EU developments and updates

The European Parliament adopted Resolution 2020/2255(INL) with recommendations on legal migration policy and law, calling on the Commission to submit by 31 January 2022 a proposal for an act that would facilitate and promote legal migration. The recommendations aim to increase the EU’s attractiveness for workers of all skill levels and facilitate entry and mobility within the EU for legally migrating third-country nationals applying for work or already holding a work permit.

National developments

Cyprus: On 15 October 2021 the Minister of Finance presented the Action Plan/Strategy for attracting foreign companies to locate in Cyprus. Incentives given to companies include (amongst others) simplified and fast-tracked immigration procedures, the right to family reunification for the company employees, and a shortened period of stay as a prerequisite for an application for nationality (from seven to five years). The plan entered into force on 1 January 2022, and also introduced a new type of temporary residence permit called a “digital nomad visa.” Third-country nationals (and their family members) who are self-employed or salaried employees, working remotely with employers/clients based outside Cyprus, via the use of Information Technology, are entitled to the new permit.

Greece: Digitalisation of the procedure for the submission of TCNs’ applications for residence permits renewal. New law provisions (l.4825/2021) a) for the granting of national visas and residence permits to “digital nomads” , b) the amendment of  law for seasonal workers at the agricultural sector, by extending the working time period from 6 to 9 months in any 12-month period and by establishing an authorization, which allows seasonal workers to stay and be employed for a time period up to five years, depending on the application of the employer.

Estonia: In December, the Minister of Interior established a division of the immigration quota for 2022. The quota is partly divided depending on the ground of the residence permit. The immigration quota regulates mainly employment and business migration from third countries to Estonia. : 300 residence permits for employment in manufacturing industry; 200 residence permits for employment in construction sector; 100 residence permits for employment in transport and storage sector; 20 residence permits for employment for entrepreneurship; 23 residence permits for employment in a performing arts institution as person engaged in creative activities; 26 residence permits for employment in the professional activities in the capacity of a sportsman, coach, referee or sports official by summons of a respective sports federation; 5 residence permits on the basis of a treaty; and 637 residence permits on general grounds for employment and entrepreneurship.

France: The bilateral agreement between France and Kenya concerning the mobility of skills and talents was approved and published in the ‘Official Journal’ on 18 December 2021. This bilateral agreement aims to promote the exchange of young professionals, teachers and researchers from both countries It includes stipulations on the mobility of students, trainees, academics and a component on the exchange of professionals and skills mobility.

France: As part of the policy of attracting talents, the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs presented on 14 December 2021 a new strategy of influence for French higher education and research, particularly in the area of influence of French higher education abroad.

Finland: A research project commissioned by the government investigated the types of complementary migration pathways available for people in need of international protection. The main focus of the study is on labour-based and study-based complementary pathways. The number of complementary pathway programmes is growing rapidly, and they have the potential to respond to the needs of both people in need of protection and the receiving societies. Find out more about the study, visit the Finnish Ministry of The Interior website.

Specialists’ and start-up entrepreneurs’ entry into Finland will be easier in 2022. The Finnish Immigration Service will process the residence permits of those coming to Finland via the fast-track route in a maximum of two weeks. More information about the service is available on the Finnish Immigration Service website.

The government has proposed a legislative amendment to increase retention of international students. According to the proposal, foreign students would obtain a residence permit for the entire duration of their studies and their right to work during their studies would also be improved. More information about the proposed legislative amendments is available on the Finnish Government website.

Ireland: On 1 November 2021 the government announced several changes to the employment permits system for workers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).

On 16 November 2021 the Department of Justice announced a number of immigration changes including some to facilitate travel over the Christmas period.

On 17 December 2021 the Department of Justice announced a further temporary extension of immigration and international protection permissions until 1 May 2022.

Italy: On 21 December 2021 the Council of Ministers issued a Decree regarding the "Transitional programming of entry flows of non-EU workers into the territory of the State for the year 2022". By way of transitional programming of the entry flows of non-EU workers, non-EU citizens are admitted to Italy for seasonal and non-seasonal subordinate work and self-employment within a maximum overall quota of  69 700 . The quotas have been defined on the basis of national needs. Non-EU citizens are admitted to Italy up to a quota of 27 700, of which 20 000 are in the road haulage, construction, and tourism-hotel sectors. Some 42 000 units for subordinate seasonal work in the agricultural and tourist-hotel sectors is foreseen, of which 14 000 will be managed by the professional employers’ organisations. The Decree on entry flows was published in the Official Gazette on 17 January  2022.

In the month of November 2021 extraordinary surveillance and control activities continued to be carried out to counteract "caporalato" (illegal recruitment) and labour exploitation in the Lazio Region. The controls were carried out as part of the ALT CAPORALATO! Project, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies and the International Organization for Migration. A total of 74 businesses were checked and a total of 719 labour positions were verified, of which 432 related to workers from non-EU countries. A total of 11 businesses were suspended due to the employment of undeclared workers, some of whom did not hold a regular residence permit.

In November 2021 the National Inspectorate of Labour started a collaboration with the service offered by the inter-institutional Helpdesk Anticaporalato, realised and promoted within the project P.I.U. Su.Pr.Eme, Percorsi individualializzati di Uscita dallo Sfruttamento. Intercultural mediators, operators, and experts in different languages provide information on the rights and services available within the national territory of third-country nationals who are victims / potential victims of labour exploitation in the five regions of Southern Italy. Users are supported in the legal, social and health, labour law, and administrative fields.

The  Decree-Law n.146/2021 came into force on 22 October 2021 for urgent measures in economic and fiscal matters, to protect work and for non-postponable needs, and contains substantial modifications for the suspension of entrepreneurial activity. It has broadened the competences of the Labour Inspectorate in matters of health and safety in the workplace, extending it to all sectors.  

Luxembourg: Health measures, in response to COVID-19, are to be extended until 28 February 2022 for people travelling by air to Luxembourg. Measures have been adapted so that any person aged 12 years and 2 months or above, are required to present documents of proof of either vaccination certificate, recovery certificate or negative test result. Full statement can be found in the Luxembourg Government website.

The Netherlands: On 15 November 2021 the conditions for residence permits for au pairs were refined: an au pair must be unmarried, must not have any (foster) children and cannot be older than 25 years when applying. The new rules are to be implemented by the 3^rd quarter of 2022. This amendment was made to prevent potential misuse of the au pair regulation and ensure that the permit is used for the purpose of cultural exchange only.

On 16 December 2021 it was announced that the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) extended its cooperation agreement with the Employers’ Organisation for Sports (WOS) for another five years. The IND has been working closely with the WOS since 2009 to efficiently facilitate residence and work permits for professional athletes, trainers, coaches and physiotherapists from abroad.

Poland: On December 16, 2021, the provisions allowing the minister competent for labour to create activation programs for foreigners financed from the Labour Fund entered into force.

On January 14, 2022, the Act of December 17, 2021, amending the Act on foreigners and certain other acts was published in the Journal of Laws (it comes into force within 14 days from its publication). The purpose of the amendment is to streamline the procedures for granting temporary residence permits for foreigners, striving to reduce the length of proceedings, as well as i.a. to improve certain legal solutions regarding the access of foreigners to the Polish labour market (such as extending the possibility of working on a declaration on entrusting work to citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Russia from 6 to 24 months).

The project is a part of the A4.1 reform of the National Reconstruction Program (Effective Institutions for the Labour Market) with the deadline for adopting the regulations - end of 2022.

Portugal: The kick-off meeting took place for the project “Promoting well-managed labour migration to Portugal.” This project, focused on the agriculture and tourism sectors in the Algarve and Alentejo regions, aims to develop future labour migration schemes for Portugal, based on good management of labour migration, to respond quickly to existing labour market demand, and to encourage the creation of safe pathways for the migration of foreign workers.

During the reporting period Portugal signed a bilateral agreement with India on labour migration.

In the field of preventing child labour, one inspection visit was conducted in the same period, covering one employing entity and involving one foreign worker of Brazilian nationality.

Slovenia: On 31 December 2021 the one-year transitional period expired during which beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement from the European Union of the United Kingdom had to apply for a new residence permit issued in accordance with the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Spain: The procedure for the entry and stay of foreign professionals in the audio visual sector has been simplified within the framework of the "Spain Audiovisual Hub" plan, which enables artists or professional workers to remain in Spain with their direct relatives. The concept of a professional worker in the audio visual sector is expanded, which will benefit companies in the sector by encompassing a wider range of both traditional content and multimedia and interactive digital environments.

The Order of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration regulating the collective management of hiring at origin for 2022 (GECCO) has been approved. This instrument allows the development of circular migration projects with third countries and in sectors where there is a demand for workers and is one of the most valuable tools to promote regular, safe, and orderly migration. It opens for the first time the possibility of promoting circular migration projects in all sectors of activity. The new projects to be developed over the next year offer the possibility of extending employment contracts to a maximum of 12 months from the date of their signature.

WAFIRA is the second pilot project on legal migration that the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, in co-financing with the EU, is launching with Morocco.

The project partners are Cooperativas Agroalimentarias, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and ANAPEC (the Moroccan public employment service), although the Moroccan Ministry of Labor and Professional Insertion and the OFPPT (responsible for occupational training) will also participate.

Georgia: To raise awareness on visa free rules/conditions and increase the number of EU Visa Free mobile app users, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) prepared a specialised bilingual (GE/EN) info-brochure and distributed it to the relevant state agencies;

On 30 November 2021, a document on the "Implementation Procedures" of the “Agreement to Regulate Labour Migration Between the Republic of Bulgaria and Georgia” was signed in Sofia.