In this look around the globe, find the latest immigration news regarding WR’s AILA appearance, Canada’s Express Entry permanent residence program and much more!
But first, we start with this month’s WR Updates.
WReview: WR Immigration at AILA’s Global Migration Forum in Orlando June 19 – 20
Audrey Lustgarten, WR Immigration’s Managing Partner, Global will be speaking on The Future of Innovative Technology panel at the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association’s Global Migration Forum to be held in Orlando, Florida, June 19th and 20th. WR Immigration’s award-winning software, WRapid™, represents the next generation of immigration management software. Powered by Salesforce and driven by AI, WRapid™ empowers human resources professionals with robust analytics, reporting, budgeting, forecasting capabilities, and case processing efficiencies. Will you be attending AILA in Orlando? Let us know, we would love to connect!
Canada: Express Entry Permanent Residence Program
Canada has announced that it will implement category-based draws for its Express Entry permanent residence program with the goal of attracting workers in industries facing worker shortages. The government plans to target draws to workers who have experience in certain occupations in healthcare, STEM professions, construction trades, transportation and agriculture/agri-food, as well as those who are fluent in French. This means that such workers will have a better chance of being invited to apply for permanent residence than those in other occupations with similar Express Entry points scores. Note that to qualify workers must have worked in the occupation for at least 6 months out of the last 3 years.
Canada also announced that it has joined the Hague Convention on Apostilles, which means that effective January 11, 2024, documents from Canada can be apostilled via a streamlined process rather than needing to go through a lengthy legalization process. Note that, as always, the country receiving the document must also be a member to the Hague Convention in order to take advantage of the streamlined process. Common destination countries requiring apostilled documents include Italy, Portugal and Spain.
China: Chinese Business and Work Visas
We continue to see unprecedented demand for Chinese business and work visas, together with unprecedented backlogs at the Chinese Consulates following China’s reopening. In pre-pandemic times it was often possible to obtain a visa stamp in as little as two days. Now most consulates require travelers to attend visa appointments, which can take weeks to secure in many locations. Most consulates have also transitioned to the new online application form, which is much more detailed than the previous paper-based format, and are increasing visa fees. WR is able to help navigate these complexities and expedite Chinese visa applications in many jurisdictions, please let us know if you need assistance.
Spain: Apostille of Diplomas
Spain has relaxed its requirements for apostille of diplomas in connection with work visas for highly qualified professionals – it is no longer necessary to apostille the applicant’s diploma when applying for a work visa. This is in line with the relaxed requirements that have been in place for audiovisual sector work visas for some time. This relaxation entered into force previously, but we are now seeing that the new standard is being applied in most consular locations.
Spain has also decreased the scope of police clearance certificates needed – applicants may present clearances covering their countries of residence for the past 2 years rather than the past 5 years. However, apostilled versions of police clearance certificates are still being required, which can lead to significant delays in being able to obtain work visas given the slow processing time for apostilles in the US and some other countries.
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