Global trends
Modernization and digitization
The first quarter of 2025 has seen several countries continue with efforts to digitize and modernize their immigration processes. This includes the rollout of electronic visas in the UK, Malaysia, and to a limited extent in Luxembourg. In Nigeria and Ireland specific changes have been made to increase efficiency, while in Portugal some changes have been specifically aimed at addressing existing backlogs.
In the UK, Thailand, and Kuwait additional measures such as fingerprinting and gathering of data on arrival have been implemented to support enforcement of border controls. In the UK this is most notably through the further rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorisation system.
Nationalization and domestic priorities
In the Philippines, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, further measures have been introduced to prioritize local workers or strengthen the local labor market. This has been done through the introduction of quotas and other mechanisms focused on developing local talent pools in certain sectors. This is contrasted by updates to existing visa programs in Australia, Hong Kong, and Czechia that are aimed at making the country more attractive to foreign talent.
Where new governments have formed following elections, such as in Austria and Germany, policy updates have been announced in order to attract skilled workers in sectors that are relevant to their economic priorities. Similarly in the US, the Trump Administration has issued a series of executive orders and other measures in order to address immigration issues identified in their policy agenda.