With our mission to uncomplicate the complicated, we’ve always thought of our work in immigration as people-first. Our goal is for these updates to make sense of the changes happening across the world. Please share these updates with your colleagues who may find this information helpful, too.
International Updates
Argentina | The government has extended the border closure until January 31, 2021. The suspension of entry for tourists from neighboring countries continues until January 9, 2021.
Ireland | The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will pause printing employment permits granted since March 2020 (which have already been issued electronically but were not printed due to COVID-19). Employment permit permissions will continue to be issued electronically.
Israel | From Friday, Israel will begin a full lockdown to last for two weeks. During the next two weeks (subject to change and extension):
- The ban on foreign nationals entering the country will continue. Foreign nationals who have already received an entry permit are exempt from the ban but will be subject to 10 days of home isolation and two negative COVID-19 tests.
- Individuals returning from abroad and were in South Africa will be required to isolate in state-run facilities for at least 10 days.
- New applications for re-entry of foreign experts (with valid B-1 work visas) and their dependents will not be processed.
- Government services will be limited to urgent cases only.
Lastly, according to the Ministry of Health, every person in Israel, including foreign employees, will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The United Kingdom | The government announced today that all travelers arriving in England “from next week” will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result issued up to 72 hours before leaving the country they are in. The restriction will apply to all passengers arriving in England by plane, train, or boat, including British Nationals. Failure to have a valid test on arrival may lead to a £500 fine.
Passengers arriving from countries not on the UK travel corridor list will still need to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival. There will be an exemption for cargo workers, children under 11, crews, and those traveling from countries without the infrastructure to deliver the tests.
While the country is under lockdown, visa and passport services are considered essential public services that can continue.
Vietnam | The new Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, issued by MOLISA on December 30, 2020, details the implementation of articles of the labor code on the management of foreign nationals working in Vietnam. This new decree includes the basic implementation guidelines on the Work Permit Exemption Certificate, renewals, issuance, and revocation. This new decree shall be in force and effect on February 15, 2021, and will replace Decree 11/2016/NDCP dated February 3, 2016, and related circular 40/2016/TT-BLDTBXH.
Qualification document requirements for experts/specialists and technicians include:
- Experts/Specialists:
- A bachelor’s degree or higher AND at least 3 years of experience working in a specialized field relevant to the job position the foreign worker is expected to occupy in Vietnam (this remains unchanged from the previous decree); OR
- At least 5 years of experience and a “practicing” certificate relevant to the job position in Vietnam. The “practicing” certificate has yet to be fully defined by the authorities.
- Technicians:
- A training certificate in the targeted technical specialty OR another related specialty for at least 1 year and have worked for at least 3 years in the trained specialty (this remains unchanged from the previous decree); OR
- At least 5 years of experience in the job relevant to the job the foreign worker is expected to work for in Vietnam.
We will continue to send updates 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.