Philippines: Clarifying Guidelines Issued on Work Authorization for Foreign Nationals – The Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration have issued joint guidelines to clarify the current rules and procedures on the issuance of work authorization to foreign nationals.

South Korea: Relaxed Policy on Quota Requirements for D-8 Visa – The Korea Immigration Service has relaxed its policy on D-8 visa quota requirements. The quota is used to limit the number of foreign employees a local sponsoring subsidiary may sponsor under a D-8 visa. The quota was previously strictly tied to the amount of foreign-invested capital the local subsidiary had received from the overseas parent company as indicated in its...

Employers can now petition for an additional 30,000 H-2B quota numbers in FY 2019.

Ireland and the United Kingdom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding consolidating reciprocal citizens’ rights in the Common Travel Area between the two countries into a single instrument. This memorandum enshrines the current policy that Irish and UK nationals do not require work and residence permits in each others’ countries.

As an update, all six EU countries in the Schengen area that instituted temporary internal border controls have formally extended these controls. France has extended its border controls until October 31, 2019

Effective May 2, 2019, Panamanian nationals holding ordinary passports and an approved multiple-entry visa can stay in China for tourism and business for up to 90 days, and vice versa. A reciprocal agreement has extended the allowable stay period from 30 days under this type of entry in both countries.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El Sisi’s visit to China and deals signed on the sidelines of the Forum are significant given the importance of the BRI for Africa, especially with Egypt as the current chair of the African Union.

When visiting Kazakhstan and Indonesia in September and October of 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (hereinafter referred to as the Belt and Road, or B&R). The Chinese government then set up the Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative with an administrative office under the National Development and Reform...

Supported by all parties, the BRI has been incorporated into the outcome documents of international institutions such as the United Nations, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asia-Europe Meeting, etc. B&R construction is expected to enter a new stage of pursuing high-quality development based on the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration.

New Regional Views Part II Sino-Saudi: Diversification sets stage for trade spurt