The situation

The work permit quotas for local hires and seconded workers have been exhausted. No work permits can be issued for these categories. Quota numbers for trainees, intracompany transfers and highly-skilled workers remain available.

Impact on pending applications

Impacts on pending applications will depend on when next quota numbers are released:

• If quota is released in 30 days. Pending applications will be on hold for 30 calendar days from the moment of filing. If the new quota numbers are released within 30 days from today, applications will be processed.
• If quota is not released in 30 days. If the new quota numbers are not released within 30 days from today, pending applications will remain on hold for a further 15 calendar days. At this time, it is not clear whether authorities will continue processing files once the new quotas are available, or if foreign nationals will have to request to keep the file on hold until then.
• If quota is not released in 45 days. If the new quota numbers are not released during the additional 15 calendar day timeframe, pending applications will be rejected. The authorities may keep the files to continue processing once the new figures are released, however this is not certain.
• Impact on submitted documents. If documents submitted with pending applications expire before the new quota numbers are released, foreign nationals will need to resubmit affected documents. Fragomen case teams will contact foreign nationals who will need to resubmit supporting documents due to this issue.

Background

Publication of new quota numbers is typically delayed, with the 2017 quotas only being announced January 30, 2017 due to elections.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.

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