Global Mobility News from VisaHQ

Beginning December 26, 2025, CBP will photograph every departing non-citizen, completing the U.S. biometric entry-exit system. The rule removes age-based exemptions and covers all airports, seaports and land borders. While DHS says the move tightens security and tracks overstays, companies must prepare foreign workers for longer inspections and address privacy concerns.

Brussels confirmed on 25 Oct 2025 that the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System will begin on 12 Oct, and Spain says all airports, land posts and most seaports are ready. Travellers will register face and fingerprints, ending passport stamping and tightening overstay controls. Companies must update compliance processes and brief employees, while Spanish residents should carry their TIE to avoid unnecessary biometric capture.

From 26 October, Shanghai’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports will fly a winter-spring timetable with 2,419 daily movements, including 766 international sectors—5 % more than last year. New highlights include a Shanghai–Delhi relaunch and a record-length Shanghai–Auckland–Buenos Aires route, plus a Suzhou Service Centre that lets arriving foreigners transfer landside without extra paperwork. The changes expand Shanghai’s reach to 48 countries and ease onward travel for business travellers and assignees.

Brazil’s Federal Police published its COP 30 security plan on 25 October, detailing extra immigration booths, biometric e-gates and 1,200 officers that will handle the expected 50,000 foreign visitors to Belém. Corporations should pre-clear traveller data 72 hours in advance and expect heavier screening of luggage and equipment.

A visa-amnesty programme running 25 Oct – 30 Dec 2025 lets visa overstayers in the UAE legalise their status or leave without penalties. ICP has extended service-centre hours and enabled 24/7 online filing, while foreign missions have mobilised support desks. Employers now have a last chance to clean up sponsorship records before stricter enforcement in 2026.

Two weeks into the EU’s new biometric border regime, Düsseldorf is experiencing hour-long waits and Frankfurt warns of delays as it prepares to switch on EES on 29 October. The early bottlenecks underline the importance for companies to brief non-EU travellers and monitor 90/180-day compliance.

The Federal Council has launched a consultation on an ordinance that would prohibit most asylum-seekers from leaving Switzerland, except in exceptional humanitarian cases. The move, unveiled on 24 October, seeks to close perceived loopholes and aligns Swiss practice with tougher travel restrictions elsewhere in Europe. Businesses will need to verify employees’ status before authorising travel, and mobility teams should prepare for stricter compliance checks.

USCIS guidance issued Oct 20 and publicized Oct 24 limits the new US$100,000 H-1B fee to petitions for workers outside the U.S. or cases requesting consular notification, sparing most in-country extensions and amendments. Employers must attach pay.gov receipts or exemption letters at filing, but existing H-1B holders remain unaffected. The narrower rule eases immediate cost concerns for U.S. businesses while legal challenges to the proclamation proceed.

The Interior Ministry’s annual report shows France refused nearly 580,000 visa applications in 2024, up 14 % year-on-year, although the overall refusal rate slipped to 16.6 %. The figures signal heightened scrutiny on documentation, with Maghreb nationals most affected. Employers sending staff to France should reinforce compliance checks to avoid costly refusals.

Federal caps, higher proof-of-funds and narrower PGWP rules slashed new study-permit arrivals by almost 60 % in 2025, IRCC data show. The drop hits university finances, local economies and employer talent pipelines, signalling that companies can no longer rely on Canada’s international-student channel for quick skill acquisition.

Spain has begun collecting biometric data under the EU Entry/Exit System, scrapped passport stamping and warned travellers of longer queues. Simultaneously, the Balearics, Barcelona and other regions are hiking tourist levies and extending strict alcohol, rental and beach rules aimed at curbing mass tourism. The changes will raise compliance costs and travel times for holidaymakers and business visitors alike—issues that corporate mobility teams must factor into budgets, itineraries and employee briefings.

A first-hand report from the Citywest transit hub details how 2,400 migrants endured nights of unrest after far-right protests erupted outside. The violence highlights security risks around Ireland’s largest reception centre, complicating accommodation and duty-of-care planning for employers relocating staff. Officials may relocate future centres away from Dublin, with knock-on travel-cost implications.

An industry circular dated 24 October confirms that Italy’s new quota decree authorises 497,550 non-EU work permits for 2026-2028 and details application timelines, employer caps and an extended caregiver fast-track. The three-year horizon allows longer-range workforce planning, but large employers will have to work around a three-permit-per-year cap.

Italy opened the pre-filling phase for 164,850 non-EU work permits under the 2026–2028 *Decreto Flussi* on 23 October. Employers have until 7 December to prepare applications for four January–February click days. The expanded quota—part of a three-year plan totalling nearly half a million permits—aims to fill chronic labour shortages while preserving strict controls on irregular migration.

Decree 12.657/2025, publicised on 23 Oct 2025, lets business-visitor (VIVIS) holders perform short-term technical assistance and technology-transfer work under a contract with a Brazilian entity, removing the old requirement for a temporary work visa. Paid employment remains barred, but the change slashes lead times for corporate assignments and aligns Brazil with mobility norms in other G20 economies.

On October 23 USCIS confirmed that the new US $100,000 H-1B surcharge applies only to petitions filed abroad on or after September 21 — not to extensions, amendments or transfers for workers already in the U.S. The agency’s clarification averts widespread over-payments but leaves employers recruiting overseas talent facing a massive fee increase while lawsuits proceed.

Spain’s Democratic Memory Law, which let descendants of Civil-War and Franco-era exiles reclaim nationality, stopped accepting new applications at 23:59 on 22 October 2025. Existing applicants with a confirmed appointment can still file documents, but no new cases may be opened. The closure removes a popular fast-track citizenship route for Latin-American talent and prompts calls for a permanent ancestry scheme.

Shanghai police will offer a fully paperless port e-visa to all accredited China International Import Expo participants, expanding eligibility beyond local hosts and allowing exhibitors to convert on-arrival passes into short-term residence permits. The measure promises sub-two-minute clearance and underscores China’s push to streamline business travel for major trade events.

A 22 October USCIS update confirms that the $100,000 H-1B fee applies only to petitions requiring consular processing; extensions, amendments, employer changes and in-country status changes are exempt. The clarification lets universities and companies move existing foreign talent internally without incurring six-figure costs, but still makes hiring directly from abroad far more expensive.