Page 12 - Visa

With no word on visas, Canadian broadcaster CBC closes China bureau

Canada's public broadcaster CBC says it is closing its China bureau after the Chinese government ignored requests to base a reporter in Beijing. CBC said its applications had been met by months-long silence from Chinese officials. The broadcaster's last correspondent left Beijing as China closed down amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The bureau, located in one of Beijing's high-security diplomatic compounds, had remained open in anticipation of re-staffing. China has taken an increasingly hard line in foreign relations, and ties with Canada nose-dived after China, the US and Canada completed what was effectively a high-stakes prisoner swap last year involving a top executive from Chinese tech giant Huawei who had been charged with fraud by the US. China jailed two Canadians shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer and the daughter of the company's founder, on a US extradition request. They were sent back to Canada in September, the

Diaspora group launches petition urging Blinken to reduce visa wait time

A US-based diaspora body on Tuesday launched an online petition campaign urging the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to reduce the long waitlist for various types of American visas being issued from India. "We request the State Department, Secretary of State Mr Anthony Blinken and the US embassies in India to eliminate wait times for visa appointments in India. "Even after a two-year-long Covid-era pause in visa appointments at the US embassies in India, the visa appointment situation is far from normal, requiring 300 to 900 days of wait time based on the visa types, Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies or FIIDS said launching its online petition campaign. As per travel.state.gov reports on October 31, there is an average 900+ days' wait time for appointments for visitors' visa (B1/B2), an average 400 days' wait time for students (F, M,J) and an average 300 days' wait time for petition-based temp workers like H, L, O, P and Q across the USA consulates in India (Mumbai,

21 Indian wrestlers to miss World Championship after Spain rejects visas

In a bizarre decision, the embassy of Spain has denied visas to 21 Indian wrestlers, who were to compete at the U-23 World Championship in Pontevedra, on suspicion that they will not leave the territory before the expiry of visas, the national federation said on Monday. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had picked a 30-member squad for the Championship, that began on Monday, but only nine were granted visas. India's first ever Under-20 woman world Champion Antim Panghal was among the wrestlers who missed out on participation. "This is something we have never faced before. Despite presenting the Indian government's clearance and an invitation from the world governing body UWW, our wrestlers have been denied visas on the most frivolous ground," WFI Assistant Secretary Vinod Tomar told PTI. "We have got the rejection letters this evening (Monday) after we made a request to release the passports as soon as possible. This is really bizarre. I really don't know how the officer came

Action initiated on all cases: India on UK's visa overstayer claim

India has countered UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman's claim that the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) had not "worked very well" to say that India had initiated action on all cases raised with it under the agreement. In response to a PTI query about Braverman's interview in The Spectator' that branded Indians as the largest group of people who overstay their visas in the UK, the Indian High Commission here said that India awaits demonstrable progress on certain commitments undertaken by the UK government under the MMP that was signed last year. As part of our wider discussions under Migration and Mobility, the government of India is committed to working with the government of the UK to facilitate the return of Indian citizens who have overstayed their visa period here in the UK, the High Commission of India statement said on Thursday. As per the data shared with the Home Office, as of date, action has been initiated on all of the cases referred to the High Commission. ...

EAM Jaishankar discusses Ukraine conflict, visa issue with NZ counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held "warm and productive" talks with his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta during which the two leaders exchanged views on issues of international concerns such as the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict. It is Jaishankar's first visit to New Zealand as External Affairs Minister. "Warm and productive talks with New Zealand Foreign Minister @NanaiaMahuta this afternoon. Two societies, respectful of tradition and culture, are seeking to forge a more contemporary relationship," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting. "Appreciated the exchange of views on (issues of) international concerns such as the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict. Value our working together in multilateral forums including the UN and Commonwealth," he said. India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-ric

New rule for UAE visa system comes into effect: Here's what changes

In a major revamp in the UAE's immigration laws, the Middle-eastern nation's new visa system came into effect on October 3

Industry prepared for potential disruptions as tokenisation nears

industry insiders say, the success rate of token-based transactions is higher, but inadequate testing of certain use-cases may result in some transactions not going through

Jaishankar flags US visa concerns; Blinken commits to build back on backlog

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured that the US is "building back" on the backlog of visa applications from Indian nationals and said the Biden administration has a plan that will play out

Samsung forays into finance, launches credit card with Axis Bank and Visa

Samsung Axis Bank Credit Card will allow customers to avail of a 10 per cent cashback across all Samsung products and services throughout the year

Canada starts clearing visa backlog, to process applications by 2022-end

Canadian immigration authorities have said they are hoping to clear the massive backlog of 2.7 million visa applications by the end of this year

What is the Henley Passport Index?

Every year, London-based immigration consultancy 'Henley & Partners' comes out with a ranking of 199 passports. It is called the Henley Passport Index. Find out about it in this segment

American Express India appoints Sanjay Khanna as chief executive officer

In his new role, Sanjay Khanna will be leading several business development initiatives for American Express, while steering collaboration across its diverse businesses in India

Pension funds pressure credit card companies to categorise gun sales

Payment processor Visa Inc said it plans to start separately categorizing sales at gun shops. It's a major win for gun control advocates who say it will help better track suspicious surges of gun sales that could be a prelude to a mass shooting. But gun rights advocates have argued that step would unfairly segregate legal gun sales when most sales do not lead to mass shootings. Visa late Saturday said it would adopt the International Organization for Standardization's new merchant code for gun sales, which was announced on Friday. Until Friday, gun store sales were considered general merchandise. Visa's adoption is significant as the largest payment network, and will likely add pressure for Mastercard and American Express to adopt the code as well. Gun control advocates had gotten significant wins on this front in recent weeks. New York City officials and pension funds had pressured the ISO and banks to adopt this code. Two of the country's largest public pension funds, in Califor

Russia considers retaliation against Ukraine's visa regime, says deputy FM

On July 1, Ukraine introduced a visa regime for Russian citizens following a decision by its government

EU foreign ministers to suspend visa facilitation agreement with Russia

Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) member states have agreed to suspend a visa agreement with Moscow, making it harder for Russian citizens to obtain entry to the bloc

Indian students to the UK start getting priority and super priority visas

Under the Priority Visa service, the UK government decides on the student's visa application within five days. Under the Super Priority service, it is granted by the end of next working day

Sri Lanka introduces five-year multiple entry tourist visa scheme

In an effort to boost the tourism industry amid the economic crisis, the Sri Lankan govt on Tuesday said the island nation has extended its multiple-entry tourist visa to five years

EU ready to suspend 2007 visa agreement with Russia over Ukraine: Report

The Czech Republic, Finland and Estonia, after imposing their own visa restrictions, have pushed for an EU-wide decision and called for a total ban on Russian nationals travelling to the bloc

Indian industry welcomes UK's timely Scale-up Visa to attract professionals

Indian industry on Thursday welcomed the UK's new Scale-up Visa, which is aimed at attracting more skilled professionals from around the world, including India. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said the UK Home Office announcement directed at high-growth businesses to access a worldwide talent pool to boost their scale-up ambitions are well timed and likely to benefit many Indian businesses and also help UK companies tap into the vast Indian talent pool. Companies, including small businesses and those in the tech and financial services sectors that have achieved growth of 20 per cent or more in either employment or turnover year-on-year for at least three years and employed a minimum of 10 people at the start of those three years are eligible to sponsor workers under the new route. In the last few years, India has seen a large number of rapidly growing businesses from tech and financial services expand into the UK, said FICCI Director General Arun .

China broadens visa availability after two years as pandemic concerns ease

China is easing its tight restrictions on visas after it largely suspended issuing them to foreign students and others more than two years ago at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The website of the Chinese Embassy in India said the updated procedures would take effect from Wednesday, without making a specific mention of vaccine requirements or proof of a negative test for the virus. China still requires those arriving from abroad be quarantined at a hotel or private home and proof of a negative test is required for entry to many public and commercial spaces. The easing of visa restrictions is significant for Indian students, especially those pursuing degrees in medicine that are far more affordable in China than in Western nations. For students who return to China to resume their studies: Certificate of Returning to Campus' issued by the university in China" is required, the Embassy said. The Chinese Embassy in Washington also posted a notice saying the new rules for students a