Global Mobility News from VisaHQ

A fast-moving ash cloud from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano forced India’s DGCA to order airlines to avoid affected airspace, leading to dozens of cancellations and diversions by Air India, IndiGo and Akasa on 24–25 November 2025. The episode highlights how African volcanic activity can rapidly disrupt India–Gulf and transcontinental business travel and underscores the need for robust contingency planning.

Poland activated the EU-wide biometric Entry/Exit System at 38 border points on 24 November, becoming the first member state with full EES coverage. The move digitises passport stamping, speeds repeat entries and sets the stage for ETIAS, but travellers face a one-off biometric enrolment and HR teams must update policies. The rollout is also a political lever as Warsaw argues that external-border technology should allow Schengen partners to drop ad-hoc internal checks.

The Border Guard says the first sections of Finland’s new 200-km fence with Russia will be finished in Lapland within weeks, part of a €362 million effort to deter “instrumentalised migration.” The physical barrier, coupled with emergency laws that suspend land-border asylum claims, will keep the frontier effectively closed for the foreseeable future—adding time and cost to corporate logistics and cross-border assignments.

A late-night amendment to France’s 2026 budget would oblige all non-EU nationals on the long-stay “visitor” visa to pay an annual healthcare contribution before obtaining state coverage. The levy, still to be priced, aims to plug deficits in Puma and prevent so-called ‘medical freeloading’. Global-mobility managers should prepare for higher assignment costs and possible renewal hurdles from 2026.

Brussels Airport will cancel more than half of Wednesday’s inbound flights after already grounding all departures, as security and ground-handling staff join a three-day national strike over austerity measures. Airlines must reroute thousands of passengers and time-critical cargo, and travellers should expect long queues and limited services even on flights that do operate. The walkout underscores the need for robust contingency planning by firms with Belgian-bound staff.

Fresh Interior-Ministry statistics show Austria logged only 1,293 asylum applications in October 2025, a 49 % year-on-year drop and the weakest monthly tally since 2020. Officials credit tight border controls and anti-smuggling operations; employers may benefit from faster work-permit processing as asylum caseloads ease. The figures will influence 2026 migration-quota decisions and could re-balance resources toward labour-market schemes.

ABF will take all major online visa and citizenship portals offline for 15 hours on 28-29 November, affecting applications, VEVO checks and the APEC Business Travel Card system. Businesses and travellers must lodge renewals and print visa entitlements in advance to avoid work-right gaps or airport issues.

A computer ballot has awarded 1,700 mainland motorists permits to drive directly into Hong Kong’s urban area from 23 December under the new Southbound Travel scheme. Daily entries are capped at 100 vehicles and stays at three days, with stringent inspection, licensing and insurance rules. The pilot promises faster cross-border logistics and personal travel, and is a milestone in forging a seamless Greater Bay Area transport network.

Ash from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano has forced Akasa Air and several other carriers to cancel or divert flights on India–Gulf routes, including services to Abu Dhabi. UAE travellers face potential delays and connection risks until the plume clears. Businesses should review visa-validity windows and duty-of-care arrangements.

Poland has extended temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania to 4 April 2026 after intercepting 45 illegal crossings on its eastern frontier. Spot ID checks now apply even to intra-Schengen travellers, prompting companies to add travel time and update duty-of-care guidance.

Effective 25 November 2025, Qatari citizens may travel to Canada using an electronic travel authorization instead of a visa. The change is expected to accelerate tourism and facilitate short-term business trips, while reinforcing Ottawa’s trade strategy in the Gulf.

Spain’s data-protection regulator has fined airport operator Aena €10 million and temporarily shut down facial-recognition boarding at eight airports, citing an inadequate risk assessment. The decision could lengthen queues just as Spain scales up the EU Entry/Exit System and will force mobility managers to revisit flight-time assumptions for business travellers transiting through Madrid, Barcelona and other hubs.