All posts tagged: visas

US revokes all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders | News

US revokes all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders | News

Published by Sam

The decision comes as political tensions mount in South Sudan, causing fears of a renewed civil war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington is revoking all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders, accusing the African nation’s government of not accepting the repatriation of its nationals and “taking advantage of the United States”. “Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them,” Rubio said in a statement on Saturday. “South Sudan’s transitional government has failed to fully respect this principle.” Rubio added the US would also “prevent further issuance to prevent entry into the United States by South Sudanese passport holders”. It was the first such measure singling out all passport holders from a particular country since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, having campaigned on an anti-immigration platform. South Sudanese nationals had been granted “temporary protected status” (TPS) by the administration of Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, with the designation set to expire on …

Romanian hard-right chief pitches himself as Europe’s next Meloni – POLITICO

Romanian hard-right chief pitches himself as Europe’s next Meloni – POLITICO

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“Even if we are conservative, which is not to the liking of the establishment in Brussels, even if we believe in many of the values President Trump believes in,” Simion said, “we also believe that we need a strong, united Europe.” The politician insisted he would “work together” with the EU’s mainstream parties if elected, with Romania’s full accession to the visa-free Schengen zone, pushing for a directly elected EU executive and boosting industrial production in the bloc at the top of his list of priorities. But unlike Meloni, Simion has openly vowed he would push back against Brussels even if that means breaking EU rules in a move more reminiscent of the populist leaders of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico. “I would be a liar to say we would respect EU law,” he said. “If tomorrow [there is] a new law that we didn’t vote for … or laws that are not good for Romania,” he said, “I will try to use all my powers to stop what is doing harm …

Universities Say Government Should Give “Ringing Endorsement” To Graduate Visas

Universities Say Government Should Give “Ringing Endorsement” To Graduate Visas

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File photo of university graduates (Alamy) 5 min read16 August The new government should give a “ringing endorsement” to the graduate visa route as part of its efforts to stabilise universities’ finances, according to the president of Universities UK (UUK). Professor Dame Sally Mapstone ramped up pressure on Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, as universities scramble to fill vacancies amid fears international student numbers could drop following a change in visa rules.   In an interview with PoliticsHome Mapstone welcomed a  “much more positive and constructive approach” from the new administration and said previous administrations had “talk[ed] down” to the sector. But she called for more explicit support for visa rules that could attract international students to the UK as well for research funding. UUK is also lobbying for tuition fees paid by domestic students to rise in line with inflation. The real term value has fallen dramatically in recent years as a result of a freeze on domestic fees at a time of high inflation.  Among the things Mapstone – who is also …

How visas for social care workers may be exacerbating exploitation in the sector

How visas for social care workers may be exacerbating exploitation in the sector

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The health and social care visa route was introduced in August 2020 as a response to labour shortages after Brexit and the COVID pandemic. Now, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration has found that the Home Office’s “limited understanding of the sector” has put care workers at risk of exploitation. An independent report, published in March, details the Home Office’s “shocking” mishandling of the visas. It highlights problems in the way that the system to give social care providers the ability to sponsor workers from abroad operates. In one case, “275 certificates of sponsorship [were] granted to a care home that did not exist”. The Home Office responded that this incident involved “a licence granted in the name of a real care home without their knowledge … obtained using false information/evidence”. It has accepted the chief inspector’s recommendations to improve the system, and said that many of these improvements were already underway. The report details how the Home Office system has buckled under unforeseen demand for visas. The number of registered sponsors tripled …

Sunak’s student visas clampdown continues boom-and-bust pattern | International students

Sunak’s student visas clampdown continues boom-and-bust pattern | International students

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Rishi Sunak may not go down in history as “the man who destroyed UK higher education,” as one former university leader put it, but the prime minister’s sabre-rattling on international student visas could end up doing just that. Sunak’s willingness to clamp down on international student numbers coincides with what one expert called a funding crisis for universities that could undermine the entire sector. At the last general election, the Conservative party under Boris Johnson claimed it would “maintain and strengthen our global position in higher education”. The manifesto’s immigration section pledged: “Our student visa will help universities attract talented young people and allow those students to stay on to apply for work here after they graduate.” But the political climate around immigration has changed dramatically. By the end of last year, James Cleverly, the home secretary, was declaring that “enough is enough” and announcing plans to review post-study work visas, which allow international graduates to stay and work in the UK for two years. Sunak posted on social media: “Immigration is too high. Today …

US to restrict visas for ‘multiple’ Hong Kong officials

US to restrict visas for ‘multiple’ Hong Kong officials

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WASHINGTON: The United States announced on Friday (Mar 28) that it was “taking steps” to put fresh visa curbs on Hong Kong officials responsible for cracking down on rights in the Chinese city, days after a new national security law came into force. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that Beijing has “continued to take actions against Hong Kong’s promised high degree of autonomy, democratic institutions, and rights and freedoms” over the past year. This crackdown, he said, includes the recent passage of “Article 23”, a national security law targeting treason, insurrection, espionage and theft of state secrets, among other crimes. In response to “intensifying repression” and restrictions on “civil society, media, and dissenting voices”, the State Department “is taking steps to impose new visa restrictions on multiple Hong Kong officials”, the statement said. Blinken did not elaborate on the visa measures to be taken or the officials to be targeted. Source link

India punishes critics by revoking visas and residency permits

India punishes critics by revoking visas and residency permits

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi often draws crowds of supporters from the Indian diaspora on his foreign visits. But back home, his administration has been revoking visas and residency permits of foreign nationals of Indian origin as well as spouses of Indian citizens. For those denied access or kicked out of India, the experience can be traumatic.   Vanessa Dougnac was at home in her New Delhi apartment on January 18, when she received a hand-delivered envelope that raised her spirits. The French journalist glanced at the letterhead bearing the insignia of the Indian interior ministry’s Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and immediately thought this meant good news. “Then I read the letter. It was totally the opposite. It was really, really bad news,” she recounted.  Dougnac, 51, had lived in India for a quarter-century, or most of her adult life. For 23 years, she served as the India-based freelance correspondent for a number of French publications. Along the way, she covered stories across the country, married an Indian national, raised a son, and mastered …

Trump says Prince Harry could be deported from US over drug use – POLITICO

Trump says Prince Harry could be deported from US over drug use – POLITICO

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“Which might mean … not staying in America?” interviewer Nigel Farage asked, to which a seemingly coy Trump answered: “Oh I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me. You just have to tell me.” Prince Harry’s visa status has been at the center of a legal row since an American conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, last year sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for access to his immigration records. Applicants for certain American visas typically must disclose whether they have ever taken drugs, and doing so can result in their application being denied. Other public figures have run into issues entering the U.S. over their reported drug use. In his memoir “Spare,” Harry admitted to using various drugs and psychedelics including cocaine, marijuana and magic mushrooms, but it’s unclear whether he declared this on his visa application. Right-wing commentators in both the U.S. and U.K. have turned against Harry and his wife Meghan Markle since their controversial exit from the royal family and move to the U.S. Trump, who has dominated the Republican …

Israel denies visas to aid workers in Gaza

Israel denies visas to aid workers in Gaza

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Displaced Palestinian refugees at a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, March 3, 2024. AFP In December 2023, Lynn Hastings, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, had to leave Israel. Eli Cohen, the Israeli foreign minister, declared on X that he had “revoked” the residence visa of the UN’s second-highest official in Jerusalem. Cohen argued that Hastings had not condemned Hamas at the time of the October 7, 2023, massacre, but had condemned Israel instead. This extreme measure is representative of the obstacles being placed by Israel on the work of humanitarian aid workers deployed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on behalf of the UN and non-governmental organizations. Until recently, visas for UN officials were extended for six months or a year, as part of a routine procedure. But since October 2023, this has taken between 10 days and two months, or even longer. “It’s all very random. Then, when approval is given, visas are only renewed …