Page 11 - Visa

China issues 60,000 visas to Indian nationals since Jan 2023 after 3 yrs

Earlier in March 2023, China announced that it will be allowing the entry of foreign tourists into the country, including from India for the first time in three years

UK cracks down on overseas student visa right to bring family dependants

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that only international students on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes will be allowed to bring in their family members

Indian temporary workers, students to be hit as Aus set to scrap Covid visa

Australian govt is set to scrap Covid work visa in move that could see sizable number of Indian students and temporary workers scrambling for other options to stay in country

Indians fail German language test to qualify for asylum permit: Report

The latest number of failure rates were revealed after a member of parliament from Germany submitted a written question to the federal government

India renews push for easier visa regulations for Its companies in UK

Indian companies are the second biggest foreign investors in UK, data shows, adding weight to New Delhi's push for hiring flexibility for its businesses

Visa interviews for Indian students to be increased by 30% this summer: US

The US aims to increase visa interview appointments for Indian students by 30 per cent this summer, US Consul General in Mumbai Mike Hankey said here on Tuesday. He said US consulates processed nearly 1.25 lakh visa applications of students in India. During his visit to Aurangabad, Hankey held meetings with members of industries. He also visited Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and interacted with students. "Last year, we sent more than 1.25 lakh Indian students to the US, setting a new record for Indian students going to the US in a year and establishing India as the leading country of sending students. This year we are trying to increase that number (of students) further," he told PTI. "Our goal is to expand the number of interview appointments we offer for students by 30 per cent this summer. We hope to welcome more Indian students to the USA," Hankey added. During his interaction with students, the American envoy appealed to them to visit websites and find an ...

Japan to launch new visa system next week to attract foreign talents

Local analysts have been criticising Japan's current points-based system as too complex at a time as nations around the globe compete to woo skilled workers

Rush at European embassies: Walk-ins, more staff to cut visa wait time

Embassies 'put in measures' to reduce turnaround time

China granted visas to over 18,000 Indians since January: Diplomat

China has issued visas to over 18,000 Indians in the last three months, a Chinese diplomat said. Interacting with a group of journalists in Kolkata, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in India, Chen Jianjun, said he was looking forward to more Chinese being given visas by India. "The number of visa applications for China has been on the rise. Since January, we have given visas to 18,560 Indians," he said. "Since August, 9,409 student visas have been issued to Indian students," he said. However, Jianjun said, the number of visa applications is yet to reach the pre-pandemic levels. In June last year, China announced plans to provide visas to Indian professionals and their families stranded in India following the strict restrictions imposed by Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Separately, it also started processing visa applications of thousands of Indian students studying in Chinese universities who conveyed their interest to rejoin their colleges and universities. Abou

Visa applications from Delhi reach 80% of pre-pandemic levels: VFS Global

Visa applicants are advised to beware of fraudulent entities who charge fees from customers for scheduling appointments or providing any other services using VFS Global's name or independently

Apply for jobs, give interviews on tourist, biz visa in US: Federal agency

The US has announced that individuals travelling to the country on a business or tourist visa - B-1 and B-2 - can apply for new jobs and even appear in interviews, but the prospective employees must ensure that they have changed their visa status before starting a new role. B-1 and B-2 visas are generally referred to as B visas, and they are the most common types of visa issued for a wide range of uses in the United States. The B-1 visa is issued mainly for short-term business trips, while the B-2 visa is issued mainly travelling for tourism purposes. In a note, and a series of tweets, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Wednesday when nonimmigrant workers are laid off, they may not be aware of their options and may, in some instances, wrongly assume that they have no option but to leave the country within 60 days. The move by the USCIS came as thousands of highly skilled foreign-born workers, including Indians, in the US, have lost their jobs due to a series

H1-B visa deadline likely to get extended as users face technical glitches

USCIS took to Twitter to announce that some users have not been able to register, and thus they will extend the deadline

Canada to deport 700 Indian students as visa documents found to be fake

These visa applications were filed in 2018 onwards till 2022

Novak Djokovic withdraws from Indian Wells tournament amid visa row

The Serbian great asked American authorities last month for special permission to enter the United States despite being unvaccinated against the coronavirus

Visa issue priority, people-to-people ties bedrock of India-US relations

People-to-people ties form the bedrock of the India-US relationship and addressing the visa wait time issue is critical to maintaining them, senior administration officials said here. Reducing the visa wait time is a top priority for Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nancy Jackson told Indian reporters at a roundtable organised on Tuesday by the State Department, along with the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS). "As I look at the relationship, it strikes me that people-to-people ties between our two nations are really the bedrock of what is one of our most consequential relationships in the world and that's the US-India relationship. We can't underscore that enough. So addressing the visa wait times that we've been facing is critical not only to maintaining those people-to-people ties, but to expand them," Jackson said. FIIDS has been working with the Biden Administration for the past several months

US policy manual update to help aged-out children of long-term visa holders

The Biden administration has announced a policy manual update for the purpose of calculating a noncitizen's age in certain situations under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), a move seen as a small but important step in addressing the woes of the aged-out children, a large number of whom are Indians, who came to the US legally with their parents. For a child to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States based on their parent's approved petition for a family-sponsored or employment-based visa, the child generally must be under the age of 21. If the child turns 21 and ages out during the immigration process, the child generally is no longer eligible to immigrate with the parent based on the parent's petition. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has officially made one of our long-requested policy changes. The USCIS will use the dates for the filing chart to determine CSPA age and any previously denied petition can be reopened, said Dip Patel, from

EB-5 visa: What is it, who can apply and how it is different from H1-B visa

H1-B visa requires a sponsor for the immigrant to stay in the US but no such sponsorship is needed in the EB-5 scheme

Germany to ease visa conditions for few earthquake victims in Turkey, Syria

The German government wants to temporarily ease visa restrictions for survivors of the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria who have close family ties to Germany if they are facing homelessness or were injured. It's about helping in times of need. We want to make it possible for Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring close relatives from the disaster region, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser tweeted late Saturday. They can find shelter with us and receive medical treatment, Faeser said. With regular visas, which are issued quickly and are valid for three months. However, not all the requirements of a regular visa procedure are being waived. Applicants must still be able to present a valid passport likely to be an obstacle for people who fled collapsing buildings. Several million people in Germany have Turkish roots because, more than 60 years ago, West Germany recruited guest workers from Turkey and elsewhere to help the country advance economically. More recently, hundred

US launches new initiative to cut delays in visa processing in India

With an aim to cut delays in visa processing in India, the US has launched new initiatives, including scheduling special interviews for first time applicants and increasing strength of consular staff. As part of the multi-pronged approach to cut the visa backlog, the US embassy in Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad conducted "special Saturday interview days" on January 21. "On January 21, the US mission in India launched the first in a series of special Saturday interview days, as part of a larger effort to reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants," the US embassy said on Sunday. "The United States Embassy in New Delhi and Consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad all opened consular operations on Saturday to accommodate applicants who require in-person visa interviews," it said in a statement. The mission will continue to open "additional slots" for appointments to take place on select Saturdays in the coming months. "These ...

Visa, Mastercard may be allowed a share of India's online payments

Growing from nothing in 2016, the smartphone-based UPI - a public utility - handled nearly Rs 13 trillion ($160 billion) in December