Asia-Pacific

Changes in salary thresholds and employment criteria

Effective 1 July 2024 in Australia, the current Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) which applies to Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494) visas will increase from A$70,000 to A$73,150. This will impact all nominations and visas lodged on or after 1 July 2024.

In addition, the superannuation guarantee (SG) rate is also increasing from 1 July 2024 from 11% to 11.5%.

On 2 August 2024 in Singapore, as part of regular updates to benchmark data for COMPASS (Complementarity Assessment Framework), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released the upcoming Employment Pass (EP) C1 Salary benchmarks, applicable to new EP applications from 1 January 2025 and renewals of EPs expiring from 1 July 2025.

All sectors' average had around 3% increase to the 65th percentile benchmark (Fund Management sector had the highest with a 12.5% increase; Arts, Entertainment and Recreation the lowest with a -2.84% decrease).

For the 90th percentile benchmark, all sector average was around 2.5% increase with the Real Estate sector having the highest with 16.5% and the Retail Trade sector the lowest with a -6% decrease.

Thailand's Immigration Bureau at the One Stop Service Center has implemented a new practice for the hiring of new expatriates. An immigration officer will visit the expatriate employee at the company’s office. The officer will contact a designated contact person listed in the visa application either one day in advance or on the same day as the visit.

Changes in visa charges

Starting 1 July 2024 in Australia, Visa Application Charges for Australian visas have been increased to align with the forecast Consumer Price Index.

From 1 October in New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand’s visa application fees across almost all visa categories will increase, to better align with the actual costs of processing visa applications. This change will shift the cost of New Zealand’s immigration system, which has been heavily subsidized by taxpayers, to those benefiting from the system.

New visa exemption policy

In Mainland China recently, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it will extend the visa exemption policy for three more nationalities, which are citizens of Australia, New Zealand, and Poland. The policy enables international travel between China and many other countries to become more convenient. According to the latest statistics, for the first half year of 2024, the portion of foreigners entering China with a visa exemption has exceed half of the total.

The visa exemption applies to business visits, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, transits, and other private affairs.

Starting July 15, 2024, Thailand's government announced that travelers from a specified list of countries entering Thailand for tourism or short-term business purposes are exempt from visa requirements and may stay for up to 60 days.

Change within responsible authorities and practice for immigration processing time

Starting 10 July in Vietnam, the Government has launched a pilot program in Ho Chi Minh City to decentralize, amongst others, the authority on the management of expatriate employees working in Vietnam. Under this pilot program, the Ho Chi Minh City People Committee will resume responsibility for accepting and approving certain work permit application previously handled by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs (“MOLISA”).

The Philippines Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner, Atty. Norman Tansingco has been dismissed from his position. The dismissal is expected to lead to delays in the processing of ongoing applications with the Bureau, impacting BI’s operational procedures. This also implies that the Commissioner’s appointees with the Immigration office will have to render their courtesy resignation and vacate their posts/assignments.

Effective 10 September 2024, Atty. Joel Anthony Viado was appointed as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the BI to oversee the Bureau’s day-to- day operations​.

Recent civil unrest in Bangladesh has led to a delay in processing immigration applications. While government offices that had been closed are now reopening, immigration officers are facing backlogs that are expected to persist for the short- and mid-term. Employers are advised to take the political situation into account in respect of their employee mobility policy as well as possible delays in ongoing procedures.

New visa and permit categories introduced

With effect from 10 July 2024, non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents are eligible to apply for a card-type document, called Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao residents (non-Chinese citizens) (“the Permit”) allowing travel to Mainland China for short-term purposes, such as tourism and business, for multiple entries not exceeding 90 days per entry. With this Permit, the non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent resident will be able to enjoy self-service clearance at control points of the Mainland. The Permit will be allowed for multiple entry purpose with a maximum validity period of 5 years.

Starting from July 15, 2024, Thailand's new Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) is available for remote workers, digital nomads, and freelancers who would like to stay for a longer-term in Thailand. This visa allows expatriates to travel and work remotely or engage in Thai soft power activities in Thailand, granting them a stay of up to 180 days per visit, with a validity of five years.