PHL Embassy in Riyadh to issue machine readable visa stickers starting July 8

Starting July 8, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will start issuing Machine Readable Visa (MRV) stickers to modernize consular processes. In a post on its website, the embassy said this is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs' efforts to modernize Philippine consular processes. "The new Philippine visa stickers will mark the departure from a pre-printed label production with varying design layouts to a blank sheet production that complies with International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) standards for a 'machine-readable visa format-B' specification," it said. New stickers will have a modern background design on a soft color scheme, with several security features, it added. However, the embassy added those...

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Posted in: Immigration News , Machine Readable Visa , Saudi arabian visa , travel news

South Korea waives visa fees to attract tourists amid MERS

South Korea on Wednesday said it would waive visa fees for visitors from China and Southeast Asia as it struggles to recover from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) outbreak which has seen tourist numbers plummet. The announcement came as the country reported no new cases for a fourth consecutive day in the outbreak of Mers which has infected 182 people, killing 33. The justice ministry said visas which had been already issued would be extended for another three months as South Korea enters its peak tourist season of July and August. “These measures are aimed to help boost the tourism industry, which has been affected by the Mers outbreak”, it said in a statement. The outbreak has dealt a serious blow to the tourist industry,...

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Posted in: Immigration News , South Korean Immigration , travel news

EU lifts ban on other PH airlines aside from PAL and Cebu Pacific

In an unprecedented move, the European Union (EU) lifted on Thursday its ban on Philippine commercial flights and allowed all of the country’s air carriers to fly over Europe’s skies. Assured of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) oversight capability and the Philippine airline companies’ compliance with international air safety regulations, the EU removed all of the country’s carriers from the European Air Safety List. In a press conference on Thursday organized by the CAAP and the EU, charge d’affaires Lubomir Frebort announced, “All airlines certified in the Philippines have been removed today from the European Air Safety List and are therefore allowed to operate in the European airspace.” Frebort pointed out...

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Posted in: Europe travel , Immigration News , philippine travel news , travel news

Worldwide Delay in Issuing US Passports and Visas

There has been a worldwide delay in issuing US passports and visas due to technical problems for some time. It is not specific to any particular country, the US embassy clarified on today, while apologizing for the delay. "The department of state's bureau of consular affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our overseas passport and visa systems," the embassy said in a statement here. Apologizing for the inconvenience caused, the embassy said: "This issue is not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category."  "We apologize for the inconvenience and are working urgently to correct the problem and restore full operability. This issue is affecting our operations across the embassy...

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Posted in: Immigration News , travel news , US Visa

Changes to the UK Investor Visa

Tier 1 (Investor) visas were introduced in 2008 to allow individuals with at least £1m available to invest to remain in the UK on a long-term basis. They are seen as a shortcut for wealthy foreign nationals to become British citizens. Surprisingly, Chinese nationals accounted for 43% of all Tier 1 visas issued last year. Of the minimum £1m capital invested, no less than £750,000 must be invested in UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. The remaining £250,000 can be invested in other UK assets such as un-mortgaged UK property or cash held in a UK bank account. One challenging condition is that if the value of the investor’s overall investment drops below the £1m threshold at any point...

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Posted in: Immigration News , travel news , UK Immigration , UK Visa

Seair, Skyjet Airlines operator certificates suspended by CAAP

MANILA, PHILIPPINES- The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Monday ordered the suspension of the Air Operator Certificates (AOC) of low-cost carrier SEAIR International Inc. and leisure airline MAGNUM AIR (Skyjet) Inc. effective May 18 for various safety "observations" based on a report by the European Union Assessment Team relative to their recent inspection visit held last month. AOC is the approval granted by CAAP to aircraft operators allow them to use their aircraft for commercial purposes. In a letter address to Mr. Avelino Zapanta of SEAIR and Capt. Teodoro Fojas of Magnum Air, CAAP informed the two airline officers of the suspension order due to various safety shortcomings that apparently did not meet prescribed...

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Posted in: philippine travel news , travel news

Australia Announced New International Immigration Partnership

Australia has signed a new partnership agreement with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), it has been announced. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said it will further strengthen Australia’s important relationship with the organisation. ‘We both commit to cooperating strategically on key shared migration priorities, establishing structured dialogue to enhance governance arrangements and to develop and implement programmes that make substantial positive difference to migrants,’ he explained. Since its founding in 1951, Australia and IOM have shared a close collaborative working relationship. Australia was one of the 16 countries that formed the original membership of IOM, and Australia continues to value the important...

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Posted in: Australian immigration , Immigration News , travel news

Philippines targets more 'high-spending' tourists

Tourist arrivals in the Philippines may be among the lowest in Southeast Asia, but a ranking official doesn’t mind, as long as the country attracts “high-value” visitors. “Our numbers may seem low compared to Malaysia, for example, but we must take intra-ASEAN visitors into account,” Tourism Promotions Board chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio said Thursday. In 2012, the Philippines attracted 4.3 million tourists, lower than Malaysia (25 million), Thailand (22.4 million), and Singapore (14.5 million), ASEAN data showed. But unlike its neighbors whose visitors were mostly from within the region, about 80 percent of tourists in the Philippines were from other high-income countries. “We are targeting high-value tourists,...

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Posted in: philippine travel news

Immigration expert: If I were to come to Canada to become terrorist, I would apply for "pretty easy" student visa

An immigration expert says the student visa process in Canada is "pretty easy."  "If that was my goal, to come into Canada and either stay illegally, work illegally, or yes, become a terrorist, I would probably apply for a student visa," says Arne Kislenko, a professor at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto who specializes in immigration and national security.  We told you earlier this week that a 33-year-old Pakistani man is accused of plotting to bomb the U.S. Consulate in Toronto and other buildings in the Financial District. The federal government is trying to get him deported.  Jahanzeb Malik first came to Canada in 2004 on a student visa to study at York University.  "Generally speaking,...

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Posted in: canada embassy , Canada Visa , Immigration News , travel news

Portugal's 'Golden Visa' Trade for Rich Immigrants

Portugal is selling EU residency permits to any rich foreigners willing to pay. The opposition calls them corrupt deals that encourage organized crime, but the government simply wants to lower the prices. Portugal's Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas has at least been honest about what's important to him. "The golden visa has brought Portugal 1.27 billion euros [$1.38 billion] of investment in two years," he said. "So it would be stupid if we shut up shop and other countries earned that money." Even if the special residency permits for non-EU millionaires have already cost the head of the immigration authorities his job, and even if the criticism of "visa dispensation by wealth" has grown louder, Portugal seems determined to carry on...

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Posted in: Immigration News , Portugal visa , travel news