This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Malaysia, South Africa and the United States.
Australia: Skilled Work Regional Visa
Candidates living and/or working in metropolitan Melbourne can now submit a registration of Interest (ROI) for the Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) nomination.
The new expanded eligibility criteria opens Victoria’s subclass 491 visa program to skilled migrants living anywhere in Victoria, including previously ineligible metropolitan Melbourne residents who wish to relocate to work and live in a designated regional area of Victoria.
Subclass 491 visa holders must live, work and study in a regional area of Victoria for at least three years before they can apply for their subclass 191 visa, which provides permanent residency. This means you may need to move to a designated regional area of Victoria or secure a job that provides you with regional employment.
Those who have submitted a Registration of Interest (ROI) for a subclass 190 and have not been selected can submit a new ROI for a subclass 491 after withdrawing the existing subclass 190 ROI.
There are four steps to subclass 491 visa nomination.
• Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs using SkillSelect.
• Using the EOI number received from SkillSelect, submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) for Victorian nomination via the Live in Melbourne portal.
• After selection to apply for a Victorian visa nomination, apply for a subclass 491 visa nomination on the Live in Melbourne portal.
• If the nomination application is approved, submit a visa application with the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs.
Canada: Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that Canada will launch a new economic pathway under the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) to help employers hire skilled refugees and other displaced individuals.
The EMPP pairs skilled refugees and other qualified displaced individuals with Canadian employers who need to overcome labour shortages in key occupations.
The Government of Canada is expanding the EMPP by creating a new federal pathway to complement existing EMPP pathways.
The new federal pathway, which will open in summer 2023, will give employers more opportunities to fill a wide range of in¬-demand jobs, including nurse aides, personal support workers, long-term care aides, software engineers, web designers, mechanical and electrical engineers and technicians, teachers, tourism and hospitality workers, and truck and delivery service drivers.
The application process for the new federal pathway will be easier and faster thanks to standardized eligibility criteria and the fact that only one application needs to be submitted. In most cases, applications are expected to be processed within 6 months, so EMPP newcomers will be able to move to and start working in Canada quickly.
EMPP facilitation measures include waiving some fees, making it easier to validate work experience, and letting candidates use loans to fund travel costs, settlement needs, start-up costs and fees that cannot be waived. An NGO partner provides low-interest microloans to eligible EMPP candidates who do not have the minimum funds to meet settlement requirements.
In addition, the EMPP will now include a more flexible approach to eligibility by allowing other displaced people who lack a durable solution and are in need of international protection to apply.
With the new federal pathway, employers will be able to hire refugees and other displaced people who qualify under any National Occupation Classification 2021 category (TEER 0â€`5).
More information on the new federal pathway, including eligibility criteria, will be available on the EMPP webpage in the coming weeks.
Denmark: Residence permits for British nationals
On 27 March 2023, the Danish government announced the extension of the deadline for British nationals to apply for residence permits based on the Withdrawal Agreement until the end of 2023. The deadline was originally set for 31 December 2021.
The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) states that it cannot yet confirm when the new deadline will come into effect. Until then, however, SIRI will continue to process cases where the assessment is that there are reasonable reasons for submitting the application late. Applications

where the assessment is that there are no reasonable reasons for late submission will for now continue to be put on hold.
It continues to be a requirement that the conditions for residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement must be met, including that the applicant must have become legally resident in Denmark under EU regulations on free movement before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. Applicants whose application has already been processed and refused, because the conditions for residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement have not been met, cannot have their application processed again.
Greece: New rules for non-EU workers
The Greek parliament has passed a new law amending the entry rules for non-EU nationals seeking to enter Greece for work to meet labour shortages in certain occupations.
Greece will permit certain categories of foreign workers already in Greece to change their place of residence.
The new law also extends the maximum duration of residence permits for second-generation migrant children (born and raised in Greece) from five to ten years.
Malaysia: Expatriate projection applications
Effective 1 April 2023, the process for Expatriate Services Division (ESD) projection (quota) applications is simplified and requests will be instantly approved. Previously, processing time was four weeks.
Companies are still required to apply for an expatriate projection for the current year i.e., for all initial and renewal Employment Pass (EP) and Professional Visit Pass (PVP) applications.
For applications submitted before 1 April 2023 that have not yet received a decision, companies can re-submit the application from this date.
As usual, any unused quota for the year will not be carried forward to the next year.
So far, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has not made an equivalent announcement.
South Africa: Concession extended for long-term visa applicants awaiting decisions
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has extended to 31 December 2023 the blanket concession for long-term visa or waiver applicants who are awaiting outcomes of their applications.
The decision means that long term visa or waiver applicants are permitted to legally remain in the country until 31 December 2023, pending the finalisation of their applications. Those that are travelling on passports issued by countries that are not visa exempted, are required to apply for a visitor’s visa to return to South Africa until their applications have been finalised.
This concession is only applicable to applicants who have submitted an application via VFS before or on 31 March 2023.
All visitors on short term visas whose validity was issued for less than 90 days are excluded from the concession and are required to depart on or before 29 April 2023.
United States: USCIS policy updates
Effective immediately, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy manual to address situations when the last day to file a benefit request or respond to a USCIS action falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday. In these situations, USCIS will consider a filing or response submitted on paper timely if it is received by the end of the next business day. While the receipt date for these cases will continue to reflect the date USCIS physically received the request, USCIS will consider the benefit request timely filed.
In some cases, benefit requestors must file a benefit request or submit a response to a USCIS action within a certain time period prescribed by statute, regulation, or form instructions. Examples include filing a paper-based benefit request on the last day before a requestor’s or beneficiary’s birthday or the last day of a qualifying time period for filing, or responding to a Request for Evidence or a notice of intent to deny, rescind, revoke or terminate within the specified time frame for a response.
The policy update will apply to all benefit requests or responses to a USCIS action received on paper on or after 29 March 2023. This update does not affect electronic filings or responses submitted electronically, which are considered received immediately upon submission. USCIS is not applying this policy retroactively.
www.samigration.com V.4786

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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