Relocation news digest - May 18, 2024

🇨🇿 Czech Republic: labour-market test scrapped for Employee Card applicants

From 1 July 2024, applicants for the Employee Card will no longer have to pass a labour-market test. Employers and applicants will be spared the 10-to-30-day wait that previously held up the next stage of the hiring process.

The change is expected to draw more foreign specialists into the country and help employers tackle staff shortages more effectively.

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka: visa-free entry extended for citizens of seven countries

Sri Lanka's government has extended its visa-free entry scheme for tourists from Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand until 31 May 2024.

🇨🇦 Canada: new annual programme to reunite citizens with parents and grandparents

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has launched a programme allowing Canadian citizens to sponsor their parents and grandparents for permanent residence. In 2024, IRCC plans to send out 37,500 invitations and accept up to 20,500 applications.

🇦🇪 UAE: Dubai to issue multi-year visas to developers and gamers

The Dubai government has announced the launch of the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033, aimed at talented professionals in the digital-technology sector.

These "gaming" visas will be granted for 10 years to foreigners with relevant work experience and a track record of achievement in the field.

🇹🇭 Thailand: new corporate-tax rules will affect foreigners on long-term visas

Thailand's government has announced that applications to extend a long-term visa will now be accepted only if the sponsoring employer has fully paid withholding tax (PND1) for the first month of the foreign employee's work permit.

Foreign employees whose employers have not paid the withholding tax in full and have not submitted the required tax documents on time will have to leave Thailand and obtain a fresh non-immigrant B visa in order to re-enter.

🇨🇷 Costa Rica: some restrictions on foreigners obtaining a driving licence lifted

Costa Rica's government has approved a law removing the restrictions that prevented foreign nationals from obtaining a driving licence during their first three months in the country, as well as those on people without a resident identity document (DIMEX).

Previously, foreigners could obtain a Costa Rican licence only if they held a DIMEX and had lived in the country for more than three months. Under the new law, anyone with legal immigration status - a short-term visa, for example - may apply, and the three-month wait no longer applies.

🇫🇮 Finland: authorities move to make it easier to seize property from Russian citizens

Russian citizens have lost the ability to pay their utility bills after sanctions severed the links between Russian and Finnish banks.

Under the proposed change, housing cooperatives would be able to seize the property of debtors, or rent it out, without the owner's consent. It would be enough to publish a warning or a seizure decision in the Official Gazette issued by the Council of State's office.

The government's reform proposal is expected to be put before parliament as early as this week.

🇲🇾 🇷🇺 Malaysia and Russia sign a double-taxation treaty

The treaty must be ratified before the end of the year so that it can take effect on 1 January 2025.

The current agreement with Malaysia dates back to 1987, making it the oldest tax treaty still in force.

🇨🇳 🇷🇺 IrAero to launch scheduled flights from Blagoveshchensk to Harbin

The carrier plans to begin operations on 12 June. Flights will run once a week, on Wednesdays, using a 103-seat aircraft.

🇨🇾 Cyprus: amendments to the citizenship law adopted

The Cypriot authorities have stated that citizenship applications submitted before the new law came into force will be assessed under the previous procedure - with no Greek-language requirement and no mandatory eight-year residency period.

What changed since: taxes for relocants by October 2026

Thailand: what matters to long-stay visa holders

The digest item about checking employers' taxes on visa renewal is part of a broader tightening. The main change for relocants is the tax on foreign income: if you live in Thailand 180 days a year or more and bring in income earned from 2024 onwards, it is taxed at up to 35%. Money earned before 2024 can still be brought in tax-free. So keep savings and current income in separate accounts and keep records.

Czechia: the employee card

The employee card combines work and residence permits. Dropping the labour market test sped up processing: the employer no longer waits while the vacancy is offered to local applicants. The vacancy is still published in the central register, but the card application can be filed right after publication; a test may be imposed only in specific cases, such as a region with high unemployment. For remote workers Czechia has a separate programme; see Czech nomad visa.

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