Blog · 2025-02-14

🌏 Digest of key news for relocators 🌍

🇨🇿 Czechia tightens citizenship rules for Russians

The country's president has signed a law requiring Russian citizens to provide certified proof that they have renounced their Russian passport in order to obtain Czech citizenship.

Exceptions are made for children under 15, asylum seekers, and those who have rendered special services to Czechia.

🇶🇦 Qatar Airways cancels some flights to Moscow

From 6 February, passengers who had booked Qatar Airways flights between Moscow and Doha began receiving notices from the airline about rescheduled or cancelled departures. The changes affect flights QR 337/338 starting 8 February.

🇷🇺 One in ten relocators has returned to Russia

Roughly 10% of the Russians who relocated in 2022-2023 have returned home, according to monitoring by the Institute of Applied Economic Research at RANEPA.

Between February and March 2024, researchers surveyed 3,459 people who had left Russia in 2022-2023 following the start of the military operation in Ukraine and had spent at least three consecutive months abroad. The method was an online questionnaire using a non-random, snowball-style sample.

More than a quarter of the respondents who returned to Russia (26.7%) had changed their country of residence at least once while living abroad. In almost half of those cases (46.8%), they had moved between countries at least twice. Still, more than half of all émigrés (64%) stayed in the country they had originally moved to, RANEPA's study found. A further 26% changed their country of residence more than once and were still living abroad at the time of the survey.

Respondents most often headed first to Georgia (15.5%), Kazakhstan (10.5%), Armenia (9.9%), Israel (8.4%), Turkey (8.3%), Germany (5.7%) and Serbia (4.6%). Notably, most of those who first moved to Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan or Turkey later went on to settle elsewhere.

In total, an estimated 650,000 people may have left Russia in 2022. The researchers based that figure on data from the national statistical agencies of the countries Russians most commonly move to.

🇬🇧 The UK weighs tougher rules for permanent residence and citizenship

At present, a foreign national can apply for permanent residence after living in the country continuously for at least five years.

The Conservative Party is proposing to extend those timelines: permanent residence would be granted after ten years of residence, and a passport after fifteen.

🇨🇳 China: longer validity for the M visa

Foreign affairs offices in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Liaoning provinces have introduced a new policy allowing foreigners travelling to China on business, along with their family members, to apply for M visas with longer validity.

Eligible applicants can now obtain a five-year multiple-entry M visa permitting stays of up to 180 days per visit. Previously, such visas were issued for 3, 6 or 12 months with single, double or multiple entry and stays of 30, 60 or 90 days.

When applying for a consular M visa, applicants must provide a special letter of invitation from the municipal foreign affairs office.

🇵🇹 Portugal: authorities speed up Golden Visa processing

The immigration agency AIMA has notified prospective investors that it is replacing paper applications with a digital system.

Nearly 50,000 Golden Visa applications are currently in the review queue, and applicants will now be able to move their submissions online. Biometric appointments will be scheduled automatically within 30 to 90 days.

In addition, applications in English, Spanish and French can now be filed without a Portuguese translation.

🇳🇿 New Zealand: simpler rules for its Golden Visa

New Zealand's immigration authorities expect a surge of interest in the new Active Investor Plus visa, which is designed to attract investors.

From 1 April 2025, applicants will no longer need to pass an English-language test to qualify. The minimum time visa holders must spend in the country to retain it has also been reduced.

🇮🇹 Italy: Schengen visas become easier for Russians to get

Applicants can secure a submission appointment within 7-10 days and receive the visa itself in 2-3 weeks. It is typically issued to match the dates of the trip. Documents required include paid tickets, a bank statement, proof of funds, a hotel booking and the application form. The visa fee is €90.

Experts advise applying in February, while the queues are still short.

🇹🇭 Thailand: a digital arrival card system on the way

From 1 May 2025, Thailand will roll out a Digital Arrival Card system (TDAC), replacing the traditional paper TM6 form, which had been suspended for foreigners since July 2022.

The initiative modernises the immigration process, allowing foreign nationals - including those from visa-exempt countries - to submit their arrival details digitally before entering the country.

The TDAC system is intended to streamline arrival procedures.

🇮🇶 Iraq: a digital social security platform goes live

Iraq's Pension and Social Security Authority has launched a digital platform called "Daman."

Its key functions include registering and deregistering employees (both Iraqi and foreign), filing annual reports and paying contributions, requesting permits, registering business contracts, updating project information, and offering digital services for the self-employed and pensioners. These processes were previously handled manually.

🇮🇳 India: a new e-visa for students

The Indian government has launched a dedicated e-visa for foreign students seeking higher education in the country. The e-visa is valid for one to five years depending on the length of the course, with extensions possible on a case-by-case basis.

The online application process simplifies matters by removing the need to visit a consulate and enabling faster processing.

🇦🇪 Russian cabinet approves draft double-taxation treaty with the UAE

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has approved a draft double-taxation avoidance agreement with the UAE.

The agreement provides for a 10% rate on dividend, interest and royalty income (the "10-10-10" formula).

🇨🇦 Canada: new rules for cancelling temporary resident documents

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to expand the authority of immigration and border officers to cancel temporary resident documents.

Under the new rules, officers now have the power to cancel electronic travel authorisations (eTA) and temporary resident visas (TRV) if a person becomes inadmissible due to a change in their status or circumstances; cannot demonstrate that they will leave Canada by the end of the authorised stay; or if their document is lost, stolen or destroyed.

Before these changes, there was no explicit regulatory framework setting out the specific grounds for cancellation, and officers' ability to revoke issued documents was less clearly defined.

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