Blog · 2025-02-07

Relocation news digest - February 7, 2025

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia tightens exit-visa rules for residence-permit holders

Residence-permit holders applying for an exit visa must now have at least 30 days remaining on their permit. Previously, foreign nationals could apply for an exit visa right up to the last day their residence permit was valid.

🇨🇦 Canada launches a new pilot programme for home-care workers

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced new pilot immigration programmes for caregivers.

According to IRCC, the new pilots will grant home-care workers permanent-resident status on arrival in Canada, rather than requiring a set amount of Canadian work experience before they can apply for permanent residence. Workers will also be allowed to take jobs with organisations that provide temporary or part-time care for people who are dependent or recovering from injury or illness - something the current caregiver programmes do not permit.

To qualify, candidates must: demonstrate proficiency in one of Canada's official languages at level 4 or above (the current requirement is level 5); hold the equivalent of a Canadian high-school diploma (a post-secondary degree is currently required); have recent and relevant work experience; and secure a full-time home-care job offer.

🇳🇿 New Zealand allows remote work on a visitor visa

Under the updated rules, holders of visitor visas and New Zealand Electronic Travel Authorities (NZeTA) who applied on or after 27 January 2025 may now work remotely for an employer based outside New Zealand without breaching their visitor-visa conditions. Previously there was no clear guidance on the matter.

While working remotely, visa holders may not work for a New Zealand employer, supply goods or services to people or companies in New Zealand, or perform any work that requires their physical presence at a workplace in the country.

🇻🇳 Aeroflot to launch flights to Nha Trang and Hainan Island

In an interview with the Rossiya 24 television channel, Aeroflot CEO Sergei Alexandrovsky said the airline will launch flights to China's Hainan province and the Vietnamese city of Nha Trang in 2025. According to him, the routes are due to open at the end of March.

"We plan to open a new destination in Vietnam, the city of Nha Trang. We also intend to expand our regional flight programme to Hainan Island from three Russian cities," Alexandrovsky said.

The CEO clarified that flights to Hainan Island will depart from Kazan, Ufa and St Petersburg.

🇪🇺 Austria, Germany and Hungary raise minimum salaries for the EU Blue Card

In Austria, the minimum salary for a Blue Card is now €3,678 a month - 7.07% higher than last year.

In Germany, the threshold depends on the occupation: €48,300 a year for non-shortage professions, and €43,759 a year for shortage occupations and young professionals.

In Hungary, the minimum salary has risen to 883,671 forints (€2,166) a month.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria promises faster work and tourist visas

Officially, applications for a Bulgarian Schengen visa are processed within 15-45 days, though a decision is usually reached in 10-30 days.

The authorities have pledged to shorten these timelines, arguing that the country should capitalise on its Schengen accession to develop tourism.

🇪🇸 Spain raises the income requirement for its digital-nomad visa

The minimum monthly income must now be €2,762 - €100 higher than last year.

For a couple, the minimum is €3,797 a month between them, with an additional €1,035 for each non-working adult and €346 for each child. Even so, Spain's digital-nomad visa remains one of the most affordable in Europe.

🇪🇸 Spain wants to cut the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours

The government pushed the decision through despite objections from business owners. The initiative is intended to help people "live better, work less, and be far more productive and economically efficient."

🇮🇹 Italy changes family-sponsorship immigration policy

Italy's government has approved a legislative amendment requiring foreign nationals to have lived in the country continuously for at least two years before they can sponsor family members. The new rule does not apply to children under 18.

Amid uncertainty over the amendment's scope, the Italian government has clarified that the two-year rule does not apply to sponsors residing in Italy on an EU Blue Card, an intra-corporate transfer (ICT) permit, or an investor visa. As before, these individuals may sponsor their family members immediately.

🇵🇪 Peru: delays for biometrics appointments and ID cards

Owing to restructuring at the National Immigration Service and an overhaul of its online system, foreign nationals applying for consular or in-country visas in Peru are facing delays in booking biometrics appointments and in receiving local ID cards.

It is not yet clear when the problem will be resolved. Processing times for local ID cards have also risen to three or four weeks - a significant delay compared with the usual one to two days.

🇧🇾 Belarus introduces a new e-visa

From 20 March 2025, Belarus will introduce a 30-day single-entry e-visa for citizens of 67 countries for tourism, business or residence.

Applications can be submitted through the national e-services portal. The initiative aims to simplify visa procedures and make the country more attractive to foreigners.

🇪🇺 European banks raise minimum balances for Russian account holders

A number of European banks have increased minimum-balance requirements for Russian citizens. The requirements also apply to those who hold a second citizenship (for example, Israeli) or a European residence permit. The trend of sharply higher minimum balances for Russian citizens at European banks has been visible over the past six months.

"Banks first raised this limit in 2022, but whereas the minimum balance used to be $2 million, it now reaches $5 million, $10 million and even $15 million. As a result, Russian citizens are moving their capital from European banks to jurisdictions more accommodating to them, including Israel, the United States and others."

Higher limits and balance requirements are most often imposed by private-banking institutions - which specialise in serving high-net-worth clients - in France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Latvia, Austria and Spain. Ordinary retail branches simply close accounts when they see a risk.

Many banks are willing to keep or open accounts for Russian-citizen clients only if they hold at least $5 million, and in some cases the threshold can be $10 million. Such banks include Julius Baer, UBP, Pictet, Vontobel, Hyposwiss, EFG and Safra Sarasin.

🇨🇳 Shanghai simplifies business registration for foreigners

Among Shanghai's initiatives is an expanded online platform for business registration that lets foreign companies file documents remotely using digital authentication.

The authentication and e-signature process for registering branches of chain enterprises has also been streamlined: legal representatives can authorise intermediaries to complete facial recognition and sign documents, and a single recognition session is enough to register up to 50 branches.

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