Global Mobility News from VisaHQ

Warsaw has confirmed that from 1 January 2026 all residence-permit applications must be lodged online via the MOS portal and accompanied by qualified e-signatures. Simultaneously, fees for permits and visas will quadruple, forcing companies to re-budget 2026 assignments and accelerate any remaining paper filings before year-end.

New Delhi has gone live with a digital platform that lets Indian companies instantly generate sponsorship letters for the e-B-4 business visa, slashing red tape for foreign engineers and technical experts. The reform is expected to cut visa lead-times from weeks to days and should help manufacturers meet tight production-linked-incentive deadlines.

Treasury’s mid-year update cuts this year’s net-overseas-migration forecast from 335,000 to 310,000 and flags further reductions as the government’s student-visa crackdown bites. Universities and employers warn of skills shortages, while ministers say the measures are needed to ease housing pressure. The revision cements migration as a central election issue and means sponsors should brace for longer lead-times and higher costs.

IRCC’s December 16 inventory update shows 2.18 million applications in the system, with 1.01 million now backlogged—up 10,000 on the previous month. Permanent-resident queues account for more than half the backlog, even as temporary-resident inventories shrink after student and worker caps. The figures signal longer waits for some PR streams and underscore Ottawa’s shift from temporary to permanent pathways.

Finland’s re-written Citizenship Act entered into force on 17 December 2025. All applications are now digital-only and applicants must show two years of stable, non-benefit income, pass stricter criminal-record checks and risk citizenship revocation for serious offences. Mobility teams need to reassess eligibility of foreign staff immediately, as files lodged after today face materially higher hurdles.

The MAC’s 2025 report, published on 17 December 2025, recommends reducing occupation-specific Skilled Worker salary thresholds from the median (50th-percentile) to the 25th-percentile of UK earnings while keeping the overall £41,700 floor. The committee says the move would protect local wages, ease regional skill shortages and boost the visa route’s fiscal contribution. Employers may gain flexibility from April 2026 if ministers accept the advice.

IRCC held its largest-ever French-language Express Entry draw on Dec 17, 2025, inviting 6,000 candidates with CRS scores as low as 399. The draw brings December’s total ITAs to nearly 20,000 and reflects Ottawa’s strategy to bolster Francophone communities and hit 2026 economic-immigration targets sooner. French-speaking applicants now have an unprecedented window to secure permanent residency, while employers gain faster access to bilingual talent.

Poland has quit the Ottawa Convention and will mass-produce anti-personnel mines to secure its eastern frontier under the ‘East Shield’ programme. Officials say the move is essential against Russian and Belarusian threats, but critics warn it endangers civilians and could legitimise new border checks that slow freight and business travel. Mobility planners need to factor in longer routes, tighter controls and heightened safety risks.

From summer 2026, Switzerland will test segregated housing for asylum seekers who repeatedly threaten or assault others in federal centres. The six-month pilot aims to improve safety and free up resources by placing disruptive adult males in secure wings at two sites. If the trial works, SEM plans to extend the concept nationwide, a move that could ease operational pressure and improve conditions for the majority of well-behaved residents.

From 1 January 2026 Flanders will: 1) make every contractor jointly liable for illegal employment in its supply chain; 2) re-introduce labour-market tests and close many low-skilled migration routes; and 3) announce an extra regional processing fee for work permits later in 2026. Companies must tighten compliance checks and expect longer lead-times and higher costs.

Parliament has prolonged Austria’s stop on family reunification for refugees and subsidiary-protection holders until 2 July 2026. The Interior Ministry cites overstretched schools and security concerns, while critics say the measure violates human-rights obligations. The extension freezes dependants’ entry for at least another six months, complicating workforce-planning and duty-of-care for employers with protected-status staff.

U.S. consulates, especially in India, are pushing H-1B visa appointments into March 2026 as they handle expanded social-media screening. The backlog strands skilled workers abroad, delays U.S. projects and could push employers to look for talent hubs outside the United States.

President Lula set a 31 December ultimatum for the Mercosur-EU trade agreement, threatening that Brazil will quit the talks if Europe fails to sign. The move endangers expected mobility provisions that would have eased visas and work-permit quotas for talent moving between Brazil and the EU, forcing multinationals to prepare fallback compliance plans.

From 17 December 2025, permanent-residence applicants must show six years of lawful stay (previously four), A2-level Finnish/Swedish, and a two-year work record. Time spent on student permits no longer suffices unless followed by employment, and absences abroad of two years may void the permit. Firms will need early language-training and absence-tracking strategies.

Migrant workers staged a protest outside Leinster House on 17 December calling for the elimination of Ireland’s one-year waiting period and income-test requirements for family reunification. Organised by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, the rally highlights growing social and talent-retention pressure to harmonise rules for all work-permit holders.