Blog · 2025-04-04

Relocation news digest: what changed this month

🇪🇬 Egypt: longer validity for short-term work permits

Egypt has extended the length of stay under its short-term work permit to 180 days. The status allows foreign nationals to work in Egypt once they receive an authorization letter from the Ministry of Manpower.

Applications do not need to be accompanied by proof of work experience or an employment contract. Anyone interested is advised to consult an immigration specialist.

🇮🇹 Italy: authorities move to curb citizenship by descent

Italian officials are frustrated by widespread abuse of citizenship by descent, sought purely to unlock visa-free travel. The government has announced it will tighten citizenship law to end the practice for people who reach too far back into their family history to qualify.

Under Italy's current "right of blood" (jure sanguinis) rules, citizenship is available to those who can prove an Italian ancestor was alive after 17 March 1861, the date the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed.

"Being an Italian citizen is a serious thing. It is not a game to get a passport that lets you go shopping in Miami," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told a press conference.

The new limit will be two generations.

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan: the easiest second passport for those born in the USSR

A second passport is useful for anyone who wants to open foreign accounts and companies, obtain US and European visas more easily, and optimize their taxes.

People born in the USSR before 1991 can obtain Kyrgyz citizenship through a simplified procedure under the four-party agreement between the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation on a simplified path to citizenship (Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 17-II of 30 December 1999).

There are two routes. Through naturalization, for those who have lived in Kyrgyzstan for a year or more; or by presidential decree, for those who resided in the former USSR between 1991 and 1997.

🇻🇺 Vanuatu suspends its citizenship-by-investment applications

With Vanuatu on pause, one of the most attractive citizenship-by-investment options today is Paraguay.

🇵🇾 Paraguay: citizenship by investment in 6-12 months

Paraguay is a strategically located, globally open land of opportunity that offers a distinctive program of investment in major projects, allowing applicants to obtain the country's passport on a fast track - in just 6 to 12 months.

The program gives investors and their families the benefits of a Paraguayan passport, including visa-free travel to 146 countries - among them the Schengen zone, the United Kingdom and Singapore; eligibility for the US E-2 visa; the ability to optimize taxes (a 10% rate); and residence in a country with a high standard of living and a favorable climate.

🇧🇷 Brazil: Russian women asked to sign a pledge not to give birth in the country

The application form for a Brazilian CPF (the local equivalent of a tax ID, required to enter the country) has gained a new clause: "Being pregnant, I have no intention of giving birth in Brazil." According to travelers, this version of the form is handed to pregnant women, though signing it is not mandatory.

🇿🇦 South Africa: relief for applicants caught in processing delays

Update of 28 March 2025: long-term visa applications, including appeals, still pending as of 31 March 2025 are automatically extended until 30 September 2025.

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan again plans to tighten card issuance for non-residents

Kazakhstan intends to introduce additional conditions on issuing bank cards to non-residents. Among the measures under consideration:

Stricter bank controls over "high-risk non-resident clients," including a possible ban on establishing a business relationship or issuing and reissuing cards remotely or through a representative;
Two-factor customer identification using biometrics matched against the passport photo;
Enforcement of a "one payment card per person" rule;
Verification of the legality of the person's presence in the country;
Enhanced monitoring of incoming and outgoing transactions during the first three months after a card is issued or reissued.

Kazakhstan also plans to impose requirements on banks regarding remote customer service and to step up monitoring of clients who could be drawn into money-mule schemes.

Card issuance for non-residents was already tightened earlier this year, with validity cut to 12 months. That rule does not apply to cards issued to entrepreneurs, diplomatic staff and investors.

🇮🇱 Israel: easier salary rules for foreign workers in the oil and gas sector

Under the new rules, foreign workers will need to be paid a minimum salary equal to that of local Israeli workers - significantly less than the previous requirement, which set foreign workers' pay at twice the local average.

🇯🇵 Japan introduces an entry test

From 1 May, visitors arriving on short-term or visa-free entry will take a test at a machine before passport control. The move follows complaints about tourists' behavior.

How does it work? Travelers choose their language (Russian is available) and answer 10 questions on culture, geography and rules of conduct. Those who answer correctly move on; the rest watch an instructional video and retake the test. Whether repeated failures will result in being turned away is not yet clear.

🇳🇴 Norway: delays in issuing work permits

The standard processing time for a Norwegian work permit has risen from eight weeks to three months.

The delays are attributed to a high volume of applications and an administrative backlog. Employers and applicants are advised to file as early as possible to soften potential disruption. Authorities have announced no urgent measures to clear the backlog.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: mandatory registration for people and firms working with Russia

Under the new rules, individuals and companies will be required to declare ties to the Russian state. Previously, only Iran fell into this category.

Those who fail to register under the FIRS scheme face up to five years in prison.

🇹🇭 Thailand: digital arrival card (TDAC) launches on 1 May

From 1 May, Thailand introduces the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC). It must be completed online no earlier than three days before arrival. The form is available in English and asks for passport details, contact information, purpose of visit, hotel address and flight information. The completed card can be downloaded or sent by email. Transit passengers do not need a TDAC.

The card replaces the paper TM6 registration form and is meant to speed up border control.

🇪🇸 Spain ends its "golden visa" investment program

As of 3 April, Spain has stopped issuing "golden visas" - residence permits granted in exchange for investment in government securities (from 2 million euros), the purchase of shares in Spanish companies (from 1 million euros) or the acquisition of real estate worth more than 500,000 euros.

Ending the golden visa is intended to help Spaniards who cannot afford housing because of high prices and a shortage of supply in certain parts of the country. Ireland and Portugal have already taken the same step.

🇷🇸 Alfa-Bank launches business transfers to Serbia

Transfers in Serbian dinars are available across three of Alfa-Bank's business service packages: "Active Settlements," "Fast Growth" and "High Turnover."

The transfer fee across all three plans is 0.3% of the amount, with a minimum of 10,000 rubles and a maximum of 50,000 rubles. An urgent dinar transfer costs 50,000 rubles per transaction.

The changes reflect easing geopolitical tension and a softening stance from the central bank in the first quarter of 2025.

FAQ

How many generations back can you claim Italian citizenship?

The chain used to stretch far back: it was enough to prove that your Italian ancestor was alive after the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861 and had not lost citizenship before the next person in line was born. The rules were then tightened to roughly two generations, meaning a parent or a grandparent born in Italy. The wording changed more than once, so check your own case against the law in force and with the consulate.

Can I get Italian citizenship through my great grandmother?

Since the rules were tightened, distant lines rarely work under the standard route: officials said openly that they were targeting people claiming a passport mainly for visa-free travel. Other paths remain: naturalisation after residence, marriage to a citizen, and transitional exceptions for applications filed before the changes took effect. Your odds depend on the filing date and on the exact paper trail.

How do you get citizenship of Kyrgyzstan?

Kyrgyzstan has long been described as one of the more accessible second passports for post-Soviet applicants: comparatively short timelines, no large investment thresholds, and dual citizenship recognised with a number of countries. Still, you need legal status in the country, a complete document set and background checks, and real timelines vary a lot by the grounds you use. Practice keeps shifting, so confirm the procedure before you move.

Do you need a work permit in Egypt?

Yes, foreigners can only work in Egypt with a permit. There is a short-term format based on an authorisation letter from the manpower ministry, and the stay it allows was extended to 180 days, with no employment contract or proof of experience required in the application. Longer-term work needs a full package involving the employer. Timeframes and requirements get revised, so check before you travel.