United States
1. Reform of H1B lottery rules
In January 2024, USCIS officially announced the latest H1B reform plan and began to implement the "one person, one draw" policy. On April 1, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced that the H-1B lottery for fiscal year 2025 is over!
2. The State of New York will introduce policies to support international students to start businesses in the United States
In New York State's newly released 2024 State Policy Outline, the Governor noted that although the State University of New York (SUNY) has more than 44% of STEM graduate degrees awarded to international students, it is not so easy for them to obtain residence and work visas. She hopes to create new avenues for immigrant entrepreneurs, including international students, to stay in the United States. Specifically, she suggested that more funding be provided to research universities and colleges to help international entrepreneurs stay in New York and start start-ups.
United Kingdom
1. Restrictions on visas for family members of international students
From 1 January 2024, only international students studying postgraduate research (including research master's and PhD) will be able to bring their family members to the UK.
2. You cannot change your work permit before the end of the course
Previously, international students could apply for an exchange work permit in advance if they had already received a job offer during their studies. However, from January 2024, international students cannot convert their student visa to a work visa until they have completed their studies.
3. Review the graduate visa
On 11 April, the UK government's official website announced that it had commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a fast-track review of graduate visas for international students to prevent abuse, protect the integrity and quality of UK higher education, and ensure that it is in the best interests of the UK.
4. New visa policy for skilled workers
From 4 April, the minimum wage threshold for a skilled worker visa has been raised from £26,200 to £38,700 (health and care visa workers are not affected by this). If you are under the age of 26, studying or graduating from a recent university, or undergoing professional training, the salary requirement for a work permit is a minimum of £30,960 per annum and 70% of the prevailing standard going rate in the UK for your role, whichever is higher.
5. New family visa policy
From 11 April, the minimum income required for a person to come to the UK on a family visa will increase from £18,600 to £29,000, an increase of more than 55%. By the beginning of 2025, this figure will double again to £38,700.
6. The IHS of the immigration medical surcharge has risen
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is a fee that allows international students to use the NHS, such as free flu vaccinations in the NHS, will start to rise on February 6, 2024, including £776 per year for students and holders of Youth Mobility Scheme visas, and £776 per year for applicants under the age of 18 at the time of visa application and immigration.
Canada
1. Confirm the validity of the admission notice
From 30 January 2024, all Post-secondary Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) are required to verify the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) submitted with the Overseas Study Permit application. In order to provide administrative flexibility during the start-up phase, IRCC had allowed the LOA verification system to temporarily allow DLI institutions to complete verification activities within 15 days. As of March 19, 2024, the temporary measure has ended, and the current time for DLI institutions to complete verification activities will be 10 days.
2. The requirement for study visa funds is doubled
Starting January 1, 2024, the deposit for a study permit will double from $10,000 to $20,635, and this threshold will be adjusted annually based on changes in living standards.
3. A provincial letter is required to apply for a study permit
As of January 22, 2024, most new post-secondary international students at the college or undergraduate level must provide a Provincial Certification Letter (PAL) from a province or territory when applying for a study permit.
According to the requirements of the Department of Immigration, provincial governments must have a system in place by March 31, 2024 to implement PAL issuance for international students. Up to now, all 10 Canadian provinces have enabled PAL. Basically, after the student receives the offer and pays the deposit, the school will obtain a PAL from the provincial government.
4. College and undergraduate students are expected to be approved for 290,000 yuan this year
On April 5, 2024, Immigration Canada issued a document on its official website, announcing the allocation of study permits for international students in various provinces and regions in 2024 - a total of 552,095 study permit applications for international students provided to colleges and undergraduates this year, and 291,914 study permits are expected to be approved, a decrease of 28% compared with the approved study permits in 2023.
5. The new policy for spouse work visa
From 19 March 2024, partners and spouses of international students are only eligible for a Spouse Open Work Permit (SOWP) if their sponsor is studying full-time in a postgraduate program (Master's and PhD) at a university or polytechnic, or is enrolled in a professional degree program at a university (e.g. medicine, dentistry, law, engineering, education, etc.).
6. The new policy of graduation work permit will take effect in advance
On March 22, 2024, Immigration Canada announced that international students graduating through public-private partnership institutions will no longer be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) policy, which will come into effect earlier than May 15, 2024, instead of the previously announced September 1, 2024.
7. Change of temporary work authorization
Canada has recently extended the validity of temporary work authorization letters issued to international graduates who are waiting for a decision on their work permit application in the country. From 26 March 2024, the validity period of a temporary work authorization letter has been changed from 120 days to 180 days from the date of receipt of the application by IRCC.
8. Master's degree graduates can apply for a 3-year graduation work permit
From February 15, 2024, master's degree graduates with a duration of no more than 2 years (at least 8 months) can apply for a 3-year post-graduation work permit, which is not applicable to certificate or diploma programs.
9. BC Provincial Master's and Doctor's Direct Program Reform
On March 19, B.C. announced that it would reform the Provincial Nominee BCPNP. Among them, the most important content is to cancel the existing master's and doctoral programs, merge and reorganize the international graduate program, and unify the reform.
According to the official website, the BCPNP will usher in a major update from January 2025, and more specific details will be announced at the end of 2024.
(1) The existing Master's and Doctor's programs and the International Graduate Program will be replaced by 3 new programs
● Bachelor's Program: will be open to recent graduates who have earned a bachelor's degree from an eligible university or institution. Graduates with full-time job offers can enroll in this category.
● Master's Program: It will be open to recent graduates (regardless of major) who have obtained a master's degree from an eligible post-secondary institution. Graduates with at least one year of full-time job offer in a skilled occupation can enroll in this category.
● Doctoral program: Doctoral students and doctoral candidates who have graduated from qualified higher education institutions can apply directly for this program.
(2) Increase degree requirements
Students who have completed a diploma or certificate program in Canada may not be eligible for these new graduate programs, but they can still apply for other programs in the BCPNP.
(3) New language requirements
In addition to the medical channel, the language requirements of the entire BCPNP will be comprehensively improved. Among them, the language requirement for the new graduate programme will be at least CLB8. Converted to IELTS, it is 6.5 in reading/writing/speaking and 7.5 in listening!
Australia
1. GTE is changed to GST
GTE (Genuine Temporary Intent) is an important step in the study permit application process, where students are required to write a personal statement to prove that they are genuine and temporary. With the reform of the Department of Immigration, the GTE will be officially changed to GST (i.e. Genuine International Student Requirements) from 23 March 2024, and the new GST replaces the previous 300-word personal statement with a series of targeted questions. The purpose of this new policy is mainly to ensure that the purpose of applying for a study permit is to study, or to study.
2. Increase the language requirements for visas
The Australian Government has made changes to the English language requirements for student visas and graduate visas. Starting from 23 March, the IELTS score for the 500 student visa will be increased from 5.5 to 6.0, the IELTS score for the 485 graduate work permit will be increased from 6.0 to 6.5, and the language score validity period for the 485 visa application will also be shortened to 1 year!
3. Stricter visa review
Starting in 2024, student visa applications submitted by international students will be prioritized according to the school's risk level.
● Schools with lower risk levels: The student visa process will be more simplified and applicants will be able to obtain the relevant visas faster.
● Schools with higher risk levels: The processing of student visas will be more rigorous, and the speed of issuance may be relatively slow.
The so-called schools with higher risk levels mainly refer to some private vocational education and training institutions (VET).
4. The report on the agreement of Australian universities was released
Recently, Australian Education Minister Jason Clare released the "Australian Universities Agreement Final Report", which pointed out the importance of international students to the Australian economy and higher education sector, calling for:
• Reducing dependence on certain countries of origin for international students.
● Encourage more international students to study at universities/campuses in remote areas.
● With the support of the Australian Government, higher education institutions should prioritise equity and inclusion throughout the entire life cycle of international student participation in higher education.
● Improve transparency, clarity and communication of Australia's visa system (including addressing 'permanent temporary' visa status to give those who want to stay a clear path to PR).
Hong Kong
1. Expand the quota for non-local students
Starting from the 2024/25 academic year, the quota for non-local students in government-aided post-secondary institutions will be doubled from the original 20% to 40%. Post-secondary institutions can also gradually attract more foreign and Mainland students to study in Hong Kong according to their own conditions. A few days ago, a number of universities in Hong Kong said that they would increase their enrollment plans in the mainland, among which the University of Hong Kong is expected to admit 600 to 700 mainland students in 2024, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong plans to increase the enrollment quota of about 100 mainland college entrance examination students in 2024, from the current about 300 to about 400.
2. Non-local graduate students are allowed to work part-time
Since November last year, the restriction on part-time part-time employment for full-time non-local postgraduate students studying in Hong Kong has been temporarily waived, so as to enhance their experience and understanding of working in Hong Kong and enhance their intention to stay in Hong Kong after graduation.
The arrangement will be implemented on a trial basis for two years, benefiting more than 35,000 students!
3. Increase the number of hostels
In the future, a number of hostel projects will continue to be promoted, with plans to add about 13,500 hostel places by 2027.
4. Expand the proportion of scholarships
Starting from 2024, the Hong Kong government will continue to expand the proportion of scholarships and inject an additional $1 billion, in particular, to increase the quota of the Belt and Road Scholarship by 50%.
5. Promote mutual recognition of associate degree qualifications and qualifications in the Mainland
In the future, the Hong Kong Government will strengthen cross-boundary mutual recognition of qualifications by working with the Mainland authorities to promote mutual recognition of qualifications at sub-degree level, including higher diploma qualifications, and to pilot the mutual recognition of qualifications on a pilot basis.
6. Promote multicultural learning experiences
Starting from the 2023/24 academic year, the UGC will inject an additional $100 million into the Funding Scheme for Mainland-Global Connectivity and Learning Experiences to encourage UGC-funded universities to provide more overseas exchange and learning opportunities, and to promote a diverse and inclusive international learning environment.
7. Expand the high-end talent pass program
The Hong Kong Government recently announced the annual update of the Consolidated List of Eligible Universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme, bringing the total number of eligible universities to 185.
Singapore
1. The income threshold for the employment pass has been raised
In response to wage changes in the labour market, Singapore's Ministry of Manpower announced that the employment pass income threshold will be raised from S$5,000 to S$5,600 per month from January next year. For financial services, the monthly price has been increased from S$5,500 to S$6,200.
2. Cancel the vaccination certificate
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower announced on its official website that from 1 March 2024, all pass holders will no longer need to be vaccinated. This measure involves the Student's Pass as well as all Work Permits, including WP, SP, EP, etc.
3. China and New Zealand are exempt from visas
China and Singapore signed a mutual visa exemption agreement on February 9, 2024, which officially entered into force. This means that holders of ordinary passports from both sides can enter each other's countries without a visa to engage in private affairs such as tourism, family visits, and business, and stay for no more than 30 days.
The content of the reference is from the Internet, if there is any infringement, please contact the editor to delete.
Statement: Any content published on this number that does not indicate the words "original" and other words is reprinted from the Internet in good faith, and the copyright belongs to the original author. Welcome to follow, like, comment, favorite, and forward