Intra-Company Transferees, and must demonstrate plans to staff the Canadian business and be financially sound enough to pay the employees’ salaries.
In very unique circumstances, companies may seek a work permit for an employee pursuant to the C10 Significant Benefits category of the LMIA exemption where the employee’s presence in Canada will have a demonstrated significant social, cultural, or economic benefit in Canada.
France
Business Visitor of Less Than 90 days
Foreign nationals may come to France under a business visitor status if their stay in France is for less than 90 days, and their activity in France is limited to business visitor activity.
A business visitor may attend meetings, prospect for business, and negotiate agreements. This activity may be carried out for his or her own personal account or in the name of his or her foreign employer. However, this activity may not be carried out in the name of a French business or create value for French business.
There are two types of classifications for business visitors:
1. The Schengen visa for short-term business visits; and
2. Visa-free entry for third-country nationals who are exempt from the visa requirement by treaty or bilateral agreement with the third country national’s home country (e.g., United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Mexico). These foreign nationals do not need a visa to enter France as long as their assignment within the Schengen space does not exceed 90 days over any 180-day period and their activity is limited to that of an authorized business visitor. (The Schengen Area consists of 26 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands (Holland), Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.)
They should remain on the home country payroll, not be subordinated to the management of the host entity in France, and not carry out any productive work in France. Tasks that clearly fit into allowed business visitor activity include attending meetings, seminars, negotiations, visiting sites, and exploring business opportunities.
If the French consulate considers that the activity in France requires a work permit, it will refuse the business visa application and require the third-country national to apply for a work permit with the labor authorities before visa issuance.
Italy
According to a decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of May 11, 2011, a business visitor can come to Italy for a short stay (90 days in a 180-day period) for “travel that has an economic/commercial basis, to make contacts or conduct negotiations, to learn or carry out maintenance and repairs on equipment and machinery purchased or sold pursuant to a commercial contract or joint venture agreement.”
It is advisable to have a contract in place between the sending company and the host company that regulates the services the sending company is to provide the host company for hands-on activities other than normal business activities such as attending exhibitions, business meetings, and negotiations with potential customers.
The application of this rule requires review on a case-by-case basis of what the visitor intends to do in Italy. The criteria to be taken into account include:
Non-visa nationals must have documents (such as invitation letters and assignment letters from their employers) supporting the scope and duration of the visit.
Visa nationals (citizens of countries that do not have a visa waiver program with Italy) must apply for business visas.
Mexico
The extensive changes in Mexican immigration law as of November 2012 eliminated the more than 30 former immigration statuses and subcategories. Those were replaced by just three statuses: Visitor, Temporary Resident, and Permanent Resident.
Visitor status is appropriate for short-term assignments of up to 180 days. Foreign nationals in this category may engage in most kinds of business and work activities, as long as they are remunerated on foreign payrolls. Mexican law does not distinguish among business activities.
Nationals from several designated countries may freely enter Mexico in business visitor status without having to apply for a visa. Visa-waivered entry is also allowed for “regulated nationalities” under several schemes, such as having a valid U.S. visa of any kind, or permanent residence in the United Kingdom, Japan, United States, Canada, or the Schengen countries.
Visitor status may allow the foreigner to perform job duties, but it entails restrictions on activities such as opening a bank account, signing on behalf of the company, signing a lease contract, and some other issues related to a business visitor’s ability to live comfortably in Mexico.
Peru
The Peruvian immigration authority (MIGRACIONES) has no specific visa that may be obtained quickly for short-term assignments. When technical workers, for example, are coming to work in Peru, they must obtain work permits, which take approximately 30 to 45 days. The work permit may be either a temporary worker visa (for foreign workers on a local company’s payroll) or an appointed worker temporary visa (for workers who are not staff of the local company).
Appointed workers are those who come to Peru with no intention of establishing a residence to carry out labor activities assigned by their foreign employers for limited and defined terms to perform specific tasks or duties, or to perform work that requires professional, commercial, or technical knowledge or any other type of highly specialized knowledge. This category applies to consultants or advisors. Although they are paid by a company abroad, they must pay taxes in Peru.
To obtain this type of visa (Visa Temporal de Trabajador Designado), the following documents must be legalized by a Peruvian consulate abroad or certified by apostille abroad:
Translations of the documents must be made in Peru by an official public translator.
The processing time from the date of filing of the application with all required documents is 30 working days for “Obtaining Visa Proceeding,” and 60 working days for in-country processing, according to the rules. At present, however, in-country processing is taking less time.
The holder of this type of visa cannot open a bank account in Peru, obtain a credit card, or obtain a driver’s license, because he or she is not considered a resident.
South Africa
Overview of Short-Term Work Authorizations—Section 11(2) Visas
The South Africa Department of Home Affairs can issue a visitor’s visa to authorize a foreign national to do his or her “work” in South Africa for a period of up to three months. This visa cannot be extended.
In the past, short-term employment in South Africa was largely characterized by one of two common scenarios, both involving mainly holders of passports who do not need visas to come to the Republic of South Africa (RSA) for “visits” (e.g., from North America and Europe).
The first scenario arose when such a passport holder would, on arrival, claim that he or she was coming for “business.” Such person would then be admitted for a period of up to three months to do “business” even though, taking advantage of definition confusions, these persons were in fact “working.”
The second scenario occurred where the passport holder arrived at a port of entry and announced that he or she was coming to “work.” If the person had a letter from the host/South African company confirming that the foreign national was coming to “work” at the offices of the South African company, he or she would usually then have a section 11(2) visitor visa endorsed into his or her passport, at the port of entry. This would allow the expat to work at the company for whatever period was required, up to three months.
There was, however, no control over how many times such section 11(2) visas would be issued. There have been cases of people in effect blatantly using the section 11(2) visa to bypass ordinary work visa requirements or processes (and even being advised to do so). Both situations were massively abused. The Department of Home Affairs has been compelled to clamp down and get the short-term work authorizations under control.
To understand current Department policy, it is essential to first appreciate the statutory definition, in the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, of what constitutes “work.” The Act provides very simply that “work” is doing anything that is “consistent with being employed” in a particular field or profession (and similarly with self-employment). In other words, if you are employed in the United States as an accountant and you are coming to South Africa as part of your job, that constitutes “work” as it is defined. And if you are coming to “work” for a period of three months or less, you will need to get a section 11(2) visa.
The test is not limited to persons who are employed “in South Africa.” The Immigration Act expressly provides that the definition includes persons who are not being paid to do that work: it is irrelevant whether the person is being paid or how he or she is being paid. The test is deliberately wide and allows for few exceptions or gray areas.
Also, for purposes of the definition of “work,” it is immaterial how long the person is coming to SA to do work. It can be days, weeks, months, or years.
Obviously, there may be further obscure instances that could challenge the limits of the statutory definition. The best approach to adopt, if you are in doubt, is to get the correct permission to “work.” The joy in having bypassed bureaucracy will be seriously short-lived if an evasion comes to light. So, if a person is coming to SA to do “work” for a period of up to three months, he or she needs to get a section 11(2) authorization from Home Affairs.
Rules for Section 11(2) Visa Applications
1. A section 11(2) visa can only be issued—
a. On arrival at a port of entry (if the passport is visa-exempt for “visits”; or
b. At an Embassy or High Commission (if the passport is not visa-exempt for “visits”).
The section 11(2) visa cannot be applied for or issued inside South Africa.
2. Where the applicant holds a visa-exempt passport, before he or she leaves for SA, he or she must first have applied in writing for and obtained written permission from the relevant South African embassy to ask for the 11(2) on arrival at the port of entry. Without that prior written permission from the embassy, the port of entry will not issue the section 11(2) visa.
3. The section 11(2) visa is not, under any circumstances, to be applied for as an interim work visa while a person applies for a longer-term work visa.
4. Other than in quite exceptional circumstances, the Department of Home Affairs will not entertain applications to extend a section 11(2) visa.
Requirements for Section 11(2) Applications to the Director General
5. There is no prescribed application form. The request should be included in a letter addressed to the Consular Section at the relevant embassy.
6. The request should come from the South African company (or other such entity or person) who will be hosting the foreign national in South Africa.
7. The request should include the following:
a. The applicant’s full name, and passport nationality and number, along with a copy of the bio page of the passport;
b. The proposed departure flight number(s) and date(s) with the port of entry and estimated date and arrival time in SA;
c. Date of departure from South Africa with corresponding flight details;
d. How long he or she will be coming to actually work for (as opposed to the total length of the visit);
e. Full details of contact persons in SA and in the country of origin along with full details of the host company in SA including details of what it does, where, and (where appropriate) statutory registration details;
f. The applicant’s address and contact details both in SA and in the country of employment;
g. The applicant’s CV;
h. Full details of why the person needs to come to SA, to do what and where; how SA and South Africans will benefit from the person’s activities;
i. A written undertaking by the SA host: (1) assuming full responsibility for all the costs of removing the applicant from SA, should removal become necessary; and (2) assuming responsibility for ensuring that the applicant complies with all the conditions of the visa and the applicable requirements of the Immigration Act; and
j. Confirmation from the SA host that it is fully aware of the Department’s rules applicable to section 11(2) visas, as set out above.
8. If the application is approved, the embassy will usually e-mail the written consent back to the applicant, although some embassies ask the applicant to collect the letter.
9. When the foreign national arrives at the port of entry, he or she will then present to the port of entry the following documentation as part of the request for the section 11(2) visa:
a. A copy of the request submitted to the embassy; and
b. The embassy’s written approval of the request.
10. The passport will then be stamped recording that permission to work has been granted.
11. Where the applicant is travelling on a non-visa-exempt passport, he or she must apply both for the “consent” and for a visitor visa to the appropriate embassy or High Commission.
12. If the visa is approved by the embassy or High Commission, the visa will set out such other conditions as are to be complied with.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (UK) offers a number of options for employers seeking to engage migrants on a short-term basis.
While migrants from within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland are free to enter and work in the UK without prior permission, non-EEA employees must obtain authorization. For short-term work, this typically falls within a sponsored category of the Points-Based System (PBS).
Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer—Short-Term Staff)
This route is intended for short-term placement of staff for up to 12 months. Prospective transferees must have been employed by the sponsoring organization for at least 12 months and meet minimum salary and maintenance requirements.
Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer—Graduate Trainee)
This subcategory allows recent graduate trainees on paths for managerial or specialist roles to undertake clearly defined training programs at UK-based branches of their employer. Graduate Trainees may enter the UK for up to 12 months. Prospective transferees must have been employed by the sponsoring organization for at least three months and meet minimum salary and maintenance requirements.
Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer—Skills Transfer)
Tier 2 (ICT—Skills Transfer) enables employees in graduate occupations to enter the UK for up to six months to learn vital skills for their jobs overseas, or to train their UK colleagues. Although prospective transferees need not have been employed previously by the sponsoring organization, they still must meet specified minimum salary and maintenance requirements.
Tier 5 (Temporary Worker—Government Authorised Exchange)
This route is intended for migrants moving to the UK to participate in pre-approved schemes to share knowledge and experience through work, research, language, or training programs. The primary purpose of this category is to encourage social and cultural learning through life in the UK. Migrants in this category may stay in the UK for up 24 months for research, training, or language programs, or up to 12 months for work schemes. Applicants must meet minimum maintenance requirements.
The Italian government has released new quotas for subordinate work and autonomous work.
The Italian government has announced the issuance of 17,850 new quotas for subordinate work and autonomous work. Applications have been available online since December 23, 2014, but they can only be submitted once a decree is officially published and comes into force. One thousand quotas are available for individuals who have completed study courses in their home countries, and 2,400 quotas are available for the following autonomous work activities: (i) entrepreneurs carrying out activities of interest for the Italian economy; (ii) freelancers, including workers in skilled regulated professions (e.g., lawyers, doctors, architects), or in professions not regulated by professional registers or by corporative arrangements but nationally representative and included in Public Administration lists; (iii) officers and owners of non-cooperative companies; (iv) internationally known artists or artists with high professional qualifications employed by public or private organizations; and (v) individuals willing to set up innovative start-up companies (per law no. 221, December 17, 2012). Two thousand quotas have been allocated to individuals assigned to work at the Milan Expo 2015.
One hundred quotas for subordinate and autonomous work are reserved for individuals of Italian origin, with at least one Italian parent (up to third in line of direct ascendancy) residing in Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, or Brazil.
12,350 quotas are for the conversion of existing permits into work permits. Among these, 6,000 quotas are for conversion of study/training permits into subordinate work permits; 1,050 quotas are for conversion of study/training permits into autonomous work permits; 4,050 quotas are for conversion of seasonal work permits into non-seasonal work permits; 1,000 quotas are for conversion of European Community (EC) long-term residence permits issued by other EU Member States into Italian subordinate work permits; and 250 quotas are for conversion of EC long-term residence permits issued by other EU Member States into Italian autonomous work permits.
As always, the quotas will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Online applications can be submitted until August 30, 2015, by registering on the website of the Ministry of Interior.
Since January 2015, when Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) introduced Express Entry, a new permanent residence immigration process, the process has solidified and immigration practitioners are learning to navigate the online Express Entry system.
Express Entry is a points-based system that ranks candidates according to various human capital and personal criteria and allows CIC to issue a limited number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence. Since January, CIC has issued approximately 13,000 ITAs to candidates to permit them to subsequently submit permanent residence applications. Following are highlights of the new system:
Express Entry draws. CIC “draws” of the highest-ranked candidates have been occurring every few weeks. For each draw, CIC establishes the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) point score required to receive an ITA, which allows the agency to manage the intake of permanent residence applications. The minimum CRS score was initially very high—over 800 CRS points for the first three draws (886, 818, and 808 CRS points) early in the year, which required those who were drawn to have had a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or Provincial Nomination Certificate in their favor, which grants a bonus 600 CRS points. Subsequent draws have dropped since March 2015 to the mid- to high-400’s CRS point range, with the lowest dips occurring at two draws at 453 CRS points on March 27, 2015, and on April 17, 2015. The minimum CRS score required to receive an ITA may continue to drop slightly for the remainder of the year, although it is unlikely to drop drastically.
Provincial Nominee Programs. Over the past months, the Canadian provinces have been implementing their own unique Express Entry Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), which are province-based selection programs that can accord a candidate 600 bonus points in Express Entry. Provinces have taken awhile to implement PNPs because of the need to move to electronic PNP systems that are compatible with Express Entry. British Columbia was the first province to implement a PNP for Express Entry and issue Provincial Nominee Certificates to applicants. Recently, Ontario has released its own PNP program, which encompasses both a Human Capital Stream and a French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream. Other Canadian provinces with Express Entry PNPs include Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Documentary requirements. CIC has issued the majority of ITAs for permanent residence based on governmental discretion pursuant to the Federal Skilled Worker Program, as opposed to the Canadian Experience Class Program, even for those candidates working in Canada. Because the Federal Skilled Worker Program has additional documentary requirements, it is important to start gathering documents that may be needed even before an ITA is received and often before the Express Entry profile itself is created. Documents that often need to be uploaded in the online permanent residence application after receiving an ITA can include employment letters and pay slips for present and past employment, official language exam results (English and French), copies of police certificates, immigration medical examination receipts, copies of civil identity documents, and proof of settlement funds except for those working in Canada with certain work permits.
Belgium has established 2015 salary thresholds for fast-track work permits B and the European Union (EU) Blue Card. One of the requirements for some Belgian fast-track work permits B and for the Blue Card is a salary threshold: the annual gross remuneration must exceed an amount that is adjusted on a yearly basis. Work permits are processed by the Belgian Regions: Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia.
The new salary thresholds effective January 1, 2015, are:
Wallonia and Brussels have adopted legislation confirming that the salary must be paid in exchange for labor, and that the salary amount must be certain/fixed before the start of the employment in Belgium. Flanders applies the same rule.
The ministries issue a fast-track work permit B for highly skilled labor only if it is clear that the employee’s salary will exceed the threshold. The ministries take into account only amounts that will definitely be paid. A discretionary bonus cannot be considered when processing a work permit application.
Turkey amended its work permit regulations in January 2015 with respect to Assembly, Maintenance and Service (AMS) visas. An AMS visa is a short-term (90-day) technical work visa for foreign employees, under certain conditions, to engage in assembly, maintenance, service, or technical training work for the benefit of a Turkish company without the need for a work permit. This visa is a very practical category for many companies in the technology, construction, and energy sectors because it generally has a very low documentary burden and is adjudicated solely at the consular post, most often within a few days.
Historically, the problem with this visa category was twofold: (1) the 90-day period was calculated consecutively within a year and (2) the visas were generally issued as single entry. Therefore, unless an assignee remained in Turkey for the entire 90-day period uninterrupted, the full 90 days per year could not be used.
On January 22, 2015, the work permit regulations were changed to now state that AMS visa holders can remain for up to three months in total within a year. And the regulations now allow foreigners with an AMS visa to enter Turkey on multiple occasions provided that they do not remain in Turkey more than three months in total within a year.
The change in the wording of the regulation appears to convey that the 90-day period will now be calculated cumulatively over the period of a year, not consecutively. It also states that these visa holders should be granted multiple entries, which is welcome news regardless of the calculation of the 90 days, particularly since the vast majority of consular posts issue single-entry AMS visas.
In the meantime, it is best practice to provide a copy of the legal changes to the consular post when applying for an AMS visa in order to insist that consular posts follow this regulatory change and grant one-year multiple-entry AMS visas. However, the calculation of the 90-day period (cumulative vs. consecutive), is in the hands of the passport officers at entry points to confer later entries for AMS visa holders whose period is beyond 90 days consecutively (yet have not been present in Turkey for 90 days cumulatively). AMS visa holders should anticipate that some consular officers and passport officers will not have full awareness or knowledge of this legal change for some time.
India has issued a new electronic visa.
The government of India has introduced an E-Visa (electronic visa) for 43 countries. The new online system will allow travelers to apply for a visa from home and receive it within 72 hours. A traveler must apply for this visa at least four days before entering India and will only be eligible for two of these visas within a calendar year.
The E-Visa will be valid for 30 days and the fee is $62. Those traveling for leisure, short duration medical treatment, a casual business visit, or to meet friends and relatives will be eligible to apply. The E-Visa will be made available at nine airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Thiruvanathapuram.
The E-Visa will be valid for 30 days and the fee is $62. Those traveling for leisure, short duration medical treatment, a casual business visit, or to meet friends and relatives will be eligible to apply. The E-Visa will be made available at nine airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Thiruvanathapuram.
Countries included in the first phase are Australia, Brazil, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Oman, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, among others. The Indian government plans to offer the E-Visa to almost every country in the world over time.
The Hong Kong Immigration Department (HKID), under the leadership of the Chief Executive, actively reviews immigration policy to better suit the ever-evolving economic development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. One of the most significant policy changes in 2015 is the suspension of the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) effective January 15, 2015. The CIES has been a popular vehicle for residence in Hong Kong since its launch in October 2003 with the objective of facilitating the entry of investors willing to make a substantial passive investment without having to play an active role in a business.
At the end of 2014, 41,802 applications were received and 25,504 applicants have made the requisite investments and were granted formal approval to reside in Hong Kong. Additionally, 2,493 applicants were granted approval-in-principle to enter Hong Kong to make the requisite investments.
In a recent press release, the HKID made clear that when the CIES was first implemented, Hong Kong’s economy was in recession and new capital was required to stimulate economic growth. However, attracting capital investment entrants is no longer a priority for the Hong Kong government in view of the latest economic situation in Hong Kong, and the focus is now on attracting and retaining talent, professionals, and innovative entrepreneurs to contribute to Hong Kong’s economy.
The HKID has announced that it will introduce a series of measures in the second quarter of 2015, including a pilot “Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents” (ASSG), to attract second-generation Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents from overseas to return to Hong Kong. In this scheme, the applicants are not required to have an offer of employment in Hong Kong upon application and will be granted an initial stay of one year without other conditions. The applicants may then apply for extensions of stay if they have secured offers of employment at a level common for degree holders and with a remuneration package at market level.
Other measures include relaxing the duration-of-stay pattern under various visa schemes, including the General Employment Policy (GEP), the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talent and Professionals (ASMTP), and the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS). Entrants admitted under the GEP, the ASMTP, and the QMAS under the General Point Test (GPT), will be relaxed from the current initial stay of one year to two years, and the extension pattern will be changed from the current “two-two-three” year pattern to the “three-three” year pattern.
Additionally, top-tier entrants under these immigration schemes, subject to fulfilling specified criteria, which include having worked or resided in Hong Kong under the respective schemes for at least two years, and having an assessable income for salary tax above a certain level in Hong Kong (not less than HK $2 million or approximately US $250,000), may be granted a six-year extension on time limitation only without other conditions of stay upon application for the first extension. Those successful QMAS entrants under the Achievement-Based Point Test (APT) will be granted upon entry eight years of stay on time limitation only without other conditions of stay. The HKID will also enhance the scoring scheme of the GPT to attract more talent with outstanding academic backgrounds and international work experience to work in Hong Kong.
The immigration policy in Hong Kong remains open and flexible to highly skilled people and responsive to the labor needs of businesses, to ensure that Hong Kong remains a unique “world city” while gradually being reintegrated with the mainland.
New work permit forms are effective January 1, 2015.
For new work permit forms effective January 1, 2015, the employer abroad, the host company in France, and the employee now must provide additional information, summarized below.
Information Required From the Home Company Abroad
a) Registration number or employer ID number of the home company and the name of the registration authority (e.g., the commercial registry and the chamber of commerce).
b) Date of creation of the company.
c) Name of the legal representative of the home company.
d) Main activity of the home company.
e) For intra-company transferees, website or weblink to the Internet page showing the link between the home company and the French host company plus the date of acquisition or date of creation of the French affiliate company.
f) For the international provision of services, the total cost of the services to be provided and the copy of the service agreement between the employer and the client in France.
g) In the absence of a social security bilateral agreement between the home country and France, registration of the foreign employer with the French social security administration for payment of the French social security contribution. Evidence must include proof of registration with Centre National Firmes Etrangères (CNFE, Foreign Firms National Center) and Humanis International in the work permit application. However, these documents may not be available for the very first work permit application and clarification may be needed on what other documents may be provided in lieu of the registration certificates, such as a sworn statement from the employer.
Information Required From the Host Company in France
a) For intra-company transferees, the role of the French entity in the corporate group and the date on which the French entity came under control of the group or was formed.
b) Details of the agent representing the foreign employer in France for the purpose of co-coordinating the work permit application, and the entity responsible for paying the government fees.
c) In case of regulated activity, the identity of the regulating body, and proof and details of certification.
d) The monthly or annual gross salary applicable for an equivalent position in the host company (or in the sector of activity in case of international provision of services), excluding any payment-in-kind.
Information and Documents Required From the Employee
a) Copy of initial employment contract or, if not available, copy of the initial employment offer letter.
b) Copy of employment certificates from previous employers proving adequate professional experience (does not apply to intra-company transfers and secondments).
As noted above, starting January 1, 2015, work permit applications must be made on new forms. Work permits issued by the authorities before this date remain valid.
As some of the requirements may be difficult to fulfill immediately or in a timely manner, adjustments may be made during an interim period. Stay tuned.
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