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The European Commission (EC) is not planning on implementing any measures for the time being that would result in ending the liberalized visa regime for the Western Balkans, EC Spokesman Martin Grabiec told B92 on Friday (May 6th). He confirmed that several days ago the EU’s executive arm had received a letter from Belgium, expressing concern about certain cases involving so-called false asylum seekers, but said the EC’s stance is clear. “Even if Belgium really requested suspension of the visa-free regime it would be necessary to hold a debate and get consent from all member states,” he explained.

On Saturday, European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur on Visa Liberalisation for the Western Balkans Tanja Fajon told Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti that “a new wave of false asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia, especially in Belgium and Sweden is a reason for a great concern among the EU member states.”
According to her, the possibility of reintroducing visas for the citizens of one or both countries should not be ruled out. “Visa-free travel has certain restrictions. If you don’t respect the rules you will face consequences,” she warned.

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Norway’s Consulate General in Murmansk plans to enter agreement with an external company for receiving of the visa applications and handing out issued visas.

More and more people in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions apply for visa to Norway, Sweden and Finland.

In February, Finland opened the world’s largest visa-centre in St. Petersburg. The centre is operated by a private Indian company that receives applications and delivers out visas on behalf of the Finnish Consulate General in the city. Now, Norway wants to do the same in Murmansk.

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The entry to Panama of foreigners from countries with restricted visas must be approved by the National Council of Security, Public Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino said. He added that this new norm will be applied across the country and offices of the consulates of Panama all over the world have been instructed that the measures take immediate effect.

“The measure is being announced yesterday by Migration Director of Panama and at all the consulates in the world,” he said, adding that although the new measure has not been approved as law yet it was already being enforced.

He said the decision is under the administration of the Security Council rather than the National Migration Service which up until yesterday had handled such issues. Mulino said that citizens from such countries will have to submit a request to the Migration Service but that request will then be transferred to the Security Council. Mulino added that his office is working on the executive decree, which will be presented to Panama’s President Ricardo Martinelli to be ratified and published.

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Melbourne, Beleaguered Australian universities have come together to plead for easing of visa restrictions for students from India and China. The two most populous countries in the world provide the vast bulk of international students to Australia. There has been a significant drop in students from India putting many self-funded Australian universities and other higher education providers in deep financial crisis.

Though the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) recently eased the visa norms for India and 37 other countries, a body representing Australian universities want more relaxations to save the third largest export of the country.

There has been a call to revamp the Assessment Level system which decides the key requirements like financials and English Language requirements for the international students interested in Australian education. Currently, students from India and China are classified under Assessment Level 3 and 4. The visa requirements become stringent as the level goes up.

“Broadly, the extraordinary burden placed on high quality university students from Assessment Level 3 and 4 countries, particularly in terms of financial proof, is critically prohibitive to the ongoing sustainability of the international education industry,” Universities Australia (UA) said in a submission to the Knight Review of Student Visa Program. The submission suggests varied Assessment Levels within countries like China and India.

The need for selective Assessment Levels has been made as “in India and China if high rates of fraud and non-compliance exist in Punjab and Fujian respectively, then they should attract a much higher assessment level compared to other regions within those large countries”, UA argued in the submission to the review body. The Universities Australia has blamed “Commonwealth” agencies for not acting in time to prevent fraudulent practices even though “the triple digit growth in 572 visas from Nepal and India (Punjab) was very obvious” in 2009-10. The subclass 572 visas were granted to students enrolled in vocational courses like hairdressing and cookery.

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Georgian Foreign Ministry welcomes the U.S. decision to extend the visa term for Georgian citizens. Given the visa-free regime that Georgia has established for United States citizens, based on the agreement reached at a meeting of a working group under the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter, the U.S. government has decided on a maximum extension of the visa term for certain categories of Georgian citizens, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.

The maximum visa term for tourist and business visas (B1/B2) and transit (C1/D) visas will increase from the current 12 months, multiple entry, to 120 months, multiple entry and in the A, F, G, H, J, L, M, O, P, Q, R categories – from the current 12 months to 60 months; in the B, C, D categories – from the current 12 months to 120 months.

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Georgia introduces a visa-free regime for citizens of Albania, Iraq, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the Parliamentary Secretary of the government Gia Khuroshvili told Trend, citizens of these countries will be eligible for visa-free stay in Georgia for 360 days.

According to the Georgian government, the introduction of the visa-free regime will facilitate the inflow of foreign investments in the country and tourism development. Earlier, Georgia introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of the United States and European Union states. The bill was considered by ministers at yesterday’s governmental meeting, and will be submitted to parliament for approval in the next few days.

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The government will issue a visa exclusively for foreigners marrying Koreans, from as early as the latter half of this year, as part of efforts to boost its immigration efficiency and help foreign spouses better settle down here. The plan comes as the Ministry of Justice Friday unveiled changes in the nation’s immigration law, saying it will submit a revised bill to the National Assembly for approval in the near future with an aim of making the changes take effect in the second half of this year.

A new F-6 visa will be issued to foreigners who come here to marry Koreans in a bid to better help a growing number of migrant wives, mostly from China and Southeast Asian countries, adapt to the new living environment and deal with legal and other issues here. Currently, they receive an F-2 visa just as other foreigners who wish to stay here for longer than 90 days.

The country has seen a rapid increase in the number of foreigners coming to marry Koreans over the past few years. The number was estimated to exceed 140,000 nationwide as of the end of 2010. “It is difficult to implement policies specifically directed to “marriage immigrants” because there are many types of long-term foreign residents under the current F-2 visa regime. We expect the introduction of a separate visa for foreign spouses will help us provide timely and more tailored-made policy assistance,” a ministry official said.

Foreigners whose Korean husbands or wives have died or gone missing will also be eligible for the visa. Additionally, foreign retail investors bringing in more than $500,000 here will be given the F-2 visa, while those who invest over $300,000 and hire at least two Korean employees will also be given the same status. Currently, only foreigners employed by a company investing
over $500,000 here are given the right to stay for the long term.

In a bid to secure talented human resources, the government also plans to make foreigners holding Ph.D. degrees eligible for the F-2 visa. Now, only those who have Ph.D.s and are employed by domestic companies are issued with the visa.

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A Russian visa center will open in Helsinki in the coming days and there will be three more – in Turku, Lappeenranta and Mariehamn – all scheduled to open next month.

The centers will make things easier for Finns applying for Russian visas. But they will only accept documents, while decision-making on visas will remain the prerogative of diplomatic missions.

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The Executive Yuan passed a draft amendment Thursday that simplifies the process for foreigners seeking residency in Taiwan in an attempt to attract foreign talent into the country. A new article was added that stipulates that if a foreigner enters Taiwan on a “four-in-one” employment pass, which incorporates a visa, work permit, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit, he or she will not be required to apply for an ARC again with the National Immigration Agency (NIA) upon arrival in Taiwan.

The ARC is the identification card issued to foreign residents in Taiwan. Under current regulations, a foreign professional who wishes to work in Taiwan has to apply for a work permit from the Council of Labor Affairs and a resident visa from a Taiwan embassy or representative office overseas before applying for an ARC from the NIA within 15 days of arrival in the country.

As Taiwan is expected to enter a zero population growth era from 2022, an important issue for the government to consider when formulating its immigration policy in the future is how it can attract foreign talent to make up for a shortage of homegrown talent resulting from a decline in the country’s fertility rate, said Premier Wu Den-yih.

Wu said the most important job for the government at present is to allow more non-resident foreigners to enter the country, relax restrictions on the residence rights of overseas-born children of Taiwanese nationals, simplify the process for foreigners applying for residency, and strengthen the management of international marriage brokers.

According to the draft amendment, overseas-born children of Taiwanese nationals can now apply for residence or settlement in Taiwan at any age. Previous regulations stipulated that only those over the age of 20 are eligible to file for application.

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A Redwood City, Calif., man was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison and three years of supervised release following his conviction by a federal jury for conspiracy, impersonating a federal officer and attempted extortion.

Frank Salvador Solorza’s sentencing came after a jury found him guilty of attempting to extort money from six individuals while posing as a federal immigration officer. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The jury also found that the 46-year-old had engaged in a conspiracy with others to commit these crimes.

Evidence at trial showed Solorza conspired with others to send letters purporting to be from a government immigration agency. The letters were directed to six individuals. The letters demanded money — $50,000 in total — to clear up the immigration status of each individual. The letters threatened jail and deportation of each individual if the money was not paid.

After receiving the letters, the victims contacted ICE HSI, which immediately opened an investigation. The evidence at trial showed the defendant and others also called the individuals after delivery of the letters and continued to claim to be officials from a government immigration agency and to demand money. During these calls, the defendant and others designated a time and location for the victims to pay the money. The defendant was arrested by HSI agents when he arrived at the designated location at the designated time and attempted to collect the money. When arrested, the defendant was wearing a clown suit as a disguise and riding a child’s bicycle.

“The prison term in this case is absolutely appropriate,” said Shane Folden, special agent in charge for ICE HSI in San Francisco. “Regrettably, schemes like this involving the impersonation of federal officers potentially undermine the public’s confidence in their government and law enforcement. HSI will continue to aggressively pursue those who exploit innocent individuals for their own enrichment.”
Solorza was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2009. In October 2009, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment accusing him of one count of conspiracy, two counts of impersonating a federal officer, and two counts of attempted extortion by a federal official.