HIGHLIGHTS

• Mandatory Reporting Required for all ACR I-Card Holders in the Philippines
• The United Arab Emirates Announces New “E-Vision” Online Application System for all Dependent Applications
• Denmark Requires Fast Track Employees to Schedule an Appointment for Biometrics
• Israel Establishes New Minimum Wage Requirements for Foreign Experts
• Italy Introduces New ICT Work Permit

Mandatory Reporting Required for all ACR I-Card Holders in the Philippines

Immigration Authorities in the Philippines are requiring Alien Certification of Registration (ACR) I-Card foreign nationals to personally report to the immigration office by March 3, 2017. Foreign nationals who do not report will be recorded as undocumented aliens. This is an annual requirement  for all ACR I-Card holders, which includes 9(g) pre-arranged employees, 9(d) Treaty traders, and 13(A) Permanent residence immigrant visa holders. Exemption from personal appearance is available to 47(a)2 visa holders, Retirees, Special non-immigrant and Article 60, EO 226 visas under Regional Operating Headquarters. Additionally, children under 14 and  adults 65 and older are not required to attend in person.

A foreign national is altogether excused from reporting in person if they satisfy all of the following: (1) personally appeared in at least one of the 2014, 2015, or 2016 Annual Reports with a completed AR form; (2) pay a fee of PhP500 for non-appearance; (3) present an official receipt of payment of the last Annual Report fee; (4) present a Special Power of Attorney with valid government-issued ID of their legal representative; (5) and undertake to fulfill obligations associated with CA 613 and RA 562 liabilities.

To report, foreign nationals should either visit the main office in Intramuros, Manila or visit a regional office in their area of residence. Foreign nationals must bring their ACR I-Card and a confirmation number issued via the AR 2017 online system. There is a fee of PhP300 plus a “legal research” fee of PhP10.

A delayed report will incur a penalty of PhP200 each month of delay. Employers should ensure that foreign national employees or assignees in the Philippines meet the annual reporting requirement. For more detailed information regarding the reporting requirement please visit the Republic of the Philippines Bureau of Immigration website.

The United Arab Emirates Announces New “E-Vision” Online Application System for all Dependent Applications

Effective December 25, 2016, a new online application system, “E-Vision”, must be used to submit all immigration applications for dependent family members in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This will eliminate the need to attend in person appointments for dependent entry permit and residence stamps. As a result of this change, original UAE ID and the International Bank Account Number of the sponsor will be required for all immigration applications related to dependents. Please note, delays in initiating dependent applications should be anticipated as Emirates ID’s can take up to three weeks to be issued. The residence visa endorsement stage still requires submission of the dependent’s original passport, however, passports can now be submitted and returned via government approved courier. For emergency residence permit endorsements, the original passport can be brought to the immigration authorities in person for an additional charge.

Denmark Requires Fast Track Employees to Schedule an Appointment for Biometrics

Effective February 7, 2017, foreign employees applying for work and residence permits under the Fast Track program must schedule an appointment in advance in order to register their biometrics data at the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) in Copenhagen. The Fast Track program allows foreign employees who are highly qualified to start working in certified Danish companies immediately after submitting their application for a residence and work permit and registering their biometric data.

Appointments to register biometrics in Copenhagen may be scheduled online starting January 13, 2017. Online scheduling will become mandatory as of February 7, 2017 and walk-ins will no longer be allowed. The appointment may be scheduled as early as two hours after the application has been submitted and no later than 14 days from the date of submission. Biometrics processes in other cities remain the same.

In addition, as reported in our previous EIG Dispatch, the minimum annual salary requirement for the Pay Limit Scheme in Denmark has increased from 400,000 Danish Krones to 408,000 Danish Krones effective January 1, 2017.

Israel Establishes New Minimum Wage Requirements for Foreign Experts

Israel has announced an increase to the minimum monthly wage requirements for B-1 Foreign Expert visa holders. Under the old rules, the prevailing wage was set at 18,668 NIS per month but has now been increased to 19,086 per month.  Please note, the increase does not apply to experts working in Israel under SEA (Short Employment Authorization) visas or STEP (Short Term Expedited Process) visas.

Italy Introduces New ICT Work Permit

As an update to our previous report, countries in the European Union (EU) are required to develop meaningful legislation adopting the EU Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) Directive.

Effective January 11, 2017, Italy introduced legislation creating a new ICT Work Permit valid for up to three years for foreign managers and specialists, and up to one year for trainees. To be eligible for the permit, the worker must have been working for the same company, or for a company of the same corporate group, for at least three consecutive months immediately preceding the transfer. The Italian host company will file the work permit application at the Italian Immigration Office. Application procedures have not yet been finalized but it is expected that the immigration authority will provide guidelines soon. The ICT Work Permit will also allow the principal applicant to sponsor dependents. In addition, workers with an ICT Permit issued by another EU member state will be allowed to work in Italy for a qualifying Italian host company for up to 90 days (within a 180-day timeframe).

Italy will be one of seven countries, along with Spain, Romania, Hungary, France, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands, to have implemented legislation in compliance with the EU ICT Directive.

EIG will continue to monitor the progress of the new EU ICT Permit as application procedures continue to form and finalize.