June 2015

PEREGRINE NEWS
This month we have added 10 new immigration processes to Immiguru, including two new
destination countries Kuwait, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Immiguru now contains more than 1100 immigration processes to 90+ destination
countries, which our 190+ partners help us to keep up-to-date to reflect changes to rules
and procedures around the world.
We have also updated Immigo, our global immigration case management cloud software,
with a new internal document field and expiry dates for supporting documents, as well as a
new shortcut to show all hidden text on a page.
On Thursday 11 June we hosted a webinar on the NAFTA agreement in North America and
its impact on immigration. You can view and download the slides here.
Finally, we attended the AILA Immigration Law Global Forum in Washington DC on 17 June
and the CIPD Software Show in London on 18 June, and were pleased to meet old friends
and make new ones!

Table of Contents
AUSTRALIA VISA FEES INCREASE FROM 1 JULY 2015
UNITED KINGDOM MIGRANT CAP REACHED FOR FIRST TIME
MALAYSIA AUTHORITIES RESUME ISSUING I-KAD ID DOCUMENT
FRANCE NEW RECORD-KEEPING RULES FOR ASSIGNMENTS
VIETNAM ENTRY VISAS WAIVED FOR FIVE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
LUXEMBOURG MINIMUM SALARY INCREASES FOR EU BLUE CARD
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AUSTRALIA Visa Fees

Increase from 1 July 2015
From 1 July 2015, Australian Visa Application
Charges (VAC) will increase.
The fee changes include an increase in line
with inflation (2.3%) for the Subclass 457 visa
for temporary skilled work, and for certain
employer-sponsored migration routes.

Key Changes
The full fee changes are listed here and are in
Australian dollars.
The application fee for a Subclass 457 visa for
temporary skilled work will increase from
$1035 to $1060 for the principal applicant and
any adult dependents, and from $260 to $265
for any child dependents aged under 18 years.
The application fee for the Subclass 186
Employer Nomination Scheme and the
Subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration
Scheme will increase from $3520 to $3600 for
the principal applicant, from $1760 to $1800
for adult dependents and from $880 to $900
for child dependents.

Planned System Outages

To implement the fee changes, there are a
number of planned system outages leading up
to 1 July 2015.
These outages could prevent online
submission of applications. The dates of the
planned outages are:
from 9pm Friday 26 June until 8am
Saturday 27 June 2015 AEST
(GMT+10);
from 7pm Tuesday 30 June until 7am
Wednesday 1 July 2015 AEST
(GMT+10).

Reorganisation of Immigration and

Border Services
From 1 July 2015, the Department of
Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and
the Australian Customs and Border Protection
Service (ACBPS) will be consolidated into a
single Department of Immigration and Border
Protection. At this time, the Australian Border
Force, a single frontline operational border
agency, will be established within the
department.
In protest at the change, DIBP staff began
industrial action on Monday 16 June and will
continue intermittently until Friday 26 June.
During this period, airports, client service
centres, ports, container examination facilities
and visa processing offices will be affected.

Action Items
Ensure global mobility planning takes
into account the new visa charges;
Be prepared for delays in visa
processing and travel due to the
planned system outages and strikes.

UNITED KINGDOM
Migrant Cap Reached for
First Time
The government's immigration cap for non-EU
national skilled workers, which applies to
positions earning over 20,800, has been hit
for the first time since its introduction in
2011.

What Happened?
Under the Tier 2 scheme, there is an annual
allocation of 20,700 certificates of
sponsorship, which equates to 1650 per
month. If allocations are under-subscribed in

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a particular month, the surplus is carried over

to the next month.

certificate of sponsorship may not be granted

on first request.

However, in the month of June, a combination

of a low surplus plus an unanticipated spike in
application numbers meant that there was
insufficient allocation available to grant all
requests.

Broadly speaking, because of the greater

points score awarded for roles on the
shortage occupation lists, those with higherend salaries, and PhD positions, such jobs may
be protected from any visa squeeze for the
time being.

Applications affected are those made under

Tier 2 General outside the UK only. Tier 2
Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs), graduates
switching to Tier 2 and Tier 2 Changes of
Employment are not affected.

How Does it Work?

The Home Office considers requests for
certificates of sponsorship on a points basis.
Each application is awarded a number of
points based on salary, and allocated in
descending order of score. For example, roles
with a salary between 32k and 45k are
awarded 45 points; roles with a salary
between 46k and 75k are awarded 50
points.
This month, the Home Office had a sufficient
number of certificates available to allocate to
all application requests scoring 50 points, but
an insufficient number remaining to allocate
to all requests in the points band below. As a
result, no applications with a score of 45
points or below were approved this month.

Who will be Affected?

The Home Office has not confirmed how
many applications were rejected, so it is not
yet possible to estimate how many
application re-submissions there might be in
July and whether the same outcome should
be anticipated.
But a knock-on effect is anticipated; in future,
a qualifying application for a restricted

Those likely to be affected, in the short term

at least, are roles that pay the lowest salaries,
since lower salaried roles are awarded fewer
points.

Action Items
Be prepared for the possibility of a
qualifying application for a certificate
of sponsorship under Tier 2 General
not being granted on first request.

MALAYSIA Authorities
Resume Issuing i-Kad ID
Document
The immigration authorities in Putrajaya have
resumed issuing i-Kad ID cards (formerly
known as i-Pass) to all holders of Employment
Passes (EP) and Dependent Passes (DP).

Background
The i-Kad is optional, and allows travel within
peninsular Malaysia without a passport.
Issuance of i-Kad (i-Pass) cards was suspended
in September 2014. Until then, holders of EPs
and DPs issued by the immigration authorities
at the Multimedia Development Corporation
(MDeC) or the Malaysian Investment
Development Authority (MIDA) could only
apply for an i-Pass card through the relevant
immigration authority, and the applications
were then forwarded to the Malaysian

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Immigration Department in Putrajaya for

processing. Now, all applications for i-Kad are
submitted directly to Putrajaya.

How to Apply
The i-Kad is no longer issued automatically
with the endorsement of the EP/DP - an
application has to be made for the card. The
application can be made any time after the
EP/DP is endorsed in the passport. The validity
of the card follows the validity of the EP/DP.
Application can be made by the foreign
national personally or through a
representative of the host company.
If the application is made in person, the
following documents are required:
Letter from the host company
requesting the i-Kad;
Application form;
Copy of the bio-data page and the
EP/DP endorsement page of the
applicants passport.
If the application is made by the company
representative, the following documents are
also required:
Letter from the company authorising
the representative;
Copy of the Malaysian ID (NRIC) of the
company representative and proof of
employment with the company in the
form of EPF statement/Company
card.
Processing time is estimated to be one
working day. However, as this initiative is
new, the volume of applications is still very
low. Presently the authorities are able to
process the card application within a day. As
the volume of applications increases,
processing time may be longer. There is no
charge for the card. However for replacement

of card (initial card lost or damaged) the

authorities will impose a small charge. Any iKad card which has been issued and not
collected within a month will be terminated
and the application will need to be made
again, in which case charges will be imposed
for the card.

Action Items
Holders of Employment Passes or
Dependent Passes who wish to obtain
an i-Kad card should apply at
Putrajaya with all the required
supporting documents.

FRANCE New Recordkeeping Rules for

Assignments
Recent changes to French labour law for
companies sending their employees to France
on assignment, under detachment status (i.e.
remaining on home payroll). These employers
must appoint a legal representative in France
who has access to documents pertaining to
the applicants employment and the French
assignment, and to send the host company in
France certain documents prior to the start of
the assignment. Failure to comply with the
new requirements could result in fines for
both the employer abroad and the host
company in France.

Who is Affected?
The new regulations affect employers
transferring their employers to France in both
the salari en mission detach (intra-company
transfer with home payroll) and the salari
detach hors mobilit intragroupe (service
provider with home payroll) categories.

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What are the New Requirements?

The sending company must designate a legal
representative in France who will be the
liaison between the labour inspectorate and
the employer abroad. The legal representative
must have access to the following documents:
The employees French work permit,
immigration medical certificate,
payslips, proof of salary payment and
timesheet;
Evidence of the employers business
activity abroad and in France, and
social security compliance;
The employment contract of the
employee and, if applicable, the
service agreement between the
employer and the host company in
France;
A copy of the letter designating the
legal representative.
The host company in France must now ensure
that it has access to the following documents
before the assignment starts:
The prior detachment declaration
filed with the labour inspectorate that
has jurisdiction for the place of work;
A copy of the letter designating the
legal representative;
A copy of the French work permit,
which needs to be added to the
personnel register.

Action Items
Employers sending non-EU employees
on assignment to France must ensure
that they designate a legal
representative in France and provide
them with access to the documents
required for inspection;

Companies in France hosting these

assignees must ensure that they
maintain the required documents
ready for inspection.

VIETNAM Entry Visas

Waived for Five European
Countries
The Vietnamese government has passed a
law, effective 1 July 2015, waiving entry visa
requirements for nationals of France,
Germany, Italy, Spain and the United
Kingdom.

How Does the Waiver Work?

The new visa waiver will allow entry
and stay in Vietnam of up to 15 days,
with no pre-approval;
The interval between the last exit
date from Vietnam and the new entry
date must be 30 days or more;
Foreigners who enter Vietnam on a
visa waiver must have a passport that
is valid for 6 months, cannot extend
their stay and must exit the country
after 15 days;
The law is set to expire on 30 June
2016, at which time the government
will consider extending it.

What is the Impact for Business

Travellers?
This law has been primarily implemented to
increase tourism to Vietnam and is not
intended to relax business visa or foreign
labour laws.
Article 2 of the law states that the waiver
applies for all kinds of passports and all
purposes. As it is written, there is no

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distinction in the law between tourist and

business purposes. However, it is
recommended that the visa waiver be
sparingly used for short term, business
meetings only and not for hands-on work. The
law itself is lacking details at this point and it
is unclear in practice what is allowable under
a waiver or how various local authorities will
interpret this law beyond tourism.

Action Items
Qualifying nationals should consider
using the visa waiver for business
trips, but should check with a
Vietnamese consulate in their home
country to determine whether the
visa waiver is appropriate in their
situation;
Qualifying nationals intending to
secure a work permit will still need to
enter the country on a business visa
sponsored by the Vietnam entity and
obtained at an overseas Vietnamese
consulate. This will allow them to
convert later to long-term temporary
residence cards. Visa waivers cannot
be converted.

LUXEMBOURG Minimum
Salary Increases for EU Blue
Card
The Luxembourg government has increased
the minimum salary requirements for
European Union (EU) Blue Cards, effective
immediately. A lower salary threshold now
applies to certain shortage occupations in the
ICT sector. The government fee for a
residence permit application has also
increased.

Salary Thresholds
EU Blue Card holders in Luxembourg must
now be paid at least 71,946 per year (1.5
times the average annual salary in
Luxembourg), up from 69,858.
The immigration authorities in Luxembourg
have also announced a list of shortage
occupations to which a lower minimum
annual salary of 57,556.80 applies (1.2 times
the average annual salary).
The qualifying occupations are mostly in the
ICT sector, where the Luxembourg
government has identified a need to attract
more non-EU national workers:
mathematicians, actuaries and
statisticians;
system analysts;
software developers;
web and multimedia developers;
applications programmers;
software and application developers
and analysts not elsewhere classified;
database designers and
administrators;
systems administrators;
computer network professionals;
database and network professionals
not elsewhere classified.

Residence Permit Fee

The government fee for a residence permit
application has recently increased to 80 from
50.

Background
The Luxembourg government regularly
adjusts the minimum salary requirements for
foreign nationals.
The EU Blue Card is a work and residence
permit, implemented in most EU countries,

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VAT registration number: 111 7916 32
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designed to attract highly skilled non-EU

nationals. To qualify, applicants need
advanced qualifications or substantial
experience, among other requirements.
Benefits include the flexibility to change
employers or move to another EU country and
work permission for a spouse.

Action Items
Review the salaries of current and
future EU Blue Card holders in
Luxembourg;
Note the occupations qualifying for a
lower minimum salary.

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DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this immigration newsletter has been
abridged from laws, court decisions, and administrative rulings and should not be
construed or relied upon as legal advice. If you have specific questions regarding the
applicability of this information, please contact Peregrine 2015 Peregrine
Immigration Management Ltd.

peregrine: GLOBAL IMMIGRATION MADE SIMPLE

VAT registration number: 111 7916 32
Peregrine Immigration Management Ltd, Registered in England and Wales: 7569415