A Canadian passport is one of the most powerful passports in the world, sitting in the fourth position (out of 95) according to Passport Index. The strength of a passport is calculated depending on how far its visa-free access expands. As such, there are three reasons you may be wondering how long does it take to get a Canada passport: You are a Canadian citizen, and you’re about to apply for your first Canada passport. Your current [...]
Within four and a half months since the EU Settlement Scheme was launched in the United Kingdom, about a million EU citizens living in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have received the status granted under the scheme. Acceding to a press release of the UK government more than 50,000 people lodged their applications in the opening weekend alone. Up to the end of July, 950,000 applications were filed in England, 50,000 in Scotland, 15,000 in Wales [...]
North Macedonia and Ukraine have signed a permanent visa waiver deal, which enables the citizens of both to enter the other country without the need of obtaining a visa first, and excludes the need of the yearly renewal of the agreement, as it has happened so far. The agreement was signed on July 12, between Ukraine's Ambassador in North Macedonia Natalya Zadorozhnyuk on behalf of Ukraine and the North Macedonian Minister for Foreign Affairs Nikola Dimitrov on [...]
The Singaporean and Japanese passports have once again topped the Henley Passport Index, as the best passports to have in 2019, offering their holders visa-free access to 189 world countries. The latest rankings show that South Korea sits second, together with Finland and Germany, which means three out of the five most powerful passports are Asian. According to a press release of Henley & Partners, a firm focused on residence and citizenship planning, which ranks passports of [...]
The rate of H-1B visa approvals has dropped from 93% for fiscal year 2017 to 85% in 2018. A total of 335,000 H-1B visas, including first and new applications, were approved, out of 396,300 completed applications for FY 2018. According to numbers released by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a year before, there were 373,400 applications approved out of 403,300 received. Data shows that the approval rate has been dropping since 2015 as follows: [...]
A dozen of authors from African and Middle East countries, who were scheduled to participate at last year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, had failed to participate after their visa applications were rejected at least once by the UK Home Office. Organizers of the festival fear that the same may happen this year, thus stopping authors from attending the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Though the artistic director of the festival Nick Barley, says it is too early to [...]
Brazil has reached a record number of tourists in 2018, according to the latest statistics from Brazil Tourism. It is believed that the number has been triggered by the electronic visa program enrolled last year. The number of tourists coming from the US, Canada and Australia increased in particular. While in 2017 there were 475,232 tourists that reached Brazil, in 2018 this number increased for 13.3% to 570,000 visitors. The number of Canadians visiting Brazil increased for [...]
American employers wishing to bring to US highly-skilled foreigners on an H-1B visa may soon have to face some other challenges, while applying, and that is the higher costs for getting the visa. The Trump administration is proposing to increase the fees for H-1B visa applicants, in order to fund the expansion of the apprentice program that prepares the American youngsters in fields related to technology. While testifying before a Congressional committee the United States Labor Secretary [...]
Survivors of the Christchurch attack that took place last month in two mosques in New Zealand can now apply for permanent residency in New Zealand. Immediate family members of the late victims and of the survivors are also eligible to apply starting April 24, 2019 until April 24, 2021. “You can get this visa if you were present at the Masjid Al Noor or Linwood mosques while they were attacked on 15 March 2019, or are the [...]
Ireland has finally decided to abolish its much-criticized re-entry visa system for foreigners holding an Irish Residence Permit (IRP) or Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) card. According to a press release by the Ministry of Justice and Equality, the abolition will come into effect on May 13th, 2019. Applicants who intend to travel and return to Iceland before this date will be able to get their re-entry visa, free of charge. The Minister for Justice and Equality, [...]
