Immigration Lawyer Blog

The UAE extended the visa period of property owners to three years from six months in a move to re-ignite investor confidence the real estate sector.

The decision, part of a raft of measures taken by the government to underpin economic growth as per the strategic plan 2011-2013, was taken at a cabinet meeting in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday chaired by Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. Under the existing law, foreign owners of property worth more than Dh1 million are eligible to get only a six-month visa, which has to be reviewed every six months for Dh2,120 at a time. The applicant for the property investor residence visa also needs to open a bank account locally or aboard and is required to provide proof of a minimum monthly income of Dh10,000. The investor shall also get a medical insurance renewable every six months, apart from a valid medical fitness test every two years.

The requirements and conditions under the new law will be announced soon. “The UAE Federal Cabinet decision to extend residence visa for real estate investors to three years will significantly enhance investor confidence and drive the growth of the country’s property sector, said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman, Emaar Properties PJSC, while welcoming the decision.
“The property sector is a key contributor to the non-oil GDP of the country, and is one of the largest employment providers apart from supporting several associated industries,” Alabbar added.

The sector also plays in driving foreign direct investment to the country, and the Cabinet decision will enhance the appeal of the UAE as a preferred destination for safe investments in property. The Cabinet decision underlines the vision of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai to further boost the competitiveness of the UAE” Alabbar concluded.

The Short-stay Visa Waiver Program was announced by the Government as part of its Jobs Initiative with a view to promoting tourism from emerging markets. It is due to commence on 1 July 2011. The program will run as a pilot up to end October 2012 but may be amended or expanded at any point depending on experience of the pilot.

The main points of the programme are:

- Holders of UK "general visas" will be able to travel to Ireland within the period of validity of that visa without the requirement to obtain a separate Irish visa. The period of validity of such a visa is 180 days but the maximum stay in Ireland will be 90 days or to the end of the period of validity of the visa, whichever is the shorter. It should be stressed that the need for a visa to visit Ireland is not eliminated by this programme. Visitors from visa-required countries will still require an Irish visa (for direct travel to Ireland) or a UK visa (for travel to Ireland via the UK). What is eliminated by this programme is the need to have both an Irish and UK visa when visiting Ireland via the UK.
- The person travelling will be required to land in and have gained lawful entry to the UK, on foot of the current visa, prior to travel to Ireland. Lawful entry will be attested by the appropriate entry stamp of the UK Border Agency. Therefore, transit passengers through the UK to Ireland, who do not pass through immigration in the UK, will still require an Irish visa. There is no minimum length of stay in the UK required before travel to Ireland.
- The persons travelling to Ireland under the programme will be treated at their Irish port of entry just as they would have been previously if arriving with an Irish visa i.e. their passport will be further stamped by immigration officers at the Irish port of entry with an entry stamp and a date until which the visitor is allowed to stay. Visitors will have to satisfy immigration officers as to the purpose of their visit in the normal way.
- A person may return to Ireland within the period of validity of the UK visa but will not be able to stay in Ireland for more than 90 days in any one visit. As above, the immigration officer at port of entry has the ultimate decision on the length of stay.

In relation to persons travelling between Ireland and Northern Ireland, the following scenarios will apply:

- If arriving in Ireland and then travelling to Northern Ireland, both an Irish and UK visa will be required, as is the case at present
- If arriving in Northern Ireland and travelling to Ireland, the visa waiver programme will apply and only a UK visa will be required
- If arriving in Ireland, travelling to Northern Ireland and then returning to Ireland, both an Irish and UK visa will be required but the UK visa will be accepted under the programme for the return visit
- If arriving in Northern Ireland, travelling to Ireland and then returning to Northern Ireland, the visa waiver programme will apply to the visit to Ireland but the appropriate UK visa will be required to allow a second entry into Northern Ireland. The person may travel out of the Common Travel Area from either Ireland or the UK but this must happen before the expiry of the stamp issued by the immigration officer on arrival in Ireland (if leaving from Ireland) or the expiration of the UK visa (if leaving from the UK).

"General visas" cover short-term tourist and business visitors. Other types of visa, for example transit visas, long-term student visas, join spouse or family reunification visas, are not encompassed.

Nationals of the following countries are proposed for inclusion in the programme:

- Eastern Europe: Belarus, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine
- Middle East: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
- Other Asian: India, Kazakhstan, Peoples Republic of China , Uzbekistan

Only passport holders of those countries are included in the scheme. Long-term residents in those countries, who are not nationals of that country, are not covered. Arrangements are being made for holders of diplomatic and special passports from Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, who are visa exempt for the UK, to be included in the program. Nationals of the countries above, who are long-term legal residents in the UK, will still require an Irish visa but will have the visa fee waived as part of the programme.

Immigration New Zealand advises foreign nationals unable to leave New Zealand because of the Chilean ash cloud and whose visas expire in the meantime that, even though they may become unlawfully in New Zealand, no action will be taken against them while the disruption continues. However, there is a clear expectation that people will take steps to leave New Zealand as soon as flights resume.
When natural disasters occur or in similar circumstances that are beyond the control of the visa holder, we apply common sense and empathy in considering any visa issues.

We don’t disadvantage people for being stuck at an airport because of climatic conditions, just as we didn’t disadvantage foreign nationals whose immigration status was affected by the Christchurch earthquake.

To ensure we are aware of the reason a person has become unlawfully in New Zealand, anyone whose visa has expired pending resumption of flights should contact their nearest Immigration New Zealand branch or call the Immigration Contact Centre at 0508 55 88 55.

Legislation cracking down on crooked immigration consultants will come into force on June 30, 2011, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

At the same time, oversight of the consultant community is being turned over to the newly created Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC). “The Government of Canada has promised to crack down on crooked immigration consultants and their shady practices, and with Bill C-35, we now have the tools,” said the Minister.

Bill C-35 strengthens the rules governing those who charge their clients for immigration advice or representation, making it an offence for anyone other than an accredited immigration representative to conduct business, for a fee or other consideration, at any stage of an application or proceeding. It also increases penalties and fines for unauthorized representation and allows for more government oversight in order to improve the way in which immigration consultants are regulated.

With the designation of the ICCRC as the regulator of immigration consultants, consultants who are currently members in good standing of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC) can begin to register with the ICCRC on June 30, 2011.

Immigration representatives must be either members in good standing of a provincial or territorial law society, including paralegals; members of the Chambre des notaires du Québec; or members of the governing body for immigration consultants.

A 120-day transitional period will be put in place to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of service for both CSIC members currently in good standing and their clients during the transition to the ICCRC. The transition period will end on October 28, 2011.

After a notice was published on March 19, 2011, in the Canada Gazette, Part I, proposing the ICCRC be designated the regulator of immigration consultants, over 70 percent of the public comments received during the 30-day consultation period supported the proposal to establish a new regulator of immigration consultants.

UK Border Agency has produced a document clarifying aspects of the current review of the student immigration stsyem.

The document (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/news/t4-review-clarification.pdf) answers some frequently asked questions raised by sponsors in the following areas:
- Educational oversight and accreditation
- Highly Trusted Sponsor status
- The interim limit
- Contact details for enquiries about the sponsorship management system
- Post-study work
- Immigration officers' discretion to refuse
- Dependents
- Maintenance and low-risk countries
- Academic progression

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday that from Aug. 11, Taiwanese tourists can stay in Israel for up to 90 days visa-free.

The visa-waiver agreement was signed by Simona Halperni, director of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei on June 17, and countersigned on June 27 by Taiwan's representative to Israel, Chang Liang-jen. This agreement makes Israel the 114th country to grant visa free privileges to Taiwanese citizens.

India took a lead in resolving the vexed visa issue by liberalising its rules for the Russian citizens visiting India on business and tourism.

"We are now issuing multi-entry business visas valid for one year against six months single or double entry in the past and tourist visas valid for six months with multiple entries," India's Ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra has said.The Embassy of India in Moscow has streamlined and liberalised its issuance of business and tourist visas with a view to further encourage business contacts and promote tourism between India and Russia.

India and the Russian Federation already have in place a visa-free regime for diplomatic and official passport holders of both countries, that facilitates regular official contact. Both business and tourist visas would normally be issued in three working days following the date of application against minimum ten working days previously.

The new pattern is also being followed by the Indian Consulates General in St Petersburg and Vladivostok. The Russian citizens normally have to apply for the Indian visa by a Russian company appointed by the Indian mission to allow them to submit their applications even on weekends and holidays, when the Embassy is closed.

Ambassador Malhotra said these measures to facilitate the travel by Russian businessmen and tourists to India were actually implemented from June 12, Russia's national day. According to him, the Indian Embassy in Moscow and the Consulates in St Petersburg and Vladivostok had issued about 110,000 visas to Russian citizens during 2010.

"I expect this number to increase by about 25 per cent this year", Malhotra said.

Tourist flows from Russia to India have picked up in recent years, with Goa, New Delhi- Agra- Jaipur Golden Triangle, Mumbai and Kulu-Manali emerging as major attractions. According to a recent report issued by the State Statistics Committee last year 12 million Russians visited foreign countries.

US Dept. of State has issued following notification:

We regret to inform you that, due to a computer programming problem, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery that were previously posted on this website have been voided. They were not valid and were posted in error. The results were not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants, as required by U.S. law.

If you checked this website during the first week in May and found a notice that you had been selected for further processing or a notice that you had not been selected, that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.

A new selection process will be conducted based on the original entries for the 2012 program.

If you submitted a qualified entry from October 5, 2010 to November 3, 2010, your entry remains with us. It will be included in the new selection lottery. Your confirmation number to check results on this website is still valid.

We expect the results of the new selection process to be available on this website on or about July 15, 2011. We regret any inconvenience this might have caused.

The number of visitors to Russia from European countries fell by up to 24 percent in the first quarter as tour operators blamed visa costs and red tape, an industry union said. It has fallen noticeably.

The number of tourists from neighboring Finland - recently linked to Saint Petersburg by high-speed train - fell by 24 percent in the first quarter, year on year, the union said, citing official statistics.

The numbers of German visitors fell by 10 percent in the same period and French and Spanish by 14 percent.

However the total number of tourists to Russia, which includes large groups such as the Chinese, rose by five percent.

The tour operators' union said almost all the international tour operators it questioned blamed falling European visitor numbers on "the high cost of tourist visas and the complexity of the visa process for foreigners."

In Spain, the introduction of visa centers to process applications has seen the cost of a tourist visa rise by 30 percent and the time taken from a maximum of 10 days to 21 days, it said.

People wishing to travel to Russia have to acquire an invitation from a hotel, an organization or a personal friend. Once in Russia, they are required to register with local police.

Russia has insistently called on the European Union to lift visa restrictions on its citizens and President Dmitry Medvedev recently hailed preliminary concessions at a Russia-EU summit.

While Russians can obtain long-term multi-entry tourist visas to Europe, Russia offers only single or double entry tourist visas that cannot stretch beyond booked travel dates.

Citing statistics that any simplification of visa rules increases tourism by up to 30 percent, the tourism union deputy president Yury Barzykin called for the Russian government to ensure its strategy was a "two-way street."

The Government of Rwanda has introduced a New Immigration Law No O4/2011 of 21/03/2011 and its implementing ministerial orders on regulation and fees published on Official Gazette No 24 of 13 June 2011. The New Law comes to implement the National Migration Policy aimed at attracting skilled workers, promoting investment, tourism and enhance national security.

The Law has also been harmonized with EAC Protocol on Free movement of people, labor and services as a requirement of the EAC partner states. The law provides that Citizens of East African Community partner states shall have the right to visit Rwanda for a period of up to six months without visa. They will be issued with a specific visitors pass by simple endorsement in their valid travel document.

In order to facilitate movements of Rwandans, new travel documents have been introduced in addition to the existing ones such as a collective Laissez-Passer issued to people traveling as a group mainly for social activities.

This collective Laissez-Passer will facilitate Rwandans traveling as a group and shall cost 10.000frw for ten people instead of 3000frw for individual application.

The law also has introduced a travel document for Border communities known as border pass. This travel document shall be issued free of charge and will facilitate cross border activities. Likewise, Rwandans intending to travel in emergency situations may also be issued with an emergency travel document which shall be issued free of charge.

A new CEPGL travel document has been re-introduced for Rwandans and foreigners residing in Rwanda while traveling within CEPGL member states. The issuance of CEPGL documents comes after being harmonization with CEPGL member states.

Furthermore the law gives the right for an individual to hold more than one passport after presenting clear justification. This is in case a person intending to travel while his/her passport is still in visa processes may apply for an additional passport.

The New law has introduced different classes of Visas and residence Permits to cater for different purposes of visiting, working, or residing in Rwanda. Each category of visa or permit shall have a corresponding fee. The repealed Immigration law had only five categories of visas which made it difficult to manage entry and stay of foreigners.

In this new immigration regulation, the duration of an entry visa has been extended from 15 up to 30 days with multiple entries. This will facilitate visitors of Rwanda to visit other countries within the region contrary using the Single entry visa.

A specific visitor’s pass was also introduced for EAC nationals for a period of up to 6 months. Tourist visa is defined in accordance with the Rwanda tourism policy where all visitors who enter the country and stay for less than a year are considered as tourists.

It is in this regard, that there are 11 classes of tourist visas among them being group tourist visa for tourists coming as a group, conference visa for facilitating visitors coming for conferences, job search visa for skilled people seeking employment in Rwanda, business visa for business persons searching for business opportunities, Itinerant business person visa for business persons with established business in Rwanda but do not reside, medical treatment visa for foreigners seeking medical treatment and Bridging visa which intends to help people.

Generally, the duration of tourist visas shall range from 3 months up to 2 years.
In promotion of e-governance, many visas shall be applied online at www.migration.gov.rw, but also Rwanda diplomatic mission or at the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration.

In an effort to facilitate foreigners wishing to work or reside in Rwanda, a work and resident permits have been combined. A person who will have acquired a resident permit will subsequently have a right to reside and work. Permits are divided into temporary resident permits and permanent resident permits. Temporary resident permits allow holders to reside in Rwanda for a specified period while permanent resident permit allows holders to reside for unspecified period.

Investors who invest in sectors such as agriculture and animal husbandry, ICT, hospitality industry, mining, manufacturing and other sectors shall be issued with 3 years temporary resident permit as an incentive.

This also applies for entrepreneurs investing in rural developments. Other Entrepreneurs shall be issued with 2 years temporary resident permit instead of 1 year as it was provided by the old law. All this was done as a way ofeasing doing business in Rwanda.

In aneffort to attract skilled workers as stated in the national migration policy, professionals whose qualification are listed on Occupation in Demand List (ODL) shall be eligible to a 3 years temporary resident permit.

Other employees shall get two years permit instead of one year as it used to be. The law has also catered for non-skilled workers permit. In order to facilitate cross border activities, Foreigners residing in Rwanda within the border area but working or doing business in the neighboring countries shall be issued Frontier pass. The same pass shall be issued to Foreigners residing within border area in one of the neighboring country who works or does business in Rwanda.

Students’ permit has been introduced to cater for foreigner students in Rwanda for study purposes and its fee has been reduced to 10,000 Frw. Similarly, a holiday’s workers permit has also been introduced to facilitate students and other people wishing to work during their holidays. A permit for a retired person with assured income has also been introduced to facilitate people who wish to have their retirements in Rwanda.

A temporary resident permit holder who has lawfully stayed in Rwanda for a period of 5 years shall be eligible to a permanent resident permit. Dependants and Spouses of a temporary resident permit holder shall be allowed to work and their permits shall cost a half fee of the principal applicant contrary to the existing practice. Foreigner ID card has also been catered for and shall be used as a resident card. In this regard, the card shall facilitate a foreigner who resides in Rwanda to acquire a Rwanda driving license.

Furthermore, People of Rwandan origin leaving in Diaspora but have lost their Rwandan citizenship due to acquisition of other nationalities but can not get dual citizenship may be eligible to permanent residence as a way of facilitating them to establish themselves in Rwanda.

In order to achieve its objectives the DG I&E officers have been given by the law the powers to investigate crimes related to Immigration and shall take the lead in the management of Rwandan borders.

The law has set penalties to those who shall not follow the existing immigration procedures. For effective management of immigrants, the law has established the obligations for foreigners and stakeholders such as employers, institutions of learning, hotels, and travel/transport agencies.

Generally, travel documents fees have not been changed, however new travel documents have been introduced to facilitate movement of Rwandans such as a Border pass which shall be issued free of charge, a collective laisser passer for Rwandans traveling as a group of ten people at reasonable fee of 10.000Frw and an emergency travel documents shall be issued free of charge to Rwandans.

Though the fee for the current laisser passer remains the same, there is an ongoing project for a new secure machine readable laisser passer which shall be in a booklet form and shall have a different fee.

A Diplomatic passport shall also be issued for the fee of 50,000 Frwas ordinary passport; however there will be a penalty for lost passport. The entry visa fee has been reduced from 60USD to 30 USD as a way of promoting tourist as early indicated there is a provision for multiple entry visa which shall be issued at a fee of 60 USD.

In a major relief to Sri Lankans traveller, the Indian High Commission said recently that Lankans who apply for a visa to travel to India on a particular day, will receive it the next day, if it happens to be a working day. If a person submits a visa application form to the Indian High Commission, the visa will be issued on the next working day.

“Earlier, there was a delay in issuing visas due to the war situation in the country. Since there is no security threat, the Indian High Commission has taken a decision to accelerate the process of issuing visas,” sources said. Visa applicants were earlier referred to New Delhi and once the green light was given from New Delhi, visa was issued by the Colombo office.

A senior official of the Indian High Commission said that considering the normality in the country, the Indian government has relaxed rules on issuing visas to Sri Lankan applicants. He said that if the situation improves further, issuing of visas will be carried out over the counter.

Albania has signed a visa-waiver agreement with Taiwan, becoming the 115th country to do so, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Friday in a press statement.

Effective immediately, Taiwanese passport holders visiting the European country for less than 90 days will not need apply for tourist visas, making travel more convenient for the local population, said MOFA spokesman James Chang. Asked how many Taiwanese people actually visited Albania last year, Chang said only: "Not many."

Albania is the 115th country or territory to grant visa-free access or landing visa privileges to Taiwanese citizens, according to MOFA.

According to Chang, the agreement is significant for Taiwan because Albania used to have a "very close relationship" with China. Albania has proposed several times to exclude Taiwan from the United Nations and has maintained a friendly relationship with China for a long time.

Taiwan lost its U.N. membership in 1971 and has since been unsuccessful in its attempts to rejoin the international body.

Germany hopes to attract doctors and mechanical and electrical engineers from abroad by scrapping restrictions that made it more difficult for them to find work.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government agreed recently to change immigration laws so that German companies can more easily hire engineers and doctors from abroad. Currently foreigners can only land a job if it pays more than euro66,000 ($95,000) annually, or the company can prove there are no qualified German or European Union citizens.

Experts say Germany is not turning out enough graduates and could face a shortage of 6.5 million qualified professionals by 2025. The proposed changes are part of a package aimed at increasing Germany's skilled labor force.

Tourists will have to wait a little longer to visit the East African Community (EAC) using a single visa since partner states have not put all the requirements in place. According to the Minister of East African Community Affairs, Monique Mukaruliza, some member states, are yet to set up necessary infrastructure to facilitate tourists who intend to visit the five-member bloc to utilize the EAC tourist visa system.

“The process to have a single tourist visa is underway and regional immigration chiefs are working on it. So far, what has been agreed upon is to speed up the process. We have to implement the foreign policy coordination by July 1, and issuing the single visa will be part of this policy,” Mukaruliza said.

She added that Rwanda is ready but cannot go it alone. We have to ensure that other countries are ready to move together on this project. We have enough IT equipment but we have to wait for other countries to acquire them as well. According to Mukaruliza, countries also need to put in place the legal framework that will facilitate the initiative.

The single EAC visa system, if enacted, is expected to allow people to use one visa to enter any of the countries in the region without any hindrance. The move to have the single EAC visa followed an appeal by tourism boards of partner states requesting for a common visa to accelerate promotion of the region as a single tourist destination.

“Currently, we are at a level of assessing how partner States are ready to implement the single tourist visa but we need to have the required equipment that will allow partner States to exchange security data to ensure there are no fake visas,” Mukaruliza said.

She, however, noted that beating the July 1 deadline is impossible, adding that the EAC Secretariat had conducted a study on how ready the partner States were and what was missing to initiate the visa. The minister said that there is no deadline set yet but all countries are keen on speeding up the process.

Tourism is a vital sector for the East African trading bloc and, as a key foreign exchange earners, has contributed immensely to the development of the region. The head of Tourism and Conservation at RDB, Rica Rwigamba, and the single entry visa into EAC would enable tourists access the entire region easily.

“The visa will attract people who are already visiting in the region to easily move to other countries,” said Rwigamba. She added that Rwanda is currently at the forefront of promoting the single tourist visa. Rwanda collected about $ 200 million as tourism revenues last year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Thursday that beginning July 1, all first-time passport applicants, regardless of age, will be required to complete their applications in person at designated MOFA offices.

The policy, now in a trial stage, was introduced to prevent fraud and lift Taiwan's passport security credentials in the international society, said Thomas Chen, director-general of the ministry's Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA).

Passport applicants who are unable to apply in person at one of the four MOFA offices in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, or Hualien can confirm their identity at their household registration office before having a travel agent handle their applications, he said.

In such cases, applicants under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult relative since citizens of that age do not yet have national identity (ID) cards, he said. He added, applicants who qualify for an ID card should obtain one before applying for a passport.

The identity confirmation process at the household registration offices should take less than 10 minutes, Chen said. The procedure includes filling out a form, confirming the identity of the applicant and matching photograph, and scanning documents.

In the trial period for the procedure, which began in March, 2,566 applicants went to household registration offices for identity confirmation, according to BOCA statistics.

Reflecting the importance of the United States’ diplomatic relationship with the Pacific Islands Countries, Ambassador C. Steven McGann dedicated the new United States Embassy facility in Suva, Fiji today. Fiji’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Mr. Solo Mara and Office Director of the Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), Donald Schenck attended the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The new Embassy facility was designed to incorporate green building techniques and to meet the principles of the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) green building rating system. The multi-building complex provides more than 150 U.S. embassy employees, both American and Fijian, with over 7,500 square meters of working space.

The new facility features a collection of 30 original works of art by artists from the United States and the Embassy's countries of accreditation: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu, all inspired by the natural beauty of the South Pacific. The collection transcends barriers of culture, time, and language through a visual representation of shared values between the United States and the Pacific Islands Countries.

The Pernix Group of Lombard, Illinois constructed the facility, which was designed by the architectural firm of Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum. The $81 million project generated jobs in both the United States and Fiji. The new facility was completed in June 2011 and at times involved more than 300 workers in its construction.

Since the 1999 enactment of the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act, OBO has moved more than 24,000 people into safer facilities. Including the dedication of the new Embassy in Suva, OBO has completed 81 diplomatic facilities and has an additional 35 projects in design or construction.

OBO’s mission is to provide safe, secure, and functional facilities for the conduct of U.S. diplomacy and the promotion of U.S. interests worldwide. These facilities should represent American values and the best in American architecture, engineering, technology, sustainability, art, culture, and construction execution.

On 1 July, the Lithuanian-Belgian agreement comes into force, under which Belgium will represent Lithuania when issuing Schengen visas in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Rwanda.

This agreement will facilitate travelling to Lithuania, because foreign citizens of the countries, in which Lithuania will be represented by Belgium and where there are no Lithuanian diplomatic representations, will be able to contact the Embassy of Belgium for visas to travel to Lithuania.

The agreement that was signed in Vilnius on 21 June by Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė and Belgian Ambassador to Lithuania Christian Verdonck will also come into force on 1 July. The agreement provides that in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, foreign nationals shall be able to submit applications for Schengen visas to Lithuania at a common centre that accepts applications for the issuance of Schengen visas. Lithuania has signed similar agreements of representation with Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Norway and Slovenia.

Currently, Lithuania is represented in the sphere of visa issuance by 22 Schengen countries in various regions of the world. Lithuanian diplomatic missions and consular posts represent other Schengen countries in eleven foreign countries.

The Embassy of the United States of America would like to announce that the Consular Office will be closed for non-emergency services between Friday, July 1, 2011 and Friday, July 8, 2011 while the Embassy moves to its new location in Ta Qali. During this time, only emergency American Citizen Services will be available.

Since the U.S. Embassy will be closed on Wednesday, June 29 in observation of a Maltese holiday, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, the last date available for visa interview appointments and non-emergency Consular services, will be Wednesday, June 22. Please remember that all Consular services are by appointment only and can be scheduled on the Appointment Calendar of the Embassy website at: http://malta.usembassy.gov. Inquiries can be directed via email to consularmalta@state.gov.

Hsieh Li-kung, director-general of Taiwan's National Immigration Agency (NIA), said on Monday that negotiations on securing U.S. visa waiver approval for Taiwanese passport holders were proceeding at a rapid pace. Hsieh, currently on a short trip to Washington D.C. conveyed that Ministry of Foreign Affairs is playing the leading role in the visa waiver talks.

Hsieh said the two sides had reached a high degree of consensus, and he hoped the U.S. could come to a decision soon in areas such as anti-terrorism cooperation, anti-human trafficking capabilities and documentation verification capabilities.

Meanwhile, Hsieh was also asked whether Taiwan was ready to handle the potential problem of Chinese independent tourists overstaying their visas once they are allowed into Taiwan starting at the end of the month. Hsieh replied that the rate of Chinese tourists overstaying their visas and disappearing has been lower than that of other countries since Taiwan opened its doors wider to Chinese visitors three years ago. During that time, however, the vast majority of Chinese nationals have been part of tightly structured tours, and will only be able to visit Taiwan on their own rather than as part of a tour group when the free independent traveler program begins in late June, increasing the potential for problems.

Hsieh hoped measures could be taken to lower runaway risks, suggesting, for instance, that officials of the two sides carefully examine visitors' identities .

The 10-year Canadian visa for Indians will be available from mid-July this year, a Canadian official said. In an announcement made last week, the Canadian government announced the validity of multi-entry visas issued for Indians will be increased to 10 years, from the present period of five years.

"The 10-year visas will be available from mid-July," Bruce Grundison, Deputy Immigration Programme Manager of the Canadian High Commission , said here Thursday. "There are some technical changes which need to be made," he said.

Announcing the new visa regime last week, Canadian International Trade Minister and Asia-Pacific Gateway Minister Edward Fast said the new visa regime will boost trade ties between the two countries, which seek to treble their trade to $15 billion by 2015.

Replying to a question, Canadian Deputy High Commissioner Jim Nickel said there was no problem in Indian students getting students visa for Canada .

Citizens of the Maldives will soon have access to a convenient online tourist visa for Australia, with the Australian government's announcement that the e676 electronic tourist visa will soon be expanded into the area.

Maldivians can apply for the e676 electronic tourist visa online from 1 July. The application process is fast, secure and convenient, and gives applicants the ability to check the progress of their application electronically. The visa does not require a visa label to be placed in a passport.

A notification is sent to the client providing details of the visa and airlines are able to confirm the visa entitlements through the Advanced Passenger Processing System. Clients can also print a copy of their visa approval notification email to carry with them whilst travelling to Australia.

The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, along with the U.S. consulates in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Recife, will open on Saturday, June 18, to accommodate Brazilian travelers seeking visas to visit the United States. U.S. consulates in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo will also open on July 23. All appointment openings for visa interviews were rapidly filled.

Trade, commerce, education, and tourism between Brazil and the United States have grown dramatically over the past several years. This has fueled a 230 percent increase in Non-Immigrant visa (NIV) demand in Brazil since 2006. In 2010 alone, the U.S. consulate general in Sao Paulo issued more than 319,000 NIV’s – more than any other post worldwide. This demand is expected to continue and even increase by up to 30 percent over last year.

About 95 percent of all Brazilian visa applicants receive visas, and most visas issued are the new combined B1/B2 for business and tourist travel with ten-year validity.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohyliov has predicted that ID cards will be issued instead of internal passports in Ukraine in a year.

"As for the replacement of internal passports in Ukraine with ID cards, I think that it will take about nine months or a year," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday, after an EU-Ukraine ministerial meeting on the implementation of an action plan on liberalizing the visa regime.

Mohyliov said that the provision of Interior Ministry departments and many government agencies with devices for reading these cards remained a problem in this area.

Ukraine has established a single rate for visa processing, and reduced the number of visa types. This is stated in Cabinet of Ministers' decision of June 1 on the rules of drawing visas for entry to Ukraine and transit through its territory which will come into force on September 10, 2011.

According to Foreign Ministry's press secretary Oleksandr Dykusarov, the main purpose of the adoption of this resolution is to bring the legal framework of Ukraine in the visa field in conformity with modern requirements and EU legislation, as well as to improve the efficiency of state bodies of Ukraine in the sphere of combating illegal migration. The decree also regulates the issue of long-term residence and employment in the territory of Ukraine by representatives of foreign non-governmental organizations, foreign business entities, foreign banks, providing for registration by the specified categories of aliens of long-term visas and temporary residences.

Australia has welcomed highly skilled human resource from India and those with outstanding abilities to the country through its new reformed immigration policies, aimed at boosting its economy. This will enable highly skilled human resource from India with Indian degrees in the fields of health care, IT, engineering to apply for immigration to Australia under its Global Non-discriminatory Immigration programme, Peter Speldewinde, Assistant Secretary, Labour Market Branch of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Government of Australia told reporters in Mumbai today.

"We have brought in a fundamental shift in the immigration process, focusing on medium and long-term skill needs for Australia and the age limit for immigration of such human resource has been increased to 50 (from 45 yrs)," he said.

Those who apply from July 1 this year will come under the new point system for a direct visa application. While the proposed system of skilled migrant selection model will be based on an Expression of Interest (EOI) and will be launched from July 1, 2012, he said.

For the 2011 application, once the threshold English language requirement is met with, the applicant can claim points under a range of different factors (Indian degrees are now recognised by Australia) and must meet the pass mark of 65 points to be eligible for a points tested visa, he said adding that the highest points were for PhDs.

The EOI is an on-line application form for skilled migration to Australia and once selected under the merit list the candidate will be invited to apply for visa, he said.

UK Immigration Minister Damian Green has announced the next set of changes to the Immigration Rules affecting Tier 4 - the student tier - of the points-based system. The has been laid in Parliament today. The changes will come into effect on 4 July 2011.

The Home Secretary announced changes to the Immigration Rules in a statement to Parliament on 22 March, following a major public consultation on reforming Tier 4. The first set of changes came into effect on 21 April.

The aim of the revised Immigration Rules is to deliver a strong migration system which tackles immigration abuse, while allowing genuine students to study at genuine colleges.

From 4 July we will:

- Restrict work entitlements to migrants studying at higher educational institutions (HEIs) and publicly funded further education colleges only;
- Restrict the sponsorship of dependants to those studying at postgraduate level at HEIs on courses lasting at least 12 months, and government-sponsored students on courses lasting at least 6 months;
- Require education providers to vouch that a new course represents genuine academic progression;
- Ensure that maintenance funds are genuinely available to the applicant, by introducing a declaration on the visa application form;
- Commit to publish a list of financial institutions that we consider, on the basis of experience, do not verify financial statements to our satisfaction in more than 50 per cent of a sample of cases;
- Introduce a streamlined application process for low-risk nationals applying to attend courses with Highly Trusted Sponsors;
- Extend the list of courses for which students must receive ATAS clearance;
- Restrict the ability to deliver accountancy courses accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to those sponsors accorded platinum or gold status by ACCA; and
- Clarify the position of overseas universities with campuses in the UK.

The Department of State has released the new visa bulletin for July 2011 on June 9, 2011 which continues to bring cheers to Chinese and Indian nationals whose Priority Dates get benefited.

For the month of July 2011, the EB-1 category was current for both Chinese and Indian nationals. In the EB-2 category, the cut-off dates moved forward nearly five months for Chinese nationals (from October 15, 2006 to March 8, 2007), and also moved forward nearly five months for Indian nationals (from October 15, 2006 to March 8, 2007). In the EB-3 category, the cut-off dates moved forward from May 15, 2004 to July 1, 2004 for Chinese nationals and moved forward from April 22, 2002 to May 1, 2002 for Indian nationals.

For the month of June 2011, the EB-1 category was current for both Chinese and Indian nationals. In the EB-2 category, the cut-off dates moved forward more than two months for Chinese nationals (from August 1, 2006 to October 15, 2006), and moved forward more than three months for Indian nationals (from July 1, 2006 to October 15, 2006). In the EB-3 category, the cut-off dates moved forward from April 15, 2004 to May 15, 2004 for Chinese nationals and moved forward from April 15, 2002 to April 22, 2002 for Indian nationals.

We will keep you updated on the recent developments on the Employment base Visa Bulletin.

Canada gave a new push to Indo-Canada trade relations when it announced a new visa regime that would allow Indians 10-year multiple entry visas to the country. The announcement was made by the Canadian Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Edward Fast at the roundtable discussion with high-level representatives of the Indian government and business community at the two-day mini PBD Canada 2011 convention, a day for Overseas Indians.

The minister said that the new visa regime would accelerate bilateral trade and investment and cultural bonds.

The convention is being organised here for the first time by the Government of India and the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the High Commission of India as part of the celebrations to mark the Year of India in Canada. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, who is leading the Indian delegation to the convention of the Indian-origin people settled in North America and the Caribbean, said that both countries were committed to strengthen and deepen their bilateral trade.

She said India and Canada aim at a bilateral trade target of US $15 billion in the next five years. Both countries were in talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that would yield significant economic benefit and lower tariff on a large number of products for both the countries.

Kaur said that the India-Canada relations had undergone a “sea change” recently. On November 12, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper announced the launch of talks on the CEPA.

“A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is an free trade agreement (FTA) from Indian perspective. It is aimed at promoting market opening policies and stands to become one of the most important building blocks in constructing a broader and deeper bilateral relationship,” she said.

S M Gavai, the High Commissioner of India, said that the new 10 years multiple entry visa would help to meet the longstanding demand of Indians businesses and others who would like to come Canada frequently and would help in ‘Building Bridges’ between the two countries.

The PBD-Canada 2011 is a conference that brings more than 1500 high-level business and government delegates together, in Canada. It comes just a few weeks before the Bollywood Oscars in Toronto, whose TV audience of 700 million will put Canada, however briefly, at the centre of Indian cultural consciousness.

Migrants coming to the UK to work on temporary visas will no longer be able to apply for settlement, under proposals announced by the government today.
The government is implementing reforms to the immigration system which will reduce the level of immigration to sustainable levels. Today's announcement is the next step in this process.

Launching a public consultation on reforms to the work routes leading to settlement, Immigration Minister Damian Green set out plans to re-classify visas as either 'temporary' or 'permanent' and introduce stricter criteria for those who want to stay.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said:
'The proposals I am making today are aimed at breaking the link between temporary and permanent migration.

'Settlement has become almost automatic for those who choose to stay. This needs to change. The immigration system has got to be made to work properly.

'We want the brightest and best workers to come to the UK, make a strong contribution to our economy while they are here, and then return home.'
Under the current system, many workers are allowed to apply to stay here permanently. In 2010, 84,000 people who entered the UK for employment were granted settlement. This compares to less than 10,000 who qualified for employment related settlement in 1997.

The government has already implemented new settlement requirements for skilled workers entering under Tiers 1 and 2 of the points-based system, which require applicants to demonstrate English-language proficiency, continue to meet the salary requirements and to pass a new criminality test.

Key proposals under consideration in the 12 week consultation are as follows:
- Re-branding Tier 2 (the skilled worker route) as temporary, ending the assumption that settlement will be available for those who enter on this route;
- Allowing certain categories of Tier 2 migrant, for example those earning over £150,000 or occupations of a specific economic or social value to the UK, to retain an automatic route to settlement;
- Creating a new category into which, after three years in the UK, the most exceptional Tier 2 migrants may switch and go on to apply for settlement;
- Allowing Tier 2 migrants who do not switch into a settlement route to stay for a maximum of five years with the expectation that they and any dependants will leave at the end of that time;
introducing an English language requirement for adult dependants of Tier 2 migrants applying to switch into a route to settlement;
- Restricting the maximum period of leave for Tier 5 Temporary Workers to 12 months; and
closing or reforming routes for overseas domestic workers.

Damian Green added:
'A small number of exceptional migrants will be able to stay permanently but for the majority, coming here to work will not lead automatically to settlement in the UK.'
The Government has committed to reforming all routes of entry to the UK in order to bring immigration levels under control. The settlement, Tier 5 and overseas domestic worker reforms will work alongside the annual limit, the new student visa reforms and changes to the family route which will be consulted on later this year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hails the favorable vote returned by the European Parliament, by a wide margin (487 votes in favor, 77 votes against and 29 abstentions) today, June 8th, 2011, to Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen Area. By this vote the European parliament is sending a clear political message in support of Romania’s quickest joining of the Schengen Area.

The fact that beyond the actual recognition of Romania’s meeting the accession criteria under the Schengen acquis, the European political groups and parliamentarians in general adopted an extremely constructive, principled approach throughout the debates in recognizing the advanced stage of our preparations and, by way of consequence, in declaring open support for our accession.
In the current European context today’s favorable vote reconfirms that the European Parliament remains deeply attached to the European emblematic projects, and that enhancing cooperation at European level is extremely valuable and allows our citizens to appreciate the full benefits of the European construction.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses hope that the positive message conveyed by the European Parliament today with its confidence vote given Romania for its joining the Schengen Area will allow for the adoption by the Council, within the shortest delays, of the decision concerning Romania joining the Schengen Area.

France will be granting Taiwanese youth the working holiday visa soon, the Bureau Francais de Taipei said Wednesday at the institute's name change press conference. The Taiwan-France working holiday program is at its final stage of completion and hopefully will be ready before the arrival of summer, said the Bureau Director Patrick Bonneville.

Bonneville noted that a consensus has been reached between the two sides and France will become a new working holiday destination for Taiwanese people as soon as the administrative procedures are finished.

"We hope as soon as possible, " Bonneville said, but he was unable to give a date for the launch.

Taiwan currently has working holiday visa agreements with six countries -- Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Germany. France is expected to be the seventh.

Institut Francais de Taipei, a name used by the French representative office in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties since 1991, was changed to the Bureau Francais de Taipei in accordance with the French government's cultural policy abroad.

The French government, since the beginning of 2011, has created a specific public establishment responsible for all overseas cultural and promotional affairs and named it Institut Francais.

During the month of May 2011, a total number of 865 Visa on Arrival ( VoAs ) were issued . The number of VoAs issued during the month of April 2011 were 1234. During the period January-May 2011, a total number of 5004 VoAs were issued.

The country wise break up of VoAs issued during May 2011 was, Indonesia (122), New Zealand (121), Philippines (206), Japan (177), Singapore (149), Finland (57), Vietnam (6), Myanmar (4), Luxemburg (4) , Laos (1) and Cambodia (18).

The country wise break up of VoAs issued during January-May 2011 was, New Zealand (1067), Japan (954), Philippines (829), Singapore (745), Indonesia (673), Finland (573), Cambodia (67), Vietnam (38), Luxemburg (29) Myanmar (27) and Laos (2).

India is doing a step ahead in the Immigration reform in terms of issuance of Tourist visa. During the period January-May 2011, the maximum number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (2766), followed by Mumbai (1166), Chennai (825) and Kolkata (247).

As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India, Government has launched a Scheme of “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) from January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxemburg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. This scheme has been extended for the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar from January 2011

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya discussed Estonia’s request for Estonian citizens to be able to enter Thailand without a visa, bilateral relations, co-operation in international organisations, and tourism exchange.

Foreign Minister Paet said that Estonian citizens could be given the opportunity to visit Thailand without a visa. “Currently Estonian citizens must apply for a Thai visa at the border,” he noted.

Thai Foreign Minister Piromya promised he would do whatever he could to make sure that Estonian citizens can travel to Thailand without a visa in the near future.

Paet asserted that Thailand is an important partner for Estonia in South-East Asia and that we will soon be prepared to sign an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and a cultural and educational co-operation agreement with Thailand. “Estonia could also be of interest to Thai entrepreneurs as a place to develop a regional distribution centre,” he added.

Foreign Minister Paet also met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar in Budapest. Foreign Minister Zandanshatar stated that Mongolia is very interested in learning about Estonia’s reform experiences so that it can strengthen democracy in its own state and learn about how a multi-party system functions.

Paet confirmed that Estonia is open to the idea of sharing its reform experiences with Mongolia. “Establishing regular political consultation would definitely be helpful,” he noted. Estonia will also soon be appointing a non-residing ambassador and an honorary consul to Mongolia.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Latvian Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis met in Budapest and signed a bilateral agreement on the reciprocal exchange and protection of classified information between Estonia and Latvia.

All national children under the age of 15 must have an Emirates ID card by the end of this month, the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) said yesterday.

Although no penalties have been set for families that fail to meet the deadline, officials said they hoped people would be prompt. "There are only a few locals who did not do it yet," an Eida official said. "That is why we set a deadline."

Non-nationals are also required to apply for ID cards for children under the age of 15, but no deadline has been set. The cards will be required for anyone renewing their residency visa. That, the official said, would be considered their deadline.

Newcomers to the country will be required to obtain an ID card for their children on arrival. "It will help to see how many people are in the UAE," the official said. "And it will help the Government in so many things."

Children do not have to be present at the typing centre when their parents apply for the ID cards. Unlike adults, children do not have to give fingerprints. A parent or guardian must bring passport and visa copies and a passport-sized photo of the child on a light blue background. Any child who has a passport needs an ID card. The cost for children is Dh120.

Ukraine and Russia will extend their consular presence in the two countries, according to the agreement reached at the fifth meeting of the subcommittee on international cooperation of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission in Odesa.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko said the expansion of the consular presence is important for the development of bilateral economic cooperation.the sides agreed on the opening of Ukraine's consulate general in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) and Russia's consulate general in Donetsk (eastern Ukraine). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, said that Russia wanted to open its consulates general in Sevastopol, Uzhgorod, and Dnipropetrovsk. Hryshchenko noted that this year "very significant work was done to improve the Russian-Ukrainian relations, and it is giving real results."

Kosovo will introduce visas for Russian and Chinese nationals, the local media reported.
Kosovo is considering introducing visas for countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, including those who recognized its independence.

Visas will be introduced for Russia and China not because they have not recognized Kosovo’s independence, but because the local authorities believe most refugees arrive from these two countries.

Kosovo’s borders will be open for citizens of the U.S., all regional countries and the EU.

The increase in H-1B and L1 visa fee by US Congress to fund enhanced border security measures, which was basically intended to have financial implications on Indian companies, is impacting American firms too, a key Democratic Congressman has said, highlighting the need to fix this.

"Mr Speaker, I rise to bring to your attention an unintended consequence brought on when we enacted last year's emergency supplemental appropriations bill to fund additional border resources HR6080, the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act," Congressman Steven R Rothman said on the floor of the House of Representatives.

This bill, the New Jersey Congressman said, was fully paid for by imposing additional fees for new H-1B and L-1 visas on a select group of companies. Specifically, the companies impacted are those with more than 50 employees; and with a US workforce in which more than 50 per cent are on a professional temporary visa -- basically the H-1B and L-1 visas.

"While, I applaud the intent of this provision to incentivise job creation at home, I would like to express my concern about the implementation of the additional visa fees. These fees were meant to be targeted at companies who utilise H-1B and L-1 visas at very high levels for the purpose of building their employees' proficiencies in IT, so that they can take this knowledge and the work back to their home countries," he noted.

"It turns out, however, that some US companies are being impacted by these fee increases because many of their professionals are stuck in green card backlogs and in the meantime remain in temporary visa status," Rothman said.

The Congressman noted that in his remarks at the time of Senate passage of HR 6080, Senator Charles Schumer commented that, when the H-1B visa programme is used as a stepping-stone for skilled immigrants to obtain permanent resident status, it is "a good programme for everyone involved. It is good for the company. It is good for the worker.

"And it is good for the American people who benefit from the products and jobs created by the innovation of the H-1B visa holder. I agree with Senator Schumer's remarks, and encourage my colleagues to work with me on a technical fix that would ensure that the implementation of this bill is consistent with these policy goals," he said.

"The clearest way to achieve these goals would be to exempt from the so-called '50/50' calculation any H-1B or L-1 worker who has sought to acquire permanent residence by taking steps to file or is the beneficiary of a pending or approved application for alien employment certification with the Department of Labour, or a pending or approved immigrant petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services," Rothman said.

Those H-1B and L-1 workers are best defined as 'intending immigrants,' as they relinquish their non-immigrant intent when their employers pursue a Green Card application on their behalf, he said.

"We should not punish companies that are doing the right thing by investing considerable resources to sponsor professionals for permanent resident visas," Rothman said.

"They are building a highly skilled workforce in the US within technical specialties in which few American workers with applicable skills exist. This is something we need to do if we are going to grow out of our current economic difficulties," he said.

Rothman had earlier urged Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, to consider making the technical fix as part of regulatory guidance on this new fee.

"The Department later informed me that such a fix required Congressional action," he said.

"I raise this issue Mr Speaker, because it is my hope that we can work with our colleagues in the Senate to ensure that companies that are trying to do the right thing are not unintentionally hurt by this provision. Since this unintended consequence was caused by a provision in an appropriations bill, I hope that we can make the necessary technical fix on an appropriations bill at the appropriate time," Rothman said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced on its official website on Wednesday that China's first electronic passport, introduced on January 30 of this year, will take effect beginning July 1.

According to the announcement, the ministry has informed other countries of the electronic passport by providing the new passport sample, description and electronic certificate and has asked for the necessary cooperation from foreign governments.

The e-passport features an electronic data storage chip that contains personal information about the passport holder, including photos and fingerprints, which greatly increase security and the credibility of the passport.

The e-passport for foreign affairs carries images of China in the background, including sights of the Great Wall, while the common e-passport features the images of Chinese world cultural sites in front of images of red Chinese-style knots, according the Department of Consular Affairs. A member of the department said that the ministry will also continue to issue traditional passports, as the switch to e-passports will take some time.

Russia and the European Union have reached an agreement on long-term visas, for up to five years, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday.

"In addition to a visa-free regime with the EU, we are also negotiating visa facilitation," said Vladimir Voronkov, director of the ministry's European Cooperation Department.
The EU currently issues short-term visas - from several days to one year, although the Schengen Agreement allows five-year visas, he said.

Five-year visas will not be issued immediately but only after a person has received a short-term visa and shown himself to be a responsible, law-abiding citizen, Voronkov said. Russia has no plans to scrap visa requirements unilaterally, he added.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has proposed a new process for filing H-1B visa petitions that it says could help businesses save millions of dollars, particularly due to reduced legal fees.

But some critics warn that the government proposal would also create a new way to game the H-1B visa system.

The USCIS proposal aims to prevent a recurrence of what happened in 2009, when the government received 163,000 H-1B petitions for 85,000 slots allowed under the cap.

The result of that year's overload of H-1B applications: "Multiple truckloads of petitions were stacked on pallets on loading docks, in offices and in hallways," said the USCIS in its proposal.Employers had to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to file these petitions, without any guarantee that it would survive a lottery held to make the final selection.

The USCIS said its proposal aims to fix the problem. Under the proposed rule, employers would initially register electronically by completing a relatively simple form in a process that should take about 30 minutes. The electronic registrations would be used by officials to create a first cut of full registrants. A waiting list would be created if the number of H-1B registrations exceeds the cap limit.

The USCIS says that the "main benefit that will result from this rule is that employers that want to hire an H-1B worker will be able to forgo the time, effort and expense associated with the preparation of a full H-1B petition" and completing U.S. Department of Labor paperwork, "until USCIS notifies the H-1B employer that space exists under the cap."

Some immigration attorneys believe the USCIS plan would create a new way to game the system of applying for H-1B visas. The American Immigration Lawyers Association is warning that the system will create a rush of registrations and "generate false H-1B demand" by "creating a flood of unnecessary or unqualified registrations, potentially numbering in the thousands, that will ultimately be abandoned or denied."

It's expected that the USCIS will set up this electronic registration period each March, just prior to the April 1 start date for new fiscal year applications. The lawyers' association said the proposal presupposes that employers will have completed work on projecting staffing levels needed for the entire U.S. fiscal year.

The USCIS projects that the new rules would save employers some $24 million in preparation costs over the next ten years.

The USCIS ended the comment period on the proposal rule last month. This USCIS proposal was borne out of the crush of the H-1B petitions the agency received in the pre-recession years. The pace of demand has slowed since then.

As of last week, the government has received 13,100 H-1B petitions toward its 65,000 cap, and 9,000 petitions toward the cap of 20,000 that's set aside for advanced degree holders. It's expected that the USCIS will reach the fiscal 2012 cap for the year, though it's still months away from doing so.

The relative fall-off in demand is blamed on a still weak economy, as well as a recent move by Congress to impose a new $2,000 fee for H-1B petitions on companies, mostly offshore firms, that rely heavily on holders of U.S. visas.

Offshore firms may be shifting to other visas, such as L-1, as well as improving the efficiency of their onshore operations, and/or boosting U.S. hiring, to reduce the need for visa holders.