Tier 2 visa applicants who are applying to work in certain occupations within the education, health and social care sectors on or after April 2017 will need to provide a criminal record certificate from any country in which they have lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years as part of their entry clearance application. The requirement will also apply to their adult dependants. The new requirement may delay documentation gathering during the entry clearance process.
China: Unified Work Authorization Application Policy
The State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs of China has released policy guidelines for the Unified Work Authorization Application.
The Unified Work authorization Application has been designed to attract highly-skilled foreign nationals, streamline the application process, increase transparency and improve data sharing schemes. Further implementation details for the three different categories of foreign applicants are expected to be released in the near future.
International mobility program – Temporary foreign workers employer compliance in Canada
US: USCIS finalises guidance on job changes by employment-based adjustment applicants
A final USCIS guidance memorandum on job portability for employment-based adjustment applicants broadly recognizes that applicants subject to immigrant visa backlogs and lengthy adjudication periods should be able to advance in their careers or move to a new job in the same or a related field without the need for a new labour certification or Form I-140 immigrant worker petition.
Taiwan: Eased qualifications and criteria proposed for skilled foreign workers
As a follow-up to its plans to introduce a new points system last year, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) has proposed to ease the qualifications and criteria for hiring foreign nationals to provide more options for sponsors to recruit qualified white-collar foreign workers.
Employers would be able to utilize the proposed or existing application scheme when applying for a work permit, depending on the worker’s qualifications and technical skills.