EIG COVID-19 Update | August 19, 2020

With our mission to uncomplicate the complicated, we’ve always thought of our work in immigration as people-first. Our goal is for these emails to make sense of the changes happening across the world. Please share these updates with your colleagues who may find this information helpful, too.

Egypt | From September 1, all visitors to Egypt will be required to show negative results for a PCR test.
Case Update: 163 confirmed cases. Last updated: 2020/8/19 4:00 PM CEST

Finland | The government has increased restrictions for inbound travel, removing most EU countries from the “Green List.” Currently, and subject to change, only EU travelers from Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, and Slovakia will be allowed entry without providing an essential reason and without self-isolating for two weeks.
Case Update: 24 confirmed cases. Last updated: 2020/8/19 4:00 PM CEST

Ireland | Following increases in coronavirus infection rates, the GNIB has just confirmed that they will close again temporarily to allow for revised public health guidance to be issued.  Appointments that were issued for August 19-21, 2020, will be rescheduled. Further announcements about the operation of the Registration Office are expected before the end of this week. All online renewals for the Dublin area will continue to be accepted online and will be processed.

All IRP permissions that are due to expire between August 20, 2020, and September 20, 2020, are automatically being renewed for one month.  Any permission that was renewed by the previous notices on March 20, 2020, May 13, 2020, and July 16, 2020, and therefore has a new expiration date between August 20, 2020 and September 20, 2020, is automatically renewed for an additional one month.
Case Update: 186 confirmed cases. Last updated: 2020/8/19 4:00 PM CEST

Norway | From August 22, travelers from Austria, Britain, Greece, and Ireland will be required to self-isolate for ten days upon their arrival.
Case Update: 56 confirmed cases. Last updated: 2020/8/19 4:00 PM CEST

Slovenia | The government is urging citizens who are in Croatia to return by the end of the week. Those who return after August 21 will be required to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Case Update: 18 confirmed cases. Last updated: 2020/8/19 4:00 PM CEST

On July 31, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow both agencies to share immigrant petition and data records amongst each other freely. This latest agreement adds to the growing concern of privacy erosion. In last week’s Immigration Nerds podcast, we look at examples of administrative actions from the past year to expand the practice of collecting private information.

We will continue to send updates daily or as more COVID-19-related news is available. If you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or in past updates or want to hear more about a different topic, just reply to let us know. If you have specific questions, please contact your employer or EIG attorney.