Global Mobility News from VisaHQ

A power-supply failure closed the Channel Tunnel for almost six hours on 30 December, stopping all Eurostar and LeShuttle traffic and stranding thousands of passengers. Limited single-track service resumed by early evening, but severe delays and rolling cancellations are expected to continue into New-Year travel. The disruption exposes the vulnerability of the sole rail link between France and the UK and creates significant challenges for corporate travel planners.

A seven-hour fog spell on 30 Dec shut down much of Delhi’s IGI Airport, cancelling 118 flights, diverting 16 and delaying more than 200. Airlines issued waivers, AAI warned of further disruption, and corporates face cascading schedule and cargo delays. The episode highlights the value of CAT-III-equipped fleets and flexible travel policies during North India’s winter.

Executive Resolution 89-2025 adds four specialised visit-visa categories—AI-Specialist, Entertainment, Events and Maritime-Tourism—effective immediately. The move gives companies a fast, compliant route to bring in project-based talent and cements the UAE’s bid to be the Gulf’s tech, events and nautical hub.

Effective 2 January 2026, Cyprus nationals can no longer buy a visa on arrival in Turkey. They must apply online for an e-visa or visit a Turkish consulate in advance, adding lead-time and cost to business trips. The shift impacts about 80,000 Cypriot visits a year and forces corporate mobility teams to revise travel policies and contingency plans.

Legal notices released on 30 December confirm that France has fixed the salary floor for the «Talent – Qualified Employee» residence permit at €39 582 gross per year, around eight percent below the previous SMIC-based level. The change lowers hiring costs for highly-skilled third-country nationals and simplifies payroll compliance for employers.

On 30 Dec the U.S. Embassy in India posted a compliance warning even as expanded social-media vetting pushes H-1B and H-4 interview dates into March 2026. Delays are stranding Indian professionals, forcing companies to shift projects and separating families. Mobility managers need longer lead times and fallback deployment plans.

Hong Kong has published a multi-agency transport and immigration plan for 1–4 January, including longer checkpoint hours, extra rail and bus services and live congestion data to handle an expected holiday surge. Business travellers should build in extra time and use e-Channels where possible.

The European Commission has confirmed that the forthcoming ETIAS travel authorisation will cost €20 and become mandatory for visa-exempt visitors—including those bound for Czechia—from 2027. HR and travel managers should prepare new compliance steps and warn employees about scam websites. The move aligns Europe with systems such as the US ESTA and is expected to tighten security screening without introducing full visas.

Finland has published the final details of an Aliens Act overhaul that will extend the qualifying residence period for permanent residence from four to six years, introduce mandatory Finnish- or Swedish-language skills and tighten income/benefit rules. Employers and foreign residents have only one year to prepare before the changes enter into force on 8 January 2026.

Cyprus has moved to 24-hour vehicle disinfection at all buffer-zone crossings to keep foot-and-mouth disease from spreading south. The stricter regime slows cross-line traffic and affects commuters, tour operators and freight firms, making it a critical development for mobility and supply-chain planners.

Glitches in the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System produced multi-hour queues at Frankfurt and Munich on 30 December, forcing airlines to hold connections and stranding passengers. The problem highlights the need to add buffer time for non-EU travellers entering Schengen through German hubs and to brief staff on new fingerprint and facial-scan requirements.

Berlin has prolonged the “temporary” identity checks at all nine land borders until 15 March 2026, citing people-smuggling concerns. The measure affects road and rail travellers from eight neighbouring countries, obliging business travellers and assignees to carry passports and adding delays for freight. Companies should build extra travel time into schedules and ensure staff have the right documents.

Gulf ministers have pushed the launch of the GCC Unified Tourist Visa to 2026, citing the need for deeper data-sharing and security integration. The postponement means tourists and business travellers entering via the UAE must still apply for separate visas for each Gulf country, adding cost and complexity for multi-stop itineraries.

The European Commission’s 30 December progress report confirms that the Schengen Entry/Exit System has registered 13 million crossings and uncovered 100 identity-fraud cases barely ten weeks after launch. Vienna Airport is already live, so Austrian-bound business travellers face longer first-time biometric enrolment but should see improved security and fewer manual checks in 2026 when EES becomes mandatory everywhere and feeds into ETIAS. Companies must align posted-worker and travel data with the new database to avoid compliance flags.

A power-supply failure and stalled freight train closed the Channel Tunnel on 30 December, forcing Eurostar to cancel all Brussels–London services. Thousands of passengers—including many corporate travellers—were stranded, with knock-on effects on flights and alternative rail routes. Companies should activate contingency plans and help staff claim EU rail-passenger compensation.

The National Immigration Administration expects China’s border crossings to average 2.1 million daily during the 2026 New Year holiday, a 22.4 percent year-on-year rise. Airports in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing, plus land checkpoints with Hong Kong and Macao, will see the heaviest loads. The spike reflects recent visa-free and digital facilitation measures and signals further recovery in 2026, with implications for airline capacity and corporate travel budgets.