COVID-19

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Effective May 23, 2022, South Korea has loosened its pre-arrival COVID-19 testing requirements for foreign nationals. Specifically, foreign nationals seeking to enter the country can now present either a negative PCR test or a supervised rapid antigen test (RAT). Previously, only PCR tests were accepted. The RAT must be conducted by a health care provider such as a hospital or clinic; at-home RATs are not accepted. South Korea’s move represents another incremental relaxation of the country’s COVID-19 entry requirements and follows the easing of quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers in April.
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Continue Reading South Korea Updates COVID-19 Entry Requirements

Effective May 9, 2022, the Taiwanese government will reduce the required quarantine period for all international arrivals from ten days to seven, followed by a seven-day self-health management period. The announcement from Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is an incremental step toward normalizing international travel procedures. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has barred most foreign nationals from entering the country.
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Continue Reading Taiwan Shortens Post-Arrival Quarantine Period

On April 22, 2022, the Irish government announced an expansion of the eligibility criteria for the country’s multiple entry short stay visas. The changes mean that foreign nationals from all visa-required countries will now be eligible to apply for a five-year, multiple entry short stay visa.  The government’s announcement is intended to ease administrative burdens and facilitate multiple short-stay trips by visa-required nationals as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Continue Reading Ireland Expands Eligibility for Multiple Entry Short Stay Visas

On April 12, 2022, the Chilean government announced the implementation of a new framework to govern the country’s border restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lowest level of the new framework, Alert Level 1, does not require foreign nationals seeking to enter Chile to submit their vaccination status for prior approval, though travelers may still submit this information voluntarily and are required to submit it to obtain a Pase de Movilidad (“Mobility Pass”). In adopting the new framework, the government aims to enable a more agile response to the pandemic, including through detection and containment of new variants of concern.
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Continue Reading Chile Updates Framework for Pandemic-Related Border Restrictions

With the regular changes to the UK Right to Work (“RTW”) checks over the last year or so, employers may be forgiven for having lost track of what the latest requirements are.

As mentioned in our last blog on RTW checks (You’re Joking – Not Another One! Further Changes to the Right to Work…

On March 31, 2022, the Chilean government issued an extension of its border restrictions through the end of April 2022. Specifically, the government issued Decree No. 142, modifying Decree No. 295 of 2021, to continue the government’s legal authorization to impose restrictions on the entry and exit of individuals through the country’s borders. In issuing the new decree, the government emphasized that further modifications may be made in response to the changing nature of the pandemic around the world.
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Continue Reading Chile Extends Authorization for Border Restrictions through End of April 2022

As of April 1, 2022, fully vaccinated travelers entering South Korea through designated airports, including Incheon Airport, will be exempt from the government’s seven-day quarantine requirement. To be eligible for the exemption, travelers must upload proof of their vaccination status and negative COVID-19 test results and obtain a “Q-code” through an online application before entry. Travelers are advised to carry a print-out of the Q-code at the time of entry.
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Continue Reading South Korea Updates COVID-Related Entry Requirements

Updated April 1, 2022: Effective April 1, 2022, South Korea will no longer require certain long-term visa holders to obtain a reentry permit prior to traveling overseas.  Specifically, long-term visa holders who either hold residence cards or are waiting for residence cards to be issued and whose travel period outside South Korea does not exceed one year will no longer need to apply for a reentry permit prior to international travel.  The government’s announcement is a significant relaxation of reentry requirements for foreign nationals, which were increased in mid-2020 in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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Continue Reading South Korea Drops Reentry Permit Requirement for Many Long-Term Visa Holders

Federal law requires that employers attest to verifying each employee’s identity and authorization to legally work in the United States. By regulation, employees must present original, unexpired documents from the U.S. government’s published lists of acceptable documentation, which are classified as List A (Documents that Establish Both Identity and Employment Authorization), List B (Documents that Establish Identity) and List C (Documents that Establish Employment Authorization).
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Continue Reading Change to Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification: List B (Documents that Establish Identity)

traveler in airport
travel concept, people in the airport

On March 15, 2022, the Indian government announced a significant relaxation in COVID-19 travel restrictions. Under the terms of the announcement, tourists will be able to enter the country on either paper or e-Tourist visas for the first time since March 2020. All international flights to and from India will also resume as of March 27, 2022. The Indian government’s move comes as several countries throughout the world, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland, have relaxed or eliminated their pandemic-related restrictions on international travel.
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Continue Reading India Relaxes Pandemic-Related Travel Restrictions