Immigration

Cochin International Airport Limited is soon going to introduce smart gates for the self-authentication of international travellers who are at present undergoing an immigration process that will be cut down to 20 seconds. Following its successful implementation at Delhi International Airport, the CIAL would be the country’s second airport to adopt this advanced technology under the Ministry of Home Affairs Trusted Traveller Programme. Easy Immigration with Smart Gates Into the state-of-the-art facility likely to get operational by August 2024, CIAL has already launched an infrastructure revamp at the immigration area and reserved eight lanes for biometric e-gates. The smart gates will allow international travellers to independently complete their immigration process in just 20 seconds. This innovative feature will streamline the process, minimizing long queues and significantly cutting down wait times. Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) The Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Traveller Programme by the MHA is a programme designed for fast-track immigration clearance of eligible Indian nationals and foreign nationals who are OCI cardholders. The traveller has to undertake one-time registration on the MHA portal, upload the required documents, and enrol biometrics—fingerprints and face image—at the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office or at the Help Desks set up in the immigration area, as per CIAL. How It Works After verification through the mobile OTP, visitors can use the smart gates to skip the normal immigration queues. They will self-scan their passports and do face recognition to clear immigration without any human intervention or fact-checking. The process is, therefore, fast, safe, and seamless. Infrastructure and Implementation CIAL is extremely proud to collaborate with the Bureau of Immigration in facilitating fast-track biometric smart travel at our immigration counters,” remarked CIAL Managing Director S. Suhas, IAS. “We realise the power of a seamless, hassle-free travel experience and deploy state-of-the-art technology at every possible passenger touchpoint.” The biometric authentication procedure will decrease the immigration verification time from the current four minutes to just 20 seconds.Having assumed a strategic role as the fourth busiest airport in India for international passenger traffic, with an annual throughput of 10 million passengers and 70,200 air traffic movements, handling this additional passenger load with smart gates is going to significantly improve CIAL’s passenger throughput and satisfaction. Other Modernization Initiatives Apart from the smart gates, the CIAL had, over the past few days, launched the Digiyatra facility developed in-house by its IT team. A string of modernization projects, including the Perimeter Intrusion Detection System, are planned and are likely to be commissioned next month. The fast-track immigration gates would be deployed this week, with testing starting on Monday and an official launch by August 2024. Conclusion In other words, the CIAL smart gates for self-immigration will be a welcome feature of the modernization of airports in India. Equipped with state-of-the-art biometric technology, CIAL will provide speedy, secure, and seamless immigration for fliers from across the world. This will demonstrate the effort of CIAL toward strengthening passenger experiences and continuing to be a leader as an international airport.

The Hungarian Government has updated the requirements for the Hungary residence permit for guest investors, better known as a golden visa program. These new regulations, effective immediately, raise the threshold for the minimum required financial investment in Hungary. Here is what you need to know about the new requirements and what that will mean for potential investors. New Requirements for Investment  According to the newest regulations, the minimum investment amounts for the residence permit of a guest investor have been increased as follows: Investment Fund Shares: Applicants have to invest at least EUR 250,000 (USD 272,170) in shares of a real estate fund registered with the Hungarian National Bank. This is a manifold increase over previous requirements.  Financial Donations: The new threshold for this minimum donation has been increased to EUR 1 million. This donation shall be made to a university or higher education institution that shall be utilised in promoting scientific research or in the arts.  Residence Permit Benefits and Duration  The residence permit of the guest investor comes with a great number of benefits:Duration: Up to 10 years, while business authorization is provided for as long as a one-time renewal option.Travel: It allows for entry into the Schengen Area for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Other Requirements  Validity of Visa: The maximum validity of the visa for guest investors is six months.Buying Property Option: This investment option remains the purchase of residential property of at least EUR 500,000, but this option shall expire on January 1, 2025. Historical Background  It is the replica of the initial golden visa programme that ran until 2017 and granted dependent residence permits with work authorization to certain family members of the principal applicant. The decision by the Hungarian government to revive this programme and update it intends to attract more foreign investment and stimulate the economy.  What This Means for You In case one is thinking of obtaining the guest investor residence permit, these new requirements and deadlines are worth keeping in mind. The heightened financial thresholds reflect Hungary’s commitment to attracting only serious investors who are capable of contributing substantially to its economy.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme is the jewel in the crown of United States immigration policy and once again will be open for new registrations this coming October 2024. This is a program annually designed to afford an opportunity for persons from countries with historically low rates of immigration into the United States to gain United States residency, followed by an opportunity subsequently for admission into the United States, only subject to those persons who qualify under rigorous eligibility criteria.  What is the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program? Please be advised that, due to court decisions that are appealable, the U.S. Department of State will be unable to upgrade the Diversity Visa cases for either the 2020 or 2021 program years; all eligible, interested individuals may apply as part of the DV 2026 program year for a new chance to win. Registration Details for DV-2026 The DV-2026 program will begin in October 2024. The registration period conveys the meaning of a limited time frame within which applicants are entitled to submit entries electronically. Entries are not accepted late or in paper form. An applicant must carefully follow every detailed instruction as given by the Department of State to successfully register. There is no charge for registering in the DV Program. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services strongly encourages you to fill in your own entry and not to use visa consultants or agents. If you require someone to assist you in completing your entry, you must be there. That way, you can ensure that information is accurate and you retain your confirmation page and unique confirmation number. Important Dates and Status Checks DV-2024 entrants should continue to check the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website through September 30, 2024. Submission for DV-2024 opened on October 5, 2022, and closed on November 8, 2022. DV-2025 applicants should hold onto their confirmation number until at least September 30, 2025. Please be advised that, due to court decisions that are appealable, the U.S. Department of State will be unable to upgrade the Diversity Visa cases for either the 2020 or 2021 program years; all eligible, interested individuals may apply as part of the DV 2026 program year for a new chance to win. Selection and Further Processing The real process of selection for the DV Program is by random drawing, based on each region and country’s visa allocations. Moreover, on May 4, 2024, entrants will be updated on the Electronic Diversity Visa website regarding whether an entrant has been selected for further processing by the Department of State. If randomly selected and if physically present in the United States, you could also be eligible for adjustment of status to permanent resident. However, selection will not guarantee a visa interview; the applicant must meet all the eligibility requirements set by the law of the United States for a Diversity Visa.  End The Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme is the way through which a person from a low-immigration country could legally pursue residency in the United States. Since the DV-2026 Program is going to be open in October 2024, a prospective applicant should be very strict on how to go about the registration process in order to keep himself or herself up to date with the status of entry for a better chance of success.

The eve of the 2020 election saw Donald Trump tell voters that they faced a choice between a “TRUMP RECOVERY” versus a “BIDEN DEPRESSION.” But since President Joe Biden actually took office, the United States has added 15.7 million jobs. Trump has tried to pooh-pooh this good news by arguing that the jobs being added are all going to illegal immigrants. In fact, recent employment growth has indeed featured a lot of immigrants, but it is not drawing jobs away from native-born workers. Cracking the Employment Numbers  To truly understand the effect of immigration on jobs, consider a few things: Monthly employment estimates: These estimates separate native-born from foreign-born workers but do not distinguish those without legal status. 12-month averages are used for adjusting seasonal variation. Surge in Immigration: The standard numbers might be too low because recent immigration has surged. That doesn’t significantly alter the overall picture. Comparison Starting Point: Comparing job growth since 2020 to the pre-pandemic year of 2019 makes much better sense. While some of this job growth reflects recovery from the pandemic slump, the majority is attributable to immigrants. Immigrants and Job Growth The crucial question is whether the jobs filled by immigrants would have been available to native-born workers if immigration had been lower. If immigrants were taking jobs from native-born workers, we would expect to see a rise in unemployment among the native-born. However, the unemployment rate among native-born workers is near an all-time low.  Labour Force Participation  Anti-immigrant arguments argue that immigrants have pushed native-born Americans out of the labour force. Although there has been a modest decline since 2019, the share of native-born adults in the labour force was expected to decrease further due to population rowth. In 2019, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the rise in retirements for baby boomers would indeed lower the labour force participation rate. This means that virtual stagnation of the employment of native-born workers is a supply-side issue rather than one of job opportunities. Immigration and Economic Benefits Immigration has so far permitted large rises in aggregate employment because it is working-age immigrants who are moving to America. Had it not been the case, such large increases would not have been possible without immigrants. Since most of the immigrants bring different sets of skills and undertake different types of jobs, there is limited competition for native-born workers.  Wages and Inflation Unlike people used to think, immigrants don’t compete much with native-born workers; rather, they complement the labour market with their different skills. Despite high levels of immigration, there has been tremendous wage growth for the worst-paid workers during the past years. Fiscal Benefits In fact, immigrants, and especially working-age adults, pay taxes for years before they are eligible for most federal benefits, including Medicare and Social Security. Undocumented are even more beneficial to the budget because they pay payroll taxes but are not eligible for future benefits. Conclusion  At times, there are cases when it puts pressure on the labour market for the native-born or increases house prices. On the whole, however, the impact of immigration is positive on the economy of the United States. It helped limit inflation and facilitated rapid employment growth. These scare stories about immigration are not borne out by the facts.

In a bid to strengthen tourism ties, Israel is all set to introduce an exclusive e-visa scheme for tourists from India by the end of this year. Under this new initiative, the visa procedure would be made easy and hassle-free to attract a substantial number of tourists from the country. As of now, Israel does not have the facility of e-visas for any country, and thus this development would prove to be really historic in its own ways. Ambitious Goals of Tourism in Israel According to Amruta Bangera, the Director of Marketing at Israel Ministry of Tourism, India, the country looks to welcome 70,000 Indian tourists in the year 2025 and 100,000 in 2026. The strategic step toward meeting any such ambitious targets would be an e-visa program. As of September 2023, Israel had seen around 41,800 Indian visitors, which was actually a strong recovery from the pandemic.  Why an E-Visa Programme? Israel recognizes the potential of the Indian market. “India is the first country for which we are launching e-visas because we firmly believe in the vast opportunities the Indian market presents,” said Bangera. “We intend to target the huge number of tourists going out from India,” she stressed. With the introduction of e-visas, visiting Israel will be easier for Indians. This will get rid of all the physical processes involved in obtaining a visa for travel. Facilitation of access will increase the influx of tourists to this lovely destination and help the tourism sector grow. Partnerships and higher capacity on flights:  In view of this initiative turning successful, Israel is negotiating with prominent airlines, IndiGo and Air India, to increase their flight capacity. Air India has already increased the number of flights from India to Israel from three to four and is looking at daily flights from Delhi and probably even Mumbai. This increase in frequency will lend more variety, flexibility, and convenience in travel options for visitors from India. Marketing and Promotion Efforts Complementing the initiative of e-Visa, Israel is fast-tracking its marketing campaigns. A digital campaign is planned that will specifically target Indian tourists, besides seminars, roadshows, and linkups with travel agents. The idea is to bring out the message that Israel is a safe place to visit with many attractions for good times.  Key Markets in India Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Hyderabad have been identified as the most promising markets in India for Israeli tourism.Of particular note, 50% of the total tourists who visited Israel this year came from South India. Pilgrimage continues to dominate with about 48 percent of Indian visitors, followed by leisure at 30 percent, MICE at 12 percent, and others at 10 per cent. Safety and security  Pini Shani, the Deputy Director General and Head of the Marketing Administration at Israel Tourism, was keen to reassure that the country has been giving paramount importance to tourist safety. From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, via the Dead Sea and Galilee, all major tourist places are fully operational and buzzing with activity 24 hours a day to ensure that That all guests have a safe and great experience.  Conclusion  The launch of the e-visa programme to India ushers in a new frontier in Israel-India tourism ties. With improved accessibility, increased flights, and some serious marketing, the country is all set to become one of the top spots for visitors from India. Stay tuned for more updates as Israel prepares to welcome a new wave of tourists with open arms.

Japan is now on the way to making its immigration process easier with a new preclearance system in place as it is seeing a surge in tourism. Beginning January 2025, this initiative will start with tourists from Taiwan and help make travel a lot easier by allowing most of the immigration procedures to be completed before departure. This happens at a time when Japan hits an all-time high in tourists, thus vastly improving its economy.  Record tourist numbers drive economic growth.  Tourism’s new high: This half-year visitation rate has reached as much as approximately 17.8 million, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, and this is definitely the highest the country has ever received in terms of tourists. June is already the fourth month in a row that over 3 million travellers visited the country, which surged primarily due to the weakened yen that turned Japan from an expensive nation into a country with an affordably priced currency for international tourists.  Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that with this tourism boom, the spending of foreign visitors could reach ¥8 trillion ($51 billion) in 2024. He stated that he wanted to encourage local areas to develop tourism while avoiding overtourism issues by not having popular spots congested. Kishida also urged the use of technology to reduce overcrowding at airports and destinations, promote national parks, and promote sports tourism. It targets 60 million visitors every year by 2030. Japan Preclearance System to Make the Immigration Process Smooth One of the essential developments associated with the immigration process in Japan is the newly introduced preclearance system. The system targets reducing waiting times by having tourists go through most of their screening before they even leave, thus making entry procedures smoother. The scheme would first be introduced to tourists from Taiwan, with other countries following suit. The timing of this new system could hardly be worse, with a huge rush for travel. ANA Holdings Inc. announced the introduction of new European routes from Haneda, including Milan, Stockholm, and Istanbul. The carrier also resumed daily flights to Paris and Munich in July before the Paris Olympics and is planning to restart the Haneda-Vienna route in August. Overcoming Obstacles and Local Backlash Certainly, challenges abound, including a shortage of jet fuel that has hit foreign carriers. The Japanese government is now working to avoid a possible crisis with stepped-up production and imports. Prime Minister Kishida told the council to urgently take measures to secure supplies.  The tourism inflows have also brought growing discontent among some residents. In Kyoto, the local district council banned visitors last year from narrow private streets in the Gion district. Here, authorities in Fujikawaguchiko erected barriers to prevent tourists from taking photos at a convenience store with Mt. Fuji in the background. The measures represent a balancing act between tourism promotion and the preservation of residents’ quality of life.  Economic Impact and Future Prospects The tourism boom is breathing much-needed life into Japan’s economy, which has been reeling under the effects of a weak yen. It hit a 38-year low against the dollar—something that, on the one hand, is bringing tourists in droves but has also stoked inflation and hurt domestic consumer spending. In the April-June quarter, foreign visitors spent ¥2.14 trillion, showing that tourism has a huge economic impact.  If record numbers of tourists are to continue making the transpacific flight to Japan, it will have to be on the government’s coattails, with seamless immigration procedures and attempts to mitigate some of the more negative influences visitors are having on locals. This new preclearance system shows a very forward-thinking mindset for dealing with the challenges and opportunities that come with increased tourism.