Countries

• Australia

  Visa news and reference for Australia — Skills in Demand visa, Temporary Graduate, Working Holiday Maker, Student visa, Permanent Migration Program, and the new public register of approved work sponsors commencing October 2026.

• Brazil

  Visa news and reference for Brazil — VITUR visitor visas, the fourteen-category VITEM temporary-residence framework (work, study, investment, digital nomad and retirement among them), VIPER permanent residence, and citizenship pathways under the Lei de Migração. The Polícia Federal administers in-country registration and the CRNM resident ID, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) issues consular visas abroad.

• Canada

  Visa news and reference for Canada — Express Entry, study and work permits, Temporary Resident Visa rules, and event-driven temporary policies including FIFA World Cup 2026 accommodations.

• Chile

  Visa news and reference for Chile — the Tarjeta de Turismo for short visits, the multi-subtype Visa Temporaria framework (work, student, family, professional, business, rentista) for stays beyond 90 days, the Visa Sujeta a Contrato for contracted employment, Permanencia Definitiva for permanent residence, and bilateral business-visa programs negotiated alongside trade-agreement tracks. The Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG) administers in-country residence and registration, while the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería) issues consular visas through Chilean missions abroad.

• France

  Visa news and reference for France — Schengen short-stay (Type C) visas administered for stays up to 90 days within any 180-day period and national long-stay (Type D) visas including the long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) for stays between three and twelve months. The Talent Passport (Passeport Talent) family consolidates high-skilled-migration pathways across multiple categories including the EU Blue Card (Carte bleue européenne) under Directive (EU) 2021/1883, qualified employee, company founder, innovative economic project, investor, corporate executive, artistic and cultural profession, international reputation, and researcher. Standard work-authorisation channels include the salarié (employed worker), travailleur temporaire (temporary worker), and intra-company transferee (ICT) categories under Directive 2014/66/EU. France administers visa policy through the Ministère de l'Intérieur via the Direction générale des étrangers en France (DGEF) for domestic immigration and residence-permit operations, the Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (MEAE) for consular visa issuance through the France-Visas portal launched in 2016, and the Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration (OFII) for post-arrival validation and integration procedures. The primary immigration code is the Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile (CESEDA), codified in 2004 and amended by successive legislation including LOI n° 2024-42 du 26 janvier 2024 pour contrôler l'immigration, améliorer l'intégration and LOI n° 2025-391 du 30 avril 2025 on EU adaptation. France joined the Schengen Area on 26 March 1995 and is a founding member of the European Union under the 1957 Treaty of Rome.

• Germany

  Visa news and reference for Germany — Schengen short-stay (Type C) visas for stays up to 90 days within any 180-day period and national long-stay (Type D) visas for employment, study, family reunification, and residence. Skilled-migration routes include the EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU) under Directive (EU) 2021/1883, the Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) points-based job-seeker visa introduced in 2024, the Skilled Worker visa for vocational and academic professionals under the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz, the Job Seeker visa, the Student and Student Applicant visas, the Research visa, and family reunification permits; Germany also operates an EU Long-Term Residence permit and a national settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis). Germany administers visa and residence policy through the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) for visa issuance via its diplomatic missions and the Bundesministerium des Innern (Federal Ministry of the Interior) for residence and immigration law, with the Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) handling asylum and integration and local Ausländerbehörden administering residence permits. The governing framework is the Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act) within the broader Zuwanderungsgesetz immigration framework, alongside the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz (Skilled Immigration Act) reformed in 2023 and 2024 to expand skilled-worker pathways. Germany joined the Schengen Area as a founding signatory of the 1985 Schengen Agreement and is a founding member of the European Union under the 1957 Treaty of Rome, transposing EU legal-migration directives including the 2021 EU Blue Card Directive, the Single Permit Directive, and the Long-Term Residents Directive.

• Hong Kong

  Visa news and reference for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — talent admission schemes (Top Talent Pass, GEP, QMAS, IANG, ASMTP, TechTAS, ASSG), employment and dependant visas, and extension-of-stay arrangements.

• India

  Visa news and reference for India — entry visas, e-Visa categories, OCI cardholder rules, and citizenship policy affecting Indian-origin diaspora worldwide.

• Ireland

  Visa news and reference for Ireland — the C short-stay and D long-stay visa categories, the Stamp framework that governs in-country permissions (Stamp 1 for employment, Stamp 1G post-study graduate, Stamp 2 for students, Stamp 3 for non-EEA dependants, Stamp 4 for long-term residence with work rights, Stamp 5 without time conditions, Stamp 0 humanitarian), the Critical Skills and General Employment Permit pathways operated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the citizenship-by-naturalisation track after five years of reckonable residence. Ireland is an EU member state outside the Schengen Area; it operates a Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom that predates EU accession.

• Japan

  Visa news and reference for Japan — the 32 statutory statuses of residence under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act of 1951, the Highly-Skilled Foreign Professional points-based programme introduced in 2012, the Specified Skilled Worker programme launched on 1 April 2019 covering 14 designated industries, the Technical Intern Training Programme governed by the Act on Proper Technical Intern Training and Protection of Technical Intern Trainees of 2017, the JAPAN eVISA electronic system operated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Trusted Traveler Programme operated by the Immigration Services Agency at major international airports. Japan administers immigration through the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, established as an external agency of the Ministry of Justice on 1 April 2019; short-term-stay visa-exemption agreements extend to over 70 countries through Ministry of Foreign Affairs bilateral arrangements. The country passed legislation establishing the JESTA electronic travel authorization system on 29 May 2026, with phased introduction scheduled by ordinance no later than 31 March 2029.

• New Zealand

  Visa news and reference for New Zealand — Skilled Migrant Category points-based residency, Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), Working Holiday Schemes, Active Investor Plus Visa, and Student / Family routes. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) operates the framework under the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

• Singapore

  Visa news and reference for Singapore — Employment Pass and the COMPASS framework, S Pass, Work Permit, Personalised Employment Pass, Tech.Pass, EntrePass, and short-stay visit pass arrangements.

• Switzerland

  Visa news and reference for Switzerland — the L short-term and B initial residence permits issued to third-country nationals under the federal annual quota system, the C settlement permit granted after five to ten years of residence, the G cross-border commuter permit, the S protection status established under the Foreign Nationals Act in 1998 and activated for Ukrainian nationals from 12 March 2022, and the AFMP Free Movement framework that governs labour mobility for European Union and European Free Trade Association citizens. Switzerland is a Schengen Area member from 12 December 2008 but is neither an EU nor EEA member; it operates a quota-based admission system for non-EU/EFTA workers under the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act of 16 December 2005 (Ausländer- und Integrationsgesetz, AIG / FNIA), in force since 1 January 2008.

• Thailand

  Visa news and reference for Thailand — visa exemption and visa-on-arrival schemes for tourism, the multi-subtype Non-Immigrant visa framework (B for business, ED for education, O for family or retirement, IM for investment, among others), the 10-year Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa for high-income earners and professionals, the 5-year Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) for digital nomads and freelancers, and the capped Permanent Residence track. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issues visas at consulates abroad, the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police handles in-country admissions and extensions, and the Ministry of Interior publishes implementing regulations through the Royal Thai Government Gazette.

• United Arab Emirates

  Visa news and reference for the United Arab Emirates — Golden Visa pathways (investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, specialists, exceptional talents, students), Green Visa, employment residence, visit visa categories, and Emirates ID arrangements.

• United Kingdom

  Visa news and reference for the United Kingdom.

• United States

  Visa news and reference for travel, work, study, family, and investment migration to the United States.

More countries added as coverage expands.

Regions

Multi-country areas with shared visa-policy frameworks.

• Middle East

  Visa policy for travel to the Middle East — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other GCC and adjacent states.

• Schengen Area

  29 European countries with shared border-free travel arrangements, harmonised short-stay visa policy, and the EES border-control system fully operational since 10 April 2026.