Weekly Immigration Update: July 8–14, 2022

Azerbaijan: Ministry of Labour Introduces Broader Labour Market Testing – Employers in Azerbaijan are now required to demonstrate that they have made efforts to employ local workers and demonstrate a particular need for foreign labor when seeking to sponsor foreign nationals, which was not previously required. As part of this process, the State Migration Service will contact the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population for their opinion on the labor market impact of work permit applications. The Ministry will then issue an assessment within five to seven business days. Additionally, employers will be required to demonstrate long-term efforts to train local staff to replace sponsored foreign workers, which was previously assumed but not strictly enforced or documented as part of the work permit application. Affected employers are advised to provide extensive documentation on foreign national qualifications, local recruitment efforts and training plans when filing work permit applications to prevent processing delays.

Brazil: New Brazilian Identity Cards and Passports to be Launched – The Brazilian government announced the launch of the Carteira de Identidade Nacional (CIN) as the new national identity card for Brazilian nationals. The CIN will replace the current national identity document called Registro Geral (RG) and will have an integrated QR Code intended to facilitate the identification of card holders and prevent fraud. The government will begin issuing the new identity cards in August 2022 in several states (including Acre, Pernambuco, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais, among others), and expects that all other states will be able to issue CINs by March 2023. In the meantime, Brazilian nationals can use valid RGs until 2032. Additionally, starting in September 2022, the Brazilian government will begin issuing passports with added security measures, including laser-engraved personalization, watermarks, and other modern anti-fraud technology.

Hungary: Translations Delayed for Russian Documents – Fragomen has reported delays in arranging certified translations of documents from Russian to Hungarian, including birth and marriage certificates. Translation now takes approximately 30 business days to obtain, up from 10 business days. Alternatively, applicants requiring Hungarian translations of Russian documents may seek certified translation in Russia and legalization of translated documents at the Hungarian consulate in Russia when filing their residence permit or D visa application. The Hungarian consulate will then legalize the translation, which can be used during the next steps of the immigration process at the Hungarian Immigration and Labor office. Affected applicants are advised to promptly seek translation and anticipate document procurement delays.

Israel: Upcoming Government Closures May Cause Delays – Israeli government offices will be closed due to Jewish holidays on the following dates: September 25-28 (inclusive) for Rosh Hashanah, October 4-5 for Yom Kippur, and October 9-16 (inclusive) for Sukkot. A national election to be held on November 1 will also close government offices, including immigration services. During these closures, no work permits or visa applications will be processed. Consular posts will also suspend or limit their processing. Consequently, visa applications may experience processing or issuance delays following these closures.

Kazakhstan: Visa-Free Travel for Iranian Nationals – Iranian nationals can now enter Kazakhstan for up to 14 days for tourism or business travel, based on a new visa-free agreement. No work can be done during this time.

Norway: Increased Data Sharing and New Taskforce to Address Immigration Compliance – Norwegian government agencies, specifically the immigration authority (UDI), tax authorities, police, and border control, are now sharing pertinent immigration compliance data to improve interagency cooperation in addressing work-related crime. These data-sharing policies comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. Additionally, the Norwegian government has created a new joint inspection taskforce (A-krim) that conducts randomized checks on businesses to target illegal employment in Norway. Employers are advised to ensure they are in compliance with all respective laws and to contact immigration counsel with questions on onboarding process compliance.

Oman: Reduced Fees for Issuance of Recruitment Licenses in the Private Sector – The Ministry of Labour has reduced fees for the issuance of foreign national recruitment licenses in the private sector, aiming to incentivize employers and attract investment. The fee reduction specifically applies to the following professional categories: senior and supervisory positions, including managerial and consulting positions: OMR 301, down from OMR 2,001; technical and specialist positions: OMR 251, down from OMR 1,001; and administrative positions: OMR 201, down from OMR 600. Additionally, fees will be further reduced by 30% if the employer is fully compliant with its localization ratios. Note that fees remain the same for small, and medium enterprises registered with the Authority of Small and Medium Enterprises Development.

Poland: New Bill Expected on Employment of Foreign Nationals – The Polish government is drafting legislation on the employment of foreign nationals that is expected to be published in September 2022 and adopted in Q4 of the same year. Notably, the bill is expected to digitalize the Work Permit and Special Permission application processes; replace labor market testing with adjusted salary requirements for foreign workers; require foreign workers to receive at least the average salary for the position and industry; and prevent Work Permit issuance for part-time employment for less than 50% of permitted working hours. Current communications also indicate that compliance fines could increase under the new legislation and that the scope of Special Permission (expedited work authorization available to a limited list of nationalities) could be expanded to include additional countries, such as India and the Philippines.

Russia: Updated Rules Related to Russian Citizenship for Ukrainian Citizens – The Russian government updated the rules related to a Presidential Order that simplified the procedure for Ukrainian citizens seeking Russian citizenship. Children, spouses and parents of Ukrainian citizens are now eligible for the relaxed process; previously only main applicants were eligible. Additionally, applicants now only need to show a migration card (or any other document confirming that the foreign citizen crossed the Russian border legally), whereas previously they had to prove residence in Russia, proof of income in Russia and knowledge of the Russian language. Lastly, foreign citizens without an address registered in Russia can file documents in any region where they reside in Russia.

Russia: Law in Effect for Information Technology Specialists – The Russian government has implemented the law allowing foreign information technology specialists employed in Russia by accredited information technology companies (except for residents in certain economic zones) to work without work permits and to obtain permanent residence permits without having a temporary residence permit for one year.

United States: June 2022 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times – As of June 30, 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in December 2021 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of September 2021 or earlier. DOL is working on standard reconsideration requests that were filed in February 2022 or earlier. DOL is issuing prevailing wage determinations (PWDs) for PERM prevailing wage requests filed in January 2022 (OES) and December 2021 (non-OES) and H-1B prevailing wage requests filed in December 2021 (OES and non-OES). The agency has been processing H-1B and PERM redeterminations requested in April 2022 and PERM Center Director reviews requested in May 2022. These reports are available on the DOL FLAG page.