Up-to-date policy changes and entry requirement updates
Five years after first discussing the idea, Sri Lanka officially launched its Digital Nomad Visa in February 2026. The online application portal is now live and remote workers can apply right now for a 12-month renewable residence visa.
On February 9, 2026, the UK Home Office expanded the BN(O) visa route to include adult children of BN(O) status holders who were under 18 at Hong Kong's 1997 handover. For the first time, people born on or before June 30, 1979 can apply independently — along with their own partners and children — closing a 5-year gap that split thousands of families.
Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on February 28, 2026 that citizens of China, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and the Bahamas can now enter Brazil completely visa-free, effective February 24, 2026 — no e-Visa, no consulate appointment, no application fee.
The UK Skilled Worker visa has seen two major changes in 2026: a tougher B2 English requirement now in force, and a planned extension of the ILR settlement pathway from 5 years to 10 years coming in April 2026. Here is everything applicants and employers need to know.
As of February 27, 2026, the random H-1B lottery is gone. Starting with the registration window opening March 4, the new wage-weighted selection system is live — giving senior, high-wage candidates up to 4× better odds, while entry-level applicants face a structurally harder pool. The 15-day registration window closes March 19. Here is exactly what changed and what you need to do now.
Australia has completed the most sweeping overhaul of its migration system in over a decade. From the replacement of the TSS visa with the Skills in Demand visa, to a visa-hopping crackdown and tightened student rules — every change below is already in force.
The week of February 16–20, 2026 will go down as one of the most remarkable in Canada's immigration history. In just five days, IRCC held four separate Express Entry draws, issued 10,670 Invitations to Apply, launched the world's first-ever physician-exclusive PR draw at a record-breaking CRS score of just 169, and introduced 5 new occupational categories — all already live and operational.
If you are planning to travel to Europe in 2026 — whether for a holiday, business trip, or to visit family — the rules at the border are changing in ways most people have not prepared for. From biometric fingerprinting becoming mandatory at every European airport to an entirely new pre-travel authorisation system launching later this year, here is everything happening right now and what is coming next.
Sweden officially unveiled sweeping new citizenship rules on February 9, 2026, taking effect June 6, 2026. The changes include raising the residency requirement from 5 to 8 years, new income and language tests, stricter criminal record rules — and a controversial retroactive clause that could affect nearly 100,000 pending applicants.
The March 2026 Visa Bulletin just moved the EB-2 India filing cutoff date forward by 11 months in a single bulletin — one of the biggest single-month jumps since early 2022. If your priority date is before November 1, 2014, you may be able to file your I-485 adjustment of status right now.
Starting February 27, 2026, the H-1B visa selection process switches from a random lottery to a wage-weighted system. Higher-paid candidates now receive significantly more entries — and better odds. Here is what every applicant and employer needs to know before the FY2027 registration window opens on March 4.
Canada's Bill C-12 is on the verge of becoming law, granting the federal cabinet sweeping powers to cancel or suspend entire groups of immigration documents — including work permits, study permits, and refugee claims — in a single order. If you have any pending or active Canadian immigration status, here is what you need to know.
As of February 25, 2026, the UK has fully enforced its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system. Citizens from 85 visa-exempt countries — including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and all EU states — must now have an approved ETA before boarding any flight to the UK or risk being denied at the gate.
The UAE launched Salama, an AI-powered visa renewal platform, on February 24 — renewing visas in minutes with no queues. February 2026 also brought the Blue Visa going fully live, a major Golden Visa expansion, traffic fines linked to renewals, and four new visit visa categories.
China has expanded its visa-free entry programme to 50 countries, with the UK and Canada becoming the most recent additions on February 17, 2026. If you hold a passport from any of the 50 eligible countries, you can now enter mainland China with nothing more than your passport — no visa application, no consulate appointment, no waiting — for up to 30 days per visit.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has announced a sweeping package of changes across skilled worker visas, open work visas, minimum wages, and residence pathways — with some changes kicking in as early as April 2026. Two brand new routes to permanent residency open in August 2026.
On February 10, 2026, Thailand's Cabinet formally approved a sweeping set of visa measures affecting millions of travellers worldwide — including 60-day visa-free entry for 93 countries, a mandatory digital arrival card, a new Digital Nomad visa, and an active government review that could cut the visa-free window back to 30 days.
As of February 2, 2026, Australia activated one of its most sweeping migration crackdowns in years, targeting "visa hopping" — when people repeatedly apply for new visas to extend their stay rather than following legitimate permanent pathways. Home Affairs estimates these new rules will cut the number of temporary visa holders by 85,000 people over the next 12 months alone.
