quarterly immigration newsletter - moving on€¦ · quarterly immigration newsletter. reliable,...
TRANSCRIPT
GLOBAL TRENDS REPORT
Regulating Foreign Labor
August 2018
Quarterly Immigration Newsletter
Reliable accurate and timely immigration information is critical for strategic business planning and the effective mobilization of your workforce Obtaining up-to-date information is challenging especially for countries that change immigration rules frequentlymdashbut even more challenging is understanding how these changes will impact business costs compliance recruiting lead times risks and global opportunities BALrsquos Global Trends Report provides robust analysis that explains why these changes are significant for your company and furnishes the information you need to make critical decisions for your mobility program
ANALYSIS TO MOVE PEOPLE
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Countries around the world are taking a sophisticated approach to immigration policies to regulate foreign labor and prioritize the hiring of local workers Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach countries are finding creative ways to regulate immigration according to their individual economies and local labor demands
AMERICAS
EUROPE
MIDDLE EAST
ASIA
OCEANIA
AFRICA
7
11
14
16
19
21
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Immigration policies can help countries enhance or restrict the flow of foreign labor depending on local needs Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach countries are finding creative ways to regulate immigration according to their individual economies and varying local labor demands across different industry sectors and geographical regions Examples of these policies include imposing numerical quotas on certain categories of foreign workers levying fees on employers to fund training of local workers taxing expatriates who bring family members loosening visa requirements for in-demand occupations and tailoring labor-market testing to attract foreign talent in some industries while protecting local workers in others as well as the strategic use of work-permit exemptions incentives and penalties for sponsoring employers BALrsquos Quarterly Newsletter looks at this trend in greater detail and provides a county-by-country analysis that illustrates the wide variety of policy tools currently in use
UNITED STATES Push for companies to lsquoHire Americanrsquo
The US government continues to pursue a restrictionist regulatory and policy agenda under President Trumprsquos ldquoBuy American and Hire Americanrdquo Executive Order The changes do not focus on labor market testing requirements specifically but they do limit who can come to the country and what activities they can pursue once they arrive
In recent months the administration moved to scrap the Obama-era International Entrepreneur Rule increase the focus on employers who place H-1B workers and STEM OPT students at third-party sites and expand the discretion adjudicators have to promptly reject im-migration petitions The administration is expected to soon end work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders And regulatory priorities in the near future may include reorganizing the H-1B lottery and reform-ing B-1 and B-2 businesstourist visa regulations
Demand for US visas remains high even with new restrictions but employers must be aware of their obligations and restrictions as the administra-tion aims to encourage companies to ldquohire Ameri-canrdquo and not discriminate against US workers
CANADAGlobal Skills Strategy to ease recruitment
Canada established new labor market testing exceptions as a tactic for attracting high-skilled workers last year Officials launched the Global Skills Strategy in June of 2017 allowing companies to avoid lengthy Labour Market Impact Assessment recruitment procedures by hiring from a newly established Global Talent Stream for high-skilled workers filling in-demand jobs The program also provides a work permit exemption for short-term work activities and reduces consular processing times to two weeks
The Global Skills Strategy is part of an overall trend in Canada toward being more welcoming of foreign work-ers and immigrants The country plans to accept nearly 1 million new immigrants over the next three years and continues to issue a high number of invitations to apply for permanent residence through its Express Entry pro-gram Canadian provincesmdashincluding Alberta British Columbia Ontario Quebec and Saskatchewanmdashof-ten offer their own immigration opportunities as well
BRAZIL Encouraging transfer of skills to local workers
New immigration routes have been created to attract college-educated immigrants and to encourage workers with technical skills to transfer knowledge to local workers Passed last year Brazilrsquos New Immigration Law aspires to restructure and modernize the countryrsquos immigration framework so that foreign workers are no longer viewed with suspicion or as threatening the countryrsquos stability Dozens of resolutions and guidances have been released in recent months clarifying the New Immigration Law and how it will be implemented for various visa categories While the guidance confirms that many of the immigration categories and procedures will remain as they were under the old law they also contain important changes and offer greater flexibility for immigrants to live and work in Brazil
Foreign nationals may convert or renew their residence authorization in-country and a new visa category is avail-able to foreign nationals who intend to transfer technical knowledge to local Brazilian workers under a company training plan approved by the Ministry of Labor Authorities are also working to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and duplicative requests such as eliminating the requirement for immigrants applying for residency to provide police clearance from all countries where they have lived if they already submitted one when they applied for a visa
AMERICAS
Page 7 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
AMERICAS
CHILENew visas for high-skilled foreign nationals
Chile has introduced new visa categories hoping to attract high-skilled foreign nationals while simulta-neously tightening enforcement Chilersquos new system allows foreign nationals to apply for ldquoopportunity vi-sasrdquo based on a points system It also created new visa categories for tech professionals and gradu-ates of universities ranked in the top 200 globally
Migration to Chile particularly from Haiti and Venezu-ela has been on the rise in recent years and officials also took steps earlier this year to tighten some immi-gration policies Officials increased penalties for those who enter the country illegally and scrapped a rule where foreign nationals could enter Chile on a tourist visa and apply in-country for work authorization Chile also created new humanitarian visa routes for Hai-tian and Venezuelan nationals permitting applicants to secure renewable one-year residence visas that can be used as the basis for permanent residence
Page 8 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
UNITED KINGDOM Loosening Tier 2 quotas
In response to a tight labor market and shortages of visas for skilled foreign workers the UK government has decided to remove foreign doctors and nurses from Tier 2 visas subject to quotas Tier 2 quotas have been exhausted every month since December Non-European National Health Service staff make up about half of the Tier 2 quotas and thus their removal from the quotas should allow other UK employers more access to Tier 2 visas and an eventual return to sufficient Tier 2 quota numbers to cover demand In the short term however employers who rely on this route may continue to face recruiting challenges as the oversubscription of the Tier 2 catego-ry has created a backlog of applications that have rolled over month after month and the summer is traditionally a busy recruiting season Additionally the government is unlikely to make further piecemeal tweaks to the sys-tem as it is currently focused on overhauling the entire immigration system since Brexit approaches next May
GERMANY Scrapping market test in some industries
German authorities negotiated a plan to remove labor mar-ket testing in areas with relatively low unemployment ear-lier this year but the plan has not yet been implementedChanges to high-skilled immigration could prove key for Germany where the economy continues to boom but where one estimate suggests that Germany could be short as many as 3 million skilled workers by 2030 The proposed labor market testing waiver was part of a pack-age of immigration reforms that Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiated with her coalition partners when they formed the new German government in March The parties also agreed to reduce processing times for recognition of foreign degrees and adopt a new family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved the new family re-unification law allowing migrants with ldquosubsidiaryrdquo sta-tus to bring family members to Germany under certain conditions Negotiations regarding the labor market testing and degree processing plans are still ongoing
FRANCENew law to expand lsquoTalent Passportrsquo
The French Parliament has signed into law a bill that includes a provision to expand Francersquos Talent Passport a program that allows employers to hire qualifying non-EU workers without first completing a labor market test
The law has a particular emphasis on expanding eligibility for researchers innovative companies and world-renowned experts It also tightens Francersquos intra-corporate transfer rules and creates a new residence permit for university students and graduates seeking to find jobs or create businesses The law could take effect as soon as September after the Council of State completes a legal review
More will become clear about the lawrsquos impact on high-skilled immigration once implementation decrees are issued and authorities begin enforcing the law
SWITZERLANDImposing new ad requirements
Swiss authorities have tightened rules to promote the hiring of local workers as part of the efforts under a 2014 voter referendum to restrict immigration New labor market testing rules that took effect July 1 2018 require employ-ers to advertise certain positions to local candidates before hiring foreign workers For now the rules apply to jobs in industries where the national unemployment level is 8
EUROPE
Page 11 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
Reliable accurate and timely immigration information is critical for strategic business planning and the effective mobilization of your workforce Obtaining up-to-date information is challenging especially for countries that change immigration rules frequentlymdashbut even more challenging is understanding how these changes will impact business costs compliance recruiting lead times risks and global opportunities BALrsquos Global Trends Report provides robust analysis that explains why these changes are significant for your company and furnishes the information you need to make critical decisions for your mobility program
ANALYSIS TO MOVE PEOPLE
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Countries around the world are taking a sophisticated approach to immigration policies to regulate foreign labor and prioritize the hiring of local workers Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach countries are finding creative ways to regulate immigration according to their individual economies and local labor demands
AMERICAS
EUROPE
MIDDLE EAST
ASIA
OCEANIA
AFRICA
7
11
14
16
19
21
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Immigration policies can help countries enhance or restrict the flow of foreign labor depending on local needs Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach countries are finding creative ways to regulate immigration according to their individual economies and varying local labor demands across different industry sectors and geographical regions Examples of these policies include imposing numerical quotas on certain categories of foreign workers levying fees on employers to fund training of local workers taxing expatriates who bring family members loosening visa requirements for in-demand occupations and tailoring labor-market testing to attract foreign talent in some industries while protecting local workers in others as well as the strategic use of work-permit exemptions incentives and penalties for sponsoring employers BALrsquos Quarterly Newsletter looks at this trend in greater detail and provides a county-by-country analysis that illustrates the wide variety of policy tools currently in use
UNITED STATES Push for companies to lsquoHire Americanrsquo
The US government continues to pursue a restrictionist regulatory and policy agenda under President Trumprsquos ldquoBuy American and Hire Americanrdquo Executive Order The changes do not focus on labor market testing requirements specifically but they do limit who can come to the country and what activities they can pursue once they arrive
In recent months the administration moved to scrap the Obama-era International Entrepreneur Rule increase the focus on employers who place H-1B workers and STEM OPT students at third-party sites and expand the discretion adjudicators have to promptly reject im-migration petitions The administration is expected to soon end work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders And regulatory priorities in the near future may include reorganizing the H-1B lottery and reform-ing B-1 and B-2 businesstourist visa regulations
Demand for US visas remains high even with new restrictions but employers must be aware of their obligations and restrictions as the administra-tion aims to encourage companies to ldquohire Ameri-canrdquo and not discriminate against US workers
CANADAGlobal Skills Strategy to ease recruitment
Canada established new labor market testing exceptions as a tactic for attracting high-skilled workers last year Officials launched the Global Skills Strategy in June of 2017 allowing companies to avoid lengthy Labour Market Impact Assessment recruitment procedures by hiring from a newly established Global Talent Stream for high-skilled workers filling in-demand jobs The program also provides a work permit exemption for short-term work activities and reduces consular processing times to two weeks
The Global Skills Strategy is part of an overall trend in Canada toward being more welcoming of foreign work-ers and immigrants The country plans to accept nearly 1 million new immigrants over the next three years and continues to issue a high number of invitations to apply for permanent residence through its Express Entry pro-gram Canadian provincesmdashincluding Alberta British Columbia Ontario Quebec and Saskatchewanmdashof-ten offer their own immigration opportunities as well
BRAZIL Encouraging transfer of skills to local workers
New immigration routes have been created to attract college-educated immigrants and to encourage workers with technical skills to transfer knowledge to local workers Passed last year Brazilrsquos New Immigration Law aspires to restructure and modernize the countryrsquos immigration framework so that foreign workers are no longer viewed with suspicion or as threatening the countryrsquos stability Dozens of resolutions and guidances have been released in recent months clarifying the New Immigration Law and how it will be implemented for various visa categories While the guidance confirms that many of the immigration categories and procedures will remain as they were under the old law they also contain important changes and offer greater flexibility for immigrants to live and work in Brazil
Foreign nationals may convert or renew their residence authorization in-country and a new visa category is avail-able to foreign nationals who intend to transfer technical knowledge to local Brazilian workers under a company training plan approved by the Ministry of Labor Authorities are also working to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and duplicative requests such as eliminating the requirement for immigrants applying for residency to provide police clearance from all countries where they have lived if they already submitted one when they applied for a visa
AMERICAS
Page 7 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
AMERICAS
CHILENew visas for high-skilled foreign nationals
Chile has introduced new visa categories hoping to attract high-skilled foreign nationals while simulta-neously tightening enforcement Chilersquos new system allows foreign nationals to apply for ldquoopportunity vi-sasrdquo based on a points system It also created new visa categories for tech professionals and gradu-ates of universities ranked in the top 200 globally
Migration to Chile particularly from Haiti and Venezu-ela has been on the rise in recent years and officials also took steps earlier this year to tighten some immi-gration policies Officials increased penalties for those who enter the country illegally and scrapped a rule where foreign nationals could enter Chile on a tourist visa and apply in-country for work authorization Chile also created new humanitarian visa routes for Hai-tian and Venezuelan nationals permitting applicants to secure renewable one-year residence visas that can be used as the basis for permanent residence
Page 8 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
UNITED KINGDOM Loosening Tier 2 quotas
In response to a tight labor market and shortages of visas for skilled foreign workers the UK government has decided to remove foreign doctors and nurses from Tier 2 visas subject to quotas Tier 2 quotas have been exhausted every month since December Non-European National Health Service staff make up about half of the Tier 2 quotas and thus their removal from the quotas should allow other UK employers more access to Tier 2 visas and an eventual return to sufficient Tier 2 quota numbers to cover demand In the short term however employers who rely on this route may continue to face recruiting challenges as the oversubscription of the Tier 2 catego-ry has created a backlog of applications that have rolled over month after month and the summer is traditionally a busy recruiting season Additionally the government is unlikely to make further piecemeal tweaks to the sys-tem as it is currently focused on overhauling the entire immigration system since Brexit approaches next May
GERMANY Scrapping market test in some industries
German authorities negotiated a plan to remove labor mar-ket testing in areas with relatively low unemployment ear-lier this year but the plan has not yet been implementedChanges to high-skilled immigration could prove key for Germany where the economy continues to boom but where one estimate suggests that Germany could be short as many as 3 million skilled workers by 2030 The proposed labor market testing waiver was part of a pack-age of immigration reforms that Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiated with her coalition partners when they formed the new German government in March The parties also agreed to reduce processing times for recognition of foreign degrees and adopt a new family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved the new family re-unification law allowing migrants with ldquosubsidiaryrdquo sta-tus to bring family members to Germany under certain conditions Negotiations regarding the labor market testing and degree processing plans are still ongoing
FRANCENew law to expand lsquoTalent Passportrsquo
The French Parliament has signed into law a bill that includes a provision to expand Francersquos Talent Passport a program that allows employers to hire qualifying non-EU workers without first completing a labor market test
The law has a particular emphasis on expanding eligibility for researchers innovative companies and world-renowned experts It also tightens Francersquos intra-corporate transfer rules and creates a new residence permit for university students and graduates seeking to find jobs or create businesses The law could take effect as soon as September after the Council of State completes a legal review
More will become clear about the lawrsquos impact on high-skilled immigration once implementation decrees are issued and authorities begin enforcing the law
SWITZERLANDImposing new ad requirements
Swiss authorities have tightened rules to promote the hiring of local workers as part of the efforts under a 2014 voter referendum to restrict immigration New labor market testing rules that took effect July 1 2018 require employ-ers to advertise certain positions to local candidates before hiring foreign workers For now the rules apply to jobs in industries where the national unemployment level is 8
EUROPE
Page 11 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Countries around the world are taking a sophisticated approach to immigration policies to regulate foreign labor and prioritize the hiring of local workers Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach countries are finding creative ways to regulate immigration according to their individual economies and local labor demands
AMERICAS
EUROPE
MIDDLE EAST
ASIA
OCEANIA
AFRICA
7
11
14
16
19
21
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Immigration policies can help countries enhance or restrict the flow of foreign labor depending on local needs Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach countries are finding creative ways to regulate immigration according to their individual economies and varying local labor demands across different industry sectors and geographical regions Examples of these policies include imposing numerical quotas on certain categories of foreign workers levying fees on employers to fund training of local workers taxing expatriates who bring family members loosening visa requirements for in-demand occupations and tailoring labor-market testing to attract foreign talent in some industries while protecting local workers in others as well as the strategic use of work-permit exemptions incentives and penalties for sponsoring employers BALrsquos Quarterly Newsletter looks at this trend in greater detail and provides a county-by-country analysis that illustrates the wide variety of policy tools currently in use
UNITED STATES Push for companies to lsquoHire Americanrsquo
The US government continues to pursue a restrictionist regulatory and policy agenda under President Trumprsquos ldquoBuy American and Hire Americanrdquo Executive Order The changes do not focus on labor market testing requirements specifically but they do limit who can come to the country and what activities they can pursue once they arrive
In recent months the administration moved to scrap the Obama-era International Entrepreneur Rule increase the focus on employers who place H-1B workers and STEM OPT students at third-party sites and expand the discretion adjudicators have to promptly reject im-migration petitions The administration is expected to soon end work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders And regulatory priorities in the near future may include reorganizing the H-1B lottery and reform-ing B-1 and B-2 businesstourist visa regulations
Demand for US visas remains high even with new restrictions but employers must be aware of their obligations and restrictions as the administra-tion aims to encourage companies to ldquohire Ameri-canrdquo and not discriminate against US workers
CANADAGlobal Skills Strategy to ease recruitment
Canada established new labor market testing exceptions as a tactic for attracting high-skilled workers last year Officials launched the Global Skills Strategy in June of 2017 allowing companies to avoid lengthy Labour Market Impact Assessment recruitment procedures by hiring from a newly established Global Talent Stream for high-skilled workers filling in-demand jobs The program also provides a work permit exemption for short-term work activities and reduces consular processing times to two weeks
The Global Skills Strategy is part of an overall trend in Canada toward being more welcoming of foreign work-ers and immigrants The country plans to accept nearly 1 million new immigrants over the next three years and continues to issue a high number of invitations to apply for permanent residence through its Express Entry pro-gram Canadian provincesmdashincluding Alberta British Columbia Ontario Quebec and Saskatchewanmdashof-ten offer their own immigration opportunities as well
BRAZIL Encouraging transfer of skills to local workers
New immigration routes have been created to attract college-educated immigrants and to encourage workers with technical skills to transfer knowledge to local workers Passed last year Brazilrsquos New Immigration Law aspires to restructure and modernize the countryrsquos immigration framework so that foreign workers are no longer viewed with suspicion or as threatening the countryrsquos stability Dozens of resolutions and guidances have been released in recent months clarifying the New Immigration Law and how it will be implemented for various visa categories While the guidance confirms that many of the immigration categories and procedures will remain as they were under the old law they also contain important changes and offer greater flexibility for immigrants to live and work in Brazil
Foreign nationals may convert or renew their residence authorization in-country and a new visa category is avail-able to foreign nationals who intend to transfer technical knowledge to local Brazilian workers under a company training plan approved by the Ministry of Labor Authorities are also working to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and duplicative requests such as eliminating the requirement for immigrants applying for residency to provide police clearance from all countries where they have lived if they already submitted one when they applied for a visa
AMERICAS
Page 7 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
AMERICAS
CHILENew visas for high-skilled foreign nationals
Chile has introduced new visa categories hoping to attract high-skilled foreign nationals while simulta-neously tightening enforcement Chilersquos new system allows foreign nationals to apply for ldquoopportunity vi-sasrdquo based on a points system It also created new visa categories for tech professionals and gradu-ates of universities ranked in the top 200 globally
Migration to Chile particularly from Haiti and Venezu-ela has been on the rise in recent years and officials also took steps earlier this year to tighten some immi-gration policies Officials increased penalties for those who enter the country illegally and scrapped a rule where foreign nationals could enter Chile on a tourist visa and apply in-country for work authorization Chile also created new humanitarian visa routes for Hai-tian and Venezuelan nationals permitting applicants to secure renewable one-year residence visas that can be used as the basis for permanent residence
Page 8 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
UNITED KINGDOM Loosening Tier 2 quotas
In response to a tight labor market and shortages of visas for skilled foreign workers the UK government has decided to remove foreign doctors and nurses from Tier 2 visas subject to quotas Tier 2 quotas have been exhausted every month since December Non-European National Health Service staff make up about half of the Tier 2 quotas and thus their removal from the quotas should allow other UK employers more access to Tier 2 visas and an eventual return to sufficient Tier 2 quota numbers to cover demand In the short term however employers who rely on this route may continue to face recruiting challenges as the oversubscription of the Tier 2 catego-ry has created a backlog of applications that have rolled over month after month and the summer is traditionally a busy recruiting season Additionally the government is unlikely to make further piecemeal tweaks to the sys-tem as it is currently focused on overhauling the entire immigration system since Brexit approaches next May
GERMANY Scrapping market test in some industries
German authorities negotiated a plan to remove labor mar-ket testing in areas with relatively low unemployment ear-lier this year but the plan has not yet been implementedChanges to high-skilled immigration could prove key for Germany where the economy continues to boom but where one estimate suggests that Germany could be short as many as 3 million skilled workers by 2030 The proposed labor market testing waiver was part of a pack-age of immigration reforms that Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiated with her coalition partners when they formed the new German government in March The parties also agreed to reduce processing times for recognition of foreign degrees and adopt a new family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved the new family re-unification law allowing migrants with ldquosubsidiaryrdquo sta-tus to bring family members to Germany under certain conditions Negotiations regarding the labor market testing and degree processing plans are still ongoing
FRANCENew law to expand lsquoTalent Passportrsquo
The French Parliament has signed into law a bill that includes a provision to expand Francersquos Talent Passport a program that allows employers to hire qualifying non-EU workers without first completing a labor market test
The law has a particular emphasis on expanding eligibility for researchers innovative companies and world-renowned experts It also tightens Francersquos intra-corporate transfer rules and creates a new residence permit for university students and graduates seeking to find jobs or create businesses The law could take effect as soon as September after the Council of State completes a legal review
More will become clear about the lawrsquos impact on high-skilled immigration once implementation decrees are issued and authorities begin enforcing the law
SWITZERLANDImposing new ad requirements
Swiss authorities have tightened rules to promote the hiring of local workers as part of the efforts under a 2014 voter referendum to restrict immigration New labor market testing rules that took effect July 1 2018 require employ-ers to advertise certain positions to local candidates before hiring foreign workers For now the rules apply to jobs in industries where the national unemployment level is 8
EUROPE
Page 11 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
INTRODUCTION
Immigration policies can help countries enhance or restrict the flow of foreign labor depending on local needs Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach countries are finding creative ways to regulate immigration according to their individual economies and varying local labor demands across different industry sectors and geographical regions Examples of these policies include imposing numerical quotas on certain categories of foreign workers levying fees on employers to fund training of local workers taxing expatriates who bring family members loosening visa requirements for in-demand occupations and tailoring labor-market testing to attract foreign talent in some industries while protecting local workers in others as well as the strategic use of work-permit exemptions incentives and penalties for sponsoring employers BALrsquos Quarterly Newsletter looks at this trend in greater detail and provides a county-by-country analysis that illustrates the wide variety of policy tools currently in use
UNITED STATES Push for companies to lsquoHire Americanrsquo
The US government continues to pursue a restrictionist regulatory and policy agenda under President Trumprsquos ldquoBuy American and Hire Americanrdquo Executive Order The changes do not focus on labor market testing requirements specifically but they do limit who can come to the country and what activities they can pursue once they arrive
In recent months the administration moved to scrap the Obama-era International Entrepreneur Rule increase the focus on employers who place H-1B workers and STEM OPT students at third-party sites and expand the discretion adjudicators have to promptly reject im-migration petitions The administration is expected to soon end work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders And regulatory priorities in the near future may include reorganizing the H-1B lottery and reform-ing B-1 and B-2 businesstourist visa regulations
Demand for US visas remains high even with new restrictions but employers must be aware of their obligations and restrictions as the administra-tion aims to encourage companies to ldquohire Ameri-canrdquo and not discriminate against US workers
CANADAGlobal Skills Strategy to ease recruitment
Canada established new labor market testing exceptions as a tactic for attracting high-skilled workers last year Officials launched the Global Skills Strategy in June of 2017 allowing companies to avoid lengthy Labour Market Impact Assessment recruitment procedures by hiring from a newly established Global Talent Stream for high-skilled workers filling in-demand jobs The program also provides a work permit exemption for short-term work activities and reduces consular processing times to two weeks
The Global Skills Strategy is part of an overall trend in Canada toward being more welcoming of foreign work-ers and immigrants The country plans to accept nearly 1 million new immigrants over the next three years and continues to issue a high number of invitations to apply for permanent residence through its Express Entry pro-gram Canadian provincesmdashincluding Alberta British Columbia Ontario Quebec and Saskatchewanmdashof-ten offer their own immigration opportunities as well
BRAZIL Encouraging transfer of skills to local workers
New immigration routes have been created to attract college-educated immigrants and to encourage workers with technical skills to transfer knowledge to local workers Passed last year Brazilrsquos New Immigration Law aspires to restructure and modernize the countryrsquos immigration framework so that foreign workers are no longer viewed with suspicion or as threatening the countryrsquos stability Dozens of resolutions and guidances have been released in recent months clarifying the New Immigration Law and how it will be implemented for various visa categories While the guidance confirms that many of the immigration categories and procedures will remain as they were under the old law they also contain important changes and offer greater flexibility for immigrants to live and work in Brazil
Foreign nationals may convert or renew their residence authorization in-country and a new visa category is avail-able to foreign nationals who intend to transfer technical knowledge to local Brazilian workers under a company training plan approved by the Ministry of Labor Authorities are also working to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and duplicative requests such as eliminating the requirement for immigrants applying for residency to provide police clearance from all countries where they have lived if they already submitted one when they applied for a visa
AMERICAS
Page 7 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
AMERICAS
CHILENew visas for high-skilled foreign nationals
Chile has introduced new visa categories hoping to attract high-skilled foreign nationals while simulta-neously tightening enforcement Chilersquos new system allows foreign nationals to apply for ldquoopportunity vi-sasrdquo based on a points system It also created new visa categories for tech professionals and gradu-ates of universities ranked in the top 200 globally
Migration to Chile particularly from Haiti and Venezu-ela has been on the rise in recent years and officials also took steps earlier this year to tighten some immi-gration policies Officials increased penalties for those who enter the country illegally and scrapped a rule where foreign nationals could enter Chile on a tourist visa and apply in-country for work authorization Chile also created new humanitarian visa routes for Hai-tian and Venezuelan nationals permitting applicants to secure renewable one-year residence visas that can be used as the basis for permanent residence
Page 8 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
UNITED KINGDOM Loosening Tier 2 quotas
In response to a tight labor market and shortages of visas for skilled foreign workers the UK government has decided to remove foreign doctors and nurses from Tier 2 visas subject to quotas Tier 2 quotas have been exhausted every month since December Non-European National Health Service staff make up about half of the Tier 2 quotas and thus their removal from the quotas should allow other UK employers more access to Tier 2 visas and an eventual return to sufficient Tier 2 quota numbers to cover demand In the short term however employers who rely on this route may continue to face recruiting challenges as the oversubscription of the Tier 2 catego-ry has created a backlog of applications that have rolled over month after month and the summer is traditionally a busy recruiting season Additionally the government is unlikely to make further piecemeal tweaks to the sys-tem as it is currently focused on overhauling the entire immigration system since Brexit approaches next May
GERMANY Scrapping market test in some industries
German authorities negotiated a plan to remove labor mar-ket testing in areas with relatively low unemployment ear-lier this year but the plan has not yet been implementedChanges to high-skilled immigration could prove key for Germany where the economy continues to boom but where one estimate suggests that Germany could be short as many as 3 million skilled workers by 2030 The proposed labor market testing waiver was part of a pack-age of immigration reforms that Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiated with her coalition partners when they formed the new German government in March The parties also agreed to reduce processing times for recognition of foreign degrees and adopt a new family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved the new family re-unification law allowing migrants with ldquosubsidiaryrdquo sta-tus to bring family members to Germany under certain conditions Negotiations regarding the labor market testing and degree processing plans are still ongoing
FRANCENew law to expand lsquoTalent Passportrsquo
The French Parliament has signed into law a bill that includes a provision to expand Francersquos Talent Passport a program that allows employers to hire qualifying non-EU workers without first completing a labor market test
The law has a particular emphasis on expanding eligibility for researchers innovative companies and world-renowned experts It also tightens Francersquos intra-corporate transfer rules and creates a new residence permit for university students and graduates seeking to find jobs or create businesses The law could take effect as soon as September after the Council of State completes a legal review
More will become clear about the lawrsquos impact on high-skilled immigration once implementation decrees are issued and authorities begin enforcing the law
SWITZERLANDImposing new ad requirements
Swiss authorities have tightened rules to promote the hiring of local workers as part of the efforts under a 2014 voter referendum to restrict immigration New labor market testing rules that took effect July 1 2018 require employ-ers to advertise certain positions to local candidates before hiring foreign workers For now the rules apply to jobs in industries where the national unemployment level is 8
EUROPE
Page 11 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
UNITED STATES Push for companies to lsquoHire Americanrsquo
The US government continues to pursue a restrictionist regulatory and policy agenda under President Trumprsquos ldquoBuy American and Hire Americanrdquo Executive Order The changes do not focus on labor market testing requirements specifically but they do limit who can come to the country and what activities they can pursue once they arrive
In recent months the administration moved to scrap the Obama-era International Entrepreneur Rule increase the focus on employers who place H-1B workers and STEM OPT students at third-party sites and expand the discretion adjudicators have to promptly reject im-migration petitions The administration is expected to soon end work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders And regulatory priorities in the near future may include reorganizing the H-1B lottery and reform-ing B-1 and B-2 businesstourist visa regulations
Demand for US visas remains high even with new restrictions but employers must be aware of their obligations and restrictions as the administra-tion aims to encourage companies to ldquohire Ameri-canrdquo and not discriminate against US workers
CANADAGlobal Skills Strategy to ease recruitment
Canada established new labor market testing exceptions as a tactic for attracting high-skilled workers last year Officials launched the Global Skills Strategy in June of 2017 allowing companies to avoid lengthy Labour Market Impact Assessment recruitment procedures by hiring from a newly established Global Talent Stream for high-skilled workers filling in-demand jobs The program also provides a work permit exemption for short-term work activities and reduces consular processing times to two weeks
The Global Skills Strategy is part of an overall trend in Canada toward being more welcoming of foreign work-ers and immigrants The country plans to accept nearly 1 million new immigrants over the next three years and continues to issue a high number of invitations to apply for permanent residence through its Express Entry pro-gram Canadian provincesmdashincluding Alberta British Columbia Ontario Quebec and Saskatchewanmdashof-ten offer their own immigration opportunities as well
BRAZIL Encouraging transfer of skills to local workers
New immigration routes have been created to attract college-educated immigrants and to encourage workers with technical skills to transfer knowledge to local workers Passed last year Brazilrsquos New Immigration Law aspires to restructure and modernize the countryrsquos immigration framework so that foreign workers are no longer viewed with suspicion or as threatening the countryrsquos stability Dozens of resolutions and guidances have been released in recent months clarifying the New Immigration Law and how it will be implemented for various visa categories While the guidance confirms that many of the immigration categories and procedures will remain as they were under the old law they also contain important changes and offer greater flexibility for immigrants to live and work in Brazil
Foreign nationals may convert or renew their residence authorization in-country and a new visa category is avail-able to foreign nationals who intend to transfer technical knowledge to local Brazilian workers under a company training plan approved by the Ministry of Labor Authorities are also working to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and duplicative requests such as eliminating the requirement for immigrants applying for residency to provide police clearance from all countries where they have lived if they already submitted one when they applied for a visa
AMERICAS
Page 7 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
AMERICAS
CHILENew visas for high-skilled foreign nationals
Chile has introduced new visa categories hoping to attract high-skilled foreign nationals while simulta-neously tightening enforcement Chilersquos new system allows foreign nationals to apply for ldquoopportunity vi-sasrdquo based on a points system It also created new visa categories for tech professionals and gradu-ates of universities ranked in the top 200 globally
Migration to Chile particularly from Haiti and Venezu-ela has been on the rise in recent years and officials also took steps earlier this year to tighten some immi-gration policies Officials increased penalties for those who enter the country illegally and scrapped a rule where foreign nationals could enter Chile on a tourist visa and apply in-country for work authorization Chile also created new humanitarian visa routes for Hai-tian and Venezuelan nationals permitting applicants to secure renewable one-year residence visas that can be used as the basis for permanent residence
Page 8 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
UNITED KINGDOM Loosening Tier 2 quotas
In response to a tight labor market and shortages of visas for skilled foreign workers the UK government has decided to remove foreign doctors and nurses from Tier 2 visas subject to quotas Tier 2 quotas have been exhausted every month since December Non-European National Health Service staff make up about half of the Tier 2 quotas and thus their removal from the quotas should allow other UK employers more access to Tier 2 visas and an eventual return to sufficient Tier 2 quota numbers to cover demand In the short term however employers who rely on this route may continue to face recruiting challenges as the oversubscription of the Tier 2 catego-ry has created a backlog of applications that have rolled over month after month and the summer is traditionally a busy recruiting season Additionally the government is unlikely to make further piecemeal tweaks to the sys-tem as it is currently focused on overhauling the entire immigration system since Brexit approaches next May
GERMANY Scrapping market test in some industries
German authorities negotiated a plan to remove labor mar-ket testing in areas with relatively low unemployment ear-lier this year but the plan has not yet been implementedChanges to high-skilled immigration could prove key for Germany where the economy continues to boom but where one estimate suggests that Germany could be short as many as 3 million skilled workers by 2030 The proposed labor market testing waiver was part of a pack-age of immigration reforms that Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiated with her coalition partners when they formed the new German government in March The parties also agreed to reduce processing times for recognition of foreign degrees and adopt a new family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved the new family re-unification law allowing migrants with ldquosubsidiaryrdquo sta-tus to bring family members to Germany under certain conditions Negotiations regarding the labor market testing and degree processing plans are still ongoing
FRANCENew law to expand lsquoTalent Passportrsquo
The French Parliament has signed into law a bill that includes a provision to expand Francersquos Talent Passport a program that allows employers to hire qualifying non-EU workers without first completing a labor market test
The law has a particular emphasis on expanding eligibility for researchers innovative companies and world-renowned experts It also tightens Francersquos intra-corporate transfer rules and creates a new residence permit for university students and graduates seeking to find jobs or create businesses The law could take effect as soon as September after the Council of State completes a legal review
More will become clear about the lawrsquos impact on high-skilled immigration once implementation decrees are issued and authorities begin enforcing the law
SWITZERLANDImposing new ad requirements
Swiss authorities have tightened rules to promote the hiring of local workers as part of the efforts under a 2014 voter referendum to restrict immigration New labor market testing rules that took effect July 1 2018 require employ-ers to advertise certain positions to local candidates before hiring foreign workers For now the rules apply to jobs in industries where the national unemployment level is 8
EUROPE
Page 11 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
AMERICAS
CHILENew visas for high-skilled foreign nationals
Chile has introduced new visa categories hoping to attract high-skilled foreign nationals while simulta-neously tightening enforcement Chilersquos new system allows foreign nationals to apply for ldquoopportunity vi-sasrdquo based on a points system It also created new visa categories for tech professionals and gradu-ates of universities ranked in the top 200 globally
Migration to Chile particularly from Haiti and Venezu-ela has been on the rise in recent years and officials also took steps earlier this year to tighten some immi-gration policies Officials increased penalties for those who enter the country illegally and scrapped a rule where foreign nationals could enter Chile on a tourist visa and apply in-country for work authorization Chile also created new humanitarian visa routes for Hai-tian and Venezuelan nationals permitting applicants to secure renewable one-year residence visas that can be used as the basis for permanent residence
Page 8 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
UNITED KINGDOM Loosening Tier 2 quotas
In response to a tight labor market and shortages of visas for skilled foreign workers the UK government has decided to remove foreign doctors and nurses from Tier 2 visas subject to quotas Tier 2 quotas have been exhausted every month since December Non-European National Health Service staff make up about half of the Tier 2 quotas and thus their removal from the quotas should allow other UK employers more access to Tier 2 visas and an eventual return to sufficient Tier 2 quota numbers to cover demand In the short term however employers who rely on this route may continue to face recruiting challenges as the oversubscription of the Tier 2 catego-ry has created a backlog of applications that have rolled over month after month and the summer is traditionally a busy recruiting season Additionally the government is unlikely to make further piecemeal tweaks to the sys-tem as it is currently focused on overhauling the entire immigration system since Brexit approaches next May
GERMANY Scrapping market test in some industries
German authorities negotiated a plan to remove labor mar-ket testing in areas with relatively low unemployment ear-lier this year but the plan has not yet been implementedChanges to high-skilled immigration could prove key for Germany where the economy continues to boom but where one estimate suggests that Germany could be short as many as 3 million skilled workers by 2030 The proposed labor market testing waiver was part of a pack-age of immigration reforms that Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiated with her coalition partners when they formed the new German government in March The parties also agreed to reduce processing times for recognition of foreign degrees and adopt a new family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved the new family re-unification law allowing migrants with ldquosubsidiaryrdquo sta-tus to bring family members to Germany under certain conditions Negotiations regarding the labor market testing and degree processing plans are still ongoing
FRANCENew law to expand lsquoTalent Passportrsquo
The French Parliament has signed into law a bill that includes a provision to expand Francersquos Talent Passport a program that allows employers to hire qualifying non-EU workers without first completing a labor market test
The law has a particular emphasis on expanding eligibility for researchers innovative companies and world-renowned experts It also tightens Francersquos intra-corporate transfer rules and creates a new residence permit for university students and graduates seeking to find jobs or create businesses The law could take effect as soon as September after the Council of State completes a legal review
More will become clear about the lawrsquos impact on high-skilled immigration once implementation decrees are issued and authorities begin enforcing the law
SWITZERLANDImposing new ad requirements
Swiss authorities have tightened rules to promote the hiring of local workers as part of the efforts under a 2014 voter referendum to restrict immigration New labor market testing rules that took effect July 1 2018 require employ-ers to advertise certain positions to local candidates before hiring foreign workers For now the rules apply to jobs in industries where the national unemployment level is 8
EUROPE
Page 11 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
UNITED KINGDOM Loosening Tier 2 quotas
In response to a tight labor market and shortages of visas for skilled foreign workers the UK government has decided to remove foreign doctors and nurses from Tier 2 visas subject to quotas Tier 2 quotas have been exhausted every month since December Non-European National Health Service staff make up about half of the Tier 2 quotas and thus their removal from the quotas should allow other UK employers more access to Tier 2 visas and an eventual return to sufficient Tier 2 quota numbers to cover demand In the short term however employers who rely on this route may continue to face recruiting challenges as the oversubscription of the Tier 2 catego-ry has created a backlog of applications that have rolled over month after month and the summer is traditionally a busy recruiting season Additionally the government is unlikely to make further piecemeal tweaks to the sys-tem as it is currently focused on overhauling the entire immigration system since Brexit approaches next May
GERMANY Scrapping market test in some industries
German authorities negotiated a plan to remove labor mar-ket testing in areas with relatively low unemployment ear-lier this year but the plan has not yet been implementedChanges to high-skilled immigration could prove key for Germany where the economy continues to boom but where one estimate suggests that Germany could be short as many as 3 million skilled workers by 2030 The proposed labor market testing waiver was part of a pack-age of immigration reforms that Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiated with her coalition partners when they formed the new German government in March The parties also agreed to reduce processing times for recognition of foreign degrees and adopt a new family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved the new family re-unification law allowing migrants with ldquosubsidiaryrdquo sta-tus to bring family members to Germany under certain conditions Negotiations regarding the labor market testing and degree processing plans are still ongoing
FRANCENew law to expand lsquoTalent Passportrsquo
The French Parliament has signed into law a bill that includes a provision to expand Francersquos Talent Passport a program that allows employers to hire qualifying non-EU workers without first completing a labor market test
The law has a particular emphasis on expanding eligibility for researchers innovative companies and world-renowned experts It also tightens Francersquos intra-corporate transfer rules and creates a new residence permit for university students and graduates seeking to find jobs or create businesses The law could take effect as soon as September after the Council of State completes a legal review
More will become clear about the lawrsquos impact on high-skilled immigration once implementation decrees are issued and authorities begin enforcing the law
SWITZERLANDImposing new ad requirements
Swiss authorities have tightened rules to promote the hiring of local workers as part of the efforts under a 2014 voter referendum to restrict immigration New labor market testing rules that took effect July 1 2018 require employ-ers to advertise certain positions to local candidates before hiring foreign workers For now the rules apply to jobs in industries where the national unemployment level is 8
EUROPE
Page 11 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
EUROPE
percent or higher This list includes select jobs in public re-lations marketing construction agriculture and logistics
Exceptions may be available in cases where an employee has been working for the company for at least six months the job duration is less than 15 days or the employer has already found a candidate through the public unemploy-ment office Because Switzerland has relatively low unemployment most industries will not be impacted by the changesmdashat least for now In 2020 the advertising re-quirements will be expanded to cover industries with an unemployment rate of 5 percent or higher increasing the number of jobs that will be subject to the requirements
POLAND Easing requirements for key posts
Poland has waived labor market testing requirements for workers in more than 200 shortage occupations including jobs in information technology health care construction and transportation Employers needing work permits in jobs that are covered by the waiver which took effect July 1 will no longer have to obtain approval from their local
labor office before submitting work permit applications This will save up to three weeks in the application process allowing employers to fill key positions more quickly The regulation applies across all regions of Poland whereas previous exemptions to Polandrsquos labor market testing requirements applied only on a provincial basis Provincial authorities may add additional waivers on a case-by-case basis
UKRAINE An end to labor market testing
Authorities in Ukraine no longer consider the availability of domestic workers when making decisions on whether to issue a work permit The government abolished labor market testing in favor of imposing minimum salaries for foreign workers in September 2017 and the government decree detailing work permit procedures was subsequent-ly updated With the new law companies in Ukraine are no longer required to conduct a local labor market search before filling positions with foreign nationals Additionally Ukrainian authorities no longer reject work permit appli-cation on the grounds that domestic labor is available
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
The foreign worker minimum wage requirement may serve as a barrier for hiring foreign labor for some roles as the foreign worker minimum wage must be at least 10 times the statutory minimum wage for Ukrainian work-ers (UAH 3723 per month for Ukrainian workers UAH 37230 per month for foreign workers) However the wage requirements do not apply to founders participants or ultimate beneficiary owners of the Ukrainian compa-nies graduates of top 100 universities IT professionals working at software companies or employees working on projects that will result in copyrighted material or patent-ed goods Additional exceptions are available for foreign employees working at nongovernmental organizations charities schools or other educational institutions who must receive a salary of at least UAH 18615 per month
SLOVAKIAStrategically easing labor market testing
Slovakia is using immigration policies strategically to encourage foreign labor in pockets of the economy where local skills are lacking Under the new Employment Ser-vices Act advertising and labor market testing will not be
required for employers filling certain positions with foreign workers The labor authorities will review job and eco-nomic indicators annually and publish a list every year of occupations for which local labor is in short supply and in regions where unemployment is low (under 5 percent) The first list was published in June this year and will be updated in January and subsequently updated every January thereafter Employers benefit from streamlined procedures for these jobs because they will not need to wait until the end of the 20-day advertising period before submitting an application for a residence permit and foreign employees may begin job training as soon as the residence permit application is submitted during their initial 90-day stay on a Schengen visa The job training may last for a maximum of six weeks Processing times by the Foreign Police will remain the same but the Labour Office will not conduct labor market testing for jobs on the list
EUROPE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
UNITED ARAB EMIRATESPromoting business protecting workers
The United Arab Emirates is working to balance policies that promote business and foreign investment with those that promote its local workers The UAE has long been the business hub of the Middle East a country where officials have liberalized visa rules moved to end em-ployer bank guarantees and adopted new immigration policies aimed at attracting foreign investors top inter-national specialists and high-performing students
At the same time the UAE signaled earlier this year that it will follow a regional localization trend by launching an ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program for key industries The plan which is still being developed would provide incentives for companies to hire UAE nationals in a few key industries including communications construction real estate devel-opment transportation and aviation The sectors make up almost 30 percent of the UAErsquos gross domestic product
While the ldquoEmiratizationrdquo program could establish new restrictions UAE officials have indicated they will be care-ful in implementing the programmdashand mindful of keeping companies from leaving or losing investment in the UAE
SAUDI ARABIA Policies push employers to hire Saudis Saudi Arabia is continuing its Saudization drive to push employers to hire and train Saudi citizens In the first quar-ter of 2018 the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia dropped 6 percent an exodus of 234000 workers During the same period the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals rose slightly to reach 129 percent To encourage jobs to be filled by Saudi workers the Ministry of Labor is working with other government agencies and private sector compa-nies to introduce numerous programs to train and employ
Saudi workers The goal in the first phase of the program is the employment of 60000 Saudi men and women
Meanwhile labor authorities continue to restrict foreign nationals in certain industries The retail sector is now pro hibited from hiring foreign staff Another recent rule dictates that family dependents of expatriate workers who want to convert their status to an engineering posi-tion must register and be accepted by the Saudi Council of Engineers Under a recent policy foreign engineers cannot be hired from abroad unless they have at least five years of experience and complete an exam and interview with the local engineering association Since 2016 labor market testing has been a prerequisite for employers applying for block visas and employers should antici-pate further restrictions on hiring expatriate workers
OMAN Strict enforcement of lsquoOmanizationrsquo
Oman is taking dramatic steps to protect its local workforce and imposed a wide-ranging expat hiring ban in January The ban targets 87 positions in 10 different industries including information and technology marketing and sales insurance and engineering It was initially set to expire in July but was subsequently extended through the end of January 2019 Oman also has been strictly enforcing laws requiring a local hiring percentage
The penalties for companies that run afoul of Omanrsquos local hiring provisions are stiff Companies risk not only mone-tary penalties but cancelation of work permits if they fail to meet their labor code obligations
MIDDLE EAST
Page 14 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
CHINACentralizing immigration policies
Chinese authorities are working toward establishing a new central immigration bureau aiming to create a more open border and attract high-skilled foreign workers While provincial authorities will likely still be responsible for implementing their own procedures the new bureau will be responsible for everything from drafting and implementing immigration policy to working on international cooperation agreements China is aggressively courting high-level foreign professionals in science with its Foreign Talent (R) visas which were introduced earlier this year Shanghai and Beijing are already issuing the visas and other prov-inces are expected to follow suit in the coming months
INDIA Regional use of labor market testing
India has experimented with labor market testing since 2013 Immigration policies tend to be decentralized to regional authorities and each state will implement proce-dures depending on the regional economies and which industries they want to emphasize local hiring as well as the discretion of local officers Hyderabad was the first state to consistently enforce labor market testing followed by Kochi Bengaluru and Chennai but in an unofficial and less uniform manner This has resulted in inconsistent rules and employers operating in some parts of the country needing to show proof of local recruitment efforts in some cases
Employers should therefore maintain the flexibility to meet additional labor-market testing obligations In some cases foreign workers have arrived in India with a valid work visa but found that they were unable to start work unless they presented proof during mandatory registration procedures that their employer had made efforts to advertise and recruit a local worker for the job
SINGAPORE Scope of local-hiring framework expanded
The Ministry of Manpower has expanded the Fair Consid-eration Framework advertising rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candi-dates Since its introduction in 2014 the framework has required companies to follow rules to give local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers The rules have been gradually tightened over the years as the government has made a sustained effort to strengthen the local labor force Under the expanded policy only companies with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt companies with 10 or more employees are now covered by the rules which include a 14-day local job advertising period Previously companies with 25 or fewer workers were exempt from the rules Addi-tionally more higher-paying jobs will be required to be advertised on the National Job Boardmdashonly jobs paying S$15000 per month or above will be exempt Previous-ly jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of S$12000 and above were exempt The ministry is also using costs to limit foreign labor by gradually increasing the minimum monthly salary that companies must pay S-Pass holders from S$2200 to S$2300 next year and S$2400 in 2020
INDONESIA Easing procedures for foreign experts
Companies in Indonesia have traditionally faced very bureaucratic procedures and numerous obstacles to hiring foreign workers These include quotas on foreign workers strict eligibility criteria for work permits such as five years of experience with the sending company a preapproval interview with the Manpower department and appointment of an Indonesian ldquoco-laborerrdquo to whom the foreign employeersquos skills will be transferred Indone-sia also protects certain positions by limiting the dura-tion of work permits for certain jobsmdashforeign nationals
ASIA
Page 16 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
may only be granted six-month work permits for certain positions including marketing advisors quality control advisors and engine installation and maintenance
New regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy by shorten-ing processing time frames (two business days for the Expatriate Placement Plan and two business days for the work permit notification) allowing foreign workers greater flexibility expanding the duration of limited stay permits and issuing some of them upon arrival and reducing doc-ument requirements for work permit applicants in target-ed industries such as oil and gas mining and electricity among other eased rules However to ensure that skills will eventually be transferred to local workers employers will be required to issue a certificate of training to prove that an Indonesian worker has successfully received transfer of skills from a foreign employee Additionally employers will be responsible for ensuring that employees (in roles other than company director or commissioner) on long-term work permits take Indonesian language courses and attain a minimum level of proficiency
TAIWAN Bid to land foreign talent with lsquoGold Cardrsquo
Taiwan has launched a bid to recruit more high-tal-ent foreign workers introducing a new lsquoGold Cardrsquo work-and-residence permit Foreign nationals can apply for the Gold Card without needing an employer spon-sor and card holders can change jobs or look for a job without losing their immigration status Gold Cards are valid for one to three years and were introduced as one of several incentives Taiwan introduced earli-er this year under the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals Act Officials also expanded the duration of work permits to five years relaxed rules for permanent residency and introduced a new visa for foreign nationals seeking employment in Taiwan
ASIA
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
AUSTRALIA Implementing lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo policies
Australia implemented lsquoAustralians Firstrsquo immigration restrictions this year putting new labor market testing rules and efforts to train local workers at the heart of the pro-gram
The new labor market testing rules require employers to advertise job openings for at least 28 consecutive days before lodging nomination applications Exemptions may apply under international trade obligations but will not generally be available based on the skill level of the nominated occupation Employers sponsoring foreign workers for Temporary Skills Shortage Visas or under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme also must pay a skills levy for each worker at the time of nomination
Australian officials did try to soften the blow by launching a Global Talent Scheme pilot program aimed at attracting high-income employees and tech specialists The program took effect July 1
OCEANIA
Page 19 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE Compliance crackdowns continue
The General Labor Inspectorate suspended the activities of seven companies and 80 illegal foreign employees in March because they either did not comply with working condition requirements or violated immigration laws Ear-lier that month the inspectorate suspended 24 teachers and levied a fine of almost 7 million meticais against a school for employing 34 foreign workers including direc-tors teachers and accountants who lacked the proper work authorization These suspensions and fines are a re-minder to all employers in Mozambique to make sure that they are complying with immigration laws and that foreign employees have valid and appropriate work authorization
The increased compliance activity in Mozambique follows intensified employer audits announced by the National Migration Service last year Employers are encouraged to conduct an internal compliance review and to ensure that they follow the health and safety requirements for their work sector Additionally Mozambique increased the national minimum wage in April Employers should factor the new minimum wages into their budgets for foreign national employees especially because work permit application fees are tied to minimum wage rates
KENYA Nationwide audit of foreign workers
The cabinet secretary of immigration announced sever-al major changes to immigration in Kenya starting with a 60-day nationwide audit of foreign workers The au-dit was implemented to crack down on undocumented workers and ended July 21 After the verification drive the Department of Immigration Services outlined a num-ber of administrative and policy changes including en-forcement of a rule that requires work permit applicants
to wait for approval before entering Kenya and enforcing existing requirements for understudy transition plans
Other upcoming changes to immigration include a gradu-ally introduced electronic work permit and a tightening of work permit procedures and issuance Employers should continue to prepare for site visits by inspectorsmdashincluding local policemdashand cooperate in giving them access to their premises and employee files Companies should also an-ticipate greater scrutiny of work permit applications and de-lays in processing and make sure that expatriate workers possess valid work authorizationmdasheither a work permit or special passmdashand are prepared for an inspection Expatri-ate workers should carry their travel documents or foreign certificates at all times as inspections continue to increase
GHANA Labor market testing succession plans in oil and gas sector
Employers in Ghanarsquos upstream oil and gas industry are reminded that the Petroleum Commission monitors and controls work permit applications for the sector and generally requires labor market testing for all applica-tions regardless of a companyrsquos quota status When applying for a work permit companies must provide a succession plan for all jobs held by foreign nationals and offer jobs to Ghanaians when possible The suc-cession plans must explain how the company intends to replace foreign nationals with Ghanaians in order to meet required minimum local contract levels
In March the Commission reminded companies that they must strictly comply with these requirementsmdasha sign that it will increase compliance activity in the upstream oil and gas industry to make sure that companies are creating and adhering to succession plans for jobs held by foreign nationals Oil and gas workers may be eligi-ble for the Rotator Permit which offers short-term work
Page 21 | Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
authorization for up to six months and does not require labor market testing or a succession or training plan for a Ghanaian to take over the role of the foreign national However a new directive requires that employers notify the Petroleum Commission of all vacancies for approv-al before submitting a permit application regardless of whether the vacancy requires a long- or short-term permit
Outside of the oil and gas industry local labor mar-ket searches must be conducted prior to submitting an application for a Discretionary Quota Work Permit This includes advertising the open position locally and may require providing proof of efforts to recruit a citi-zen when submitting the Work Permit application
AFRICA
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
Copyright copy 2018 Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP This document does not constitute legal advice All rights reserved Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman amp Leiden LLP
CORPORATE IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNMENTAFFAIRS
COMPLIANCE
AUDITING
BUSINESSVISAS
DOCUMENTACQUISITION amp
AUTHENTICATION
PASSPORTSERVICES
EMPLOYMENTVISAS
CONSULARSERVICES
PERMANENTRESIDENCE
PROGRAM ampPOLICY
SERVICES
TECHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS
FORECASTING
TRAINING
MANAGEMENTREPORTING
OUTSOURCING
DATAANALYTICS
CONSULTING
KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENT
STRATEGICPLANNING
COMPARATIVECOUNTRYANALYSIS
Todayrsquos global enterprises face a particularly daunting challenge getting the right people to the right global locations at the right time in full compliance This challenge requires up-to-the-minute understanding of the worldrsquos legal complexities and the capabilities to deliver truly meaningful solutions
Our approach generates resultsmdashand confidence We understand corporate immigration and how to get things done Efficient execution is vital but true effectiveness requires a holistic approach and a true partnership We donrsquot seek to simply answer a question or even to deliver a solution Instead we dig deeper to understand the business context behind your question or your need As your business partner we then develop more innovative more bespoke and more mean-ingful advice and solutions that reflect our unsurpassed knowledge and technological capabilities
BALGLOBALCOM
BALGLOBALCOM