Global Mobility News from VisaHQ

Visitors on 30- and 60-day UAE visit visas no longer need to exit the country to renew. The ICP’s new online system extends permits for a flat AED 600 fee, but simultaneously scraps Dubai’s 10-day grace period—overstay fines now apply immediately. The change cuts costs for companies hosting staff short-term and streamlines winter-season travel planning.

São Paulo/Guarulhos has installed 42 new biometric e-Gates that cut passport-control times to under 10 seconds and increase throughput by 40 %. The equipment, open to Brazilians and most major visa-waiver nationalities, frees Federal Police staff for higher-value inspections ahead of an expected record tourist year. Fast, contact-free clearance improves connection reliability for business travellers and supports São Paulo’s hub strategy.

Ground-handling staff and selected flight crews staged a nationwide walk-out on 6 December, forcing the cancellation of roughly 1,000 flights and affecting 250,000 travellers. The strike highlights unresolved wage and staffing disputes ahead of Italy’s peak holiday travel period and poses serious planning challenges for business travellers and mobility managers.

Parliament has amended the Refugee Act to let the migration ministry strip refugee or subsidiary-protection status from people convicted of—or credibly suspected of—serious crimes. Beneficiaries will have ten days to contest the decision. The reform brings Cyprus in line with EU rules, strengthens Schengen credentials and gives authorities faster tools to deport dangerous individuals, but critics warn of due-process and human-rights risks.

A 6 December State Department cable tells consular officers to deny or delay H-1B visas for applicants who work in ‘content moderation’ or other roles viewed as restricting free speech. Tech companies fear heightened refusal rates, extra fees and staffing gaps, while lawyers warn the vague standard invites inconsistent decisions.

Emiratis can now renew their passports and Emirates IDs together via the UAEICP app, cutting processing times by half and aligning expiry dates. The move, part of the Zero Bureaucracy Programme, ends a frequent pain-point for HR teams and travellers who previously had to file—and pay for—two separate applications.

Germany’s parliament has voted to let the federal government add ‘safe countries of origin’ by executive order, scrap state-funded lawyers for detainees awaiting deportation, and impose a 10-year ban on fraudulent citizenship re-applications. Officials say the changes will accelerate asylum decisions and free resources; critics warn of weaker legal safeguards. The reform matters for corporate mobility because it could speed up other immigration workflows but also raises duty-of-care risks around detention.

To curb fare gouging after mass cancellations, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry re-activated long-dormant fare bands on 6 December and ordered every airline to file prices within those caps until operations stabilise. The step immediately slashed Delhi–Mumbai peaks and offers budget certainty for corporate and leisure travellers.

Capago has confirmed that the France-Visas website will be offline for two four-hour maintenance windows on 3 and 9 December. The outage falls during the year-end travel rush, risking appointment backlogs that could delay Q1 assignments. Corporate mobility teams should reschedule biometrics proactively and warn travellers to complete portal steps before the shutdowns.