Global Mobility News from VisaHQ

A Cabinet resolution published on 27 December creates four new visit-visa purposes—AI-Specialist, Entertainment, Events and Maritime Tourism—allowing companies to sponsor short-term stays for hard-to-find talent at lower cost and with on-shore renewals. The move gives employers faster, cheaper hiring options and brings freelancers into the compliance net.

Live trials of the EU’s Entry/Exit System produced two-hour queues at Málaga Airport on 26–27 December, forcing airlines to advise passengers to arrive extra-early. The delays threaten business travel schedules and could hurt the Costa del Sol tourism economy if not fixed before the spring conference season. Mobility managers are adding buffer time or re-routing staff via Madrid.

Brazil has formed a working group with Peru, Colombia and Uruguay to create a shared e-visa and biometric border system. A mobile “cross-border wallet” will enter beta testing in Q2 2026, and use of the digital credential is expected to become compulsory at Brazilian airports by December 2026. The project promises faster clearance for travellers and real-time compliance data for employers, but raises fresh data-privacy considerations.

A year-end policy package from China’s National Immigration Administration introduces ten nationwide exit-entry facilitation measures, including a bigger 240-hour visa-free-transit network, digital arrival cards and automatic integration of foreign work-permit data with local social-security systems. The reforms aim to cut paperwork for tourists and reduce HR friction for multinationals relocating staff into and across China.

Hong Kong processed 1.25 million passenger movements on 25 December, the busiest single day since pre-pandemic times. The surge highlights the full revival of the Guangdong–Hong Kong corridor and will force businesses to plan for longer queues, register staff for e-Channels and update insurance. The record also strengthens the case for extended checkpoint hours and added rail capacity.

Ireland will deploy extra diplomats to its embassies and consulates across the U.S. and several other strategic markets in 2026, aiming to cut appointment wait-times and provide stronger support for travelling Irish citizens and exporters. The move expands Ireland’s diplomatic network to 107 missions and aligns with wider market-diversification and trade goals—good news for companies managing cross-border assignments.

A snow-and-ice system lashed the U.S. Northeast on Dec 27–28, prompting emergency declarations in New York and New Jersey and causing more than 9,000 flight disruptions. Major airlines issued fee waivers, while states restricted truck traffic on key interstates. The storm underscores the need for corporates to build weather contingencies into year-end travel and assignment planning.

A severe winter storm on 27–28 December forced more than 1,200 flight cancellations and 2,300 delays across Canada, paralysing operations at Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau, Calgary and Vancouver airports. The disruption complicates year-end travel for assignees and could delay January project start-ups, while highlighting ongoing concerns about airport resiliency and staffing. Employers should prepare contingency travel plans and review refund or rebooking rights under Canadian regulations.

Britain has secured readmission pacts with Angola and Namibia while removing priority visa services for the DRC after Kinshasa refused to take back failed asylum-seekers. The move shows the Home Office’s growing use of visa leverage to secure migrant-return cooperation and could lengthen processing times for Congolese travellers. Companies should expect stricter overstayer enforcement and monitor staff travel to affected countries.

Australia’s airports are bracing for more than 23 million passengers over the Christmas-New Year period, prompting the AFP to deploy 500+ officers, canine teams and specialist units in its largest seasonal security surge. The high-visibility operation aims to deter disruptive behaviour, speed up incident response and reassure travellers. Businesses should expect longer dwell times and update duty-of-care briefings accordingly.

Dense fog and rain expected until 29 December will force Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports onto low-visibility operating procedures, delaying passenger and cargo flights. Airlines have issued re-booking waivers, while logistics firms warn clients of 24-hour delivery slips. Travellers should allow extra connection time through the holiday peak.

Both of Czechia’s immigration helplines are offline until 2 January, leaving foreign employees and 400,000 Ukrainian refugees without telephone support during the busiest renewal season of the year. Employers must scramble to secure appointments and gather documents or risk fines and status loss for late filings. The shutdown underscores the need for contingency planning in corporate mobility programmes.

From 2 January 2026 Cypriot nationals will no longer be able to buy a sticker visa on arrival in Turkey; they must secure an e-visa or embassy visa in advance. The change adds lead-time and cost for roughly 80,000 Cypriot visitors a year, forcing companies with East-Mediterranean projects to re-write travel policies and build contingency plans.

ACI Europe has warned that the EU’s new Entry/Exit System is already causing severe bottlenecks and could worsen when biometric-registration thresholds rise in January. Brussels Airport is coping better than peers but still faces kiosk outages and staffing pressures. Companies should add buffer time to itineraries and prepare travellers for potential manual checks.

Berlin has prolonged the identity checks it re-introduced at all nine German land borders in September, keeping them in place until at least 15 March 2026. The extension affects road and rail travellers from eight neighbouring Schengen states and could add 15–45 minutes to typical journeys. Companies should brief employees to carry passports, allow extra travel time and keep posted-worker paperwork handy. The renewal pushes Germany to the six-month limit allowed by EU rules, setting up a fresh decision point in March.