01.Japan

Relax quarantine measures for entry from China

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno announced at a press conference on February 27 that border controls would be relaxed as the positive COVID-19 test rate among travelers from China has remained below 1% since late January and only a limited range of mutations have been detected. He said the coronavirus prevention measures at border ports for travelers from China will be relaxed from March 1, and nucleic acid tests for all passengers on landing will be replaced by random tests, but a negative nucleic acid test within 72 hours before departure is still required. The Japanese government has also decided to significantly relax COVID-19 guidelines on the wearing of masks on 13 March. At the same time, the restriction that flights from China can only reach four airports in Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Chubu will be abolished and additional flights will be allowed. The policy could boost Chinese travelers' willingness to travel to Japan.

02.Oceania

Australian student visa applications have hit a new high

According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of January this year, the total number of people entering Australia exceeded 1.6 million, and the number of people leaving Australia was 1.38 million. In December 2022, 35,840 international students arrived in Australia, an increase of 6,630 students compared to the same month last year. The number of students arriving in December 2022 was 7.4 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic level in December 2019. A total of 59,480 international students arrived in January, more than twice as many as in the same period last year. In the past year, Australia received 362,462 overseas student visa applications, far surpassing the previous records of 278,691 applications in 2018 and 276,183 in 2019. In 2022, the number of Australian student visa holders increased from 315,949 at the end of December 21 to 456,970 at the end of December 2022.

New Zealand AEWV spouses open work visa deal delayed

On February 27, New Zealand's Immigration Minister, Michael Wood, announced that employers would delay the implementation of the new rules for spouses to certify AEWVs until May 31. This means that by 31 May this year, you can apply for a spouse's open work visa, which allows your spouse to come to New Zealand and work for any employer, with no hourly wage requirement. However, after 31 May, a spouse who is not required to have a job in New Zealand will not be able to work for any employer after his/her spouse's visa is approved to enter the country. He/she can only work for an accredited employer with a minimum wage (median hourly wage $29.66).

03.Italy

The agriculture minister denied there were plans to bring in half a million legal migrants

The Italian government plans to introduce 500,000 legal immigrants in 2023, Italian Agriculture Minister Lolo Brigida told the media on February 28. But he has since denied that the government has a plan, saying that the 500,000 figure is the number of workers missing from a number of industries. Lolo Brigida told the media on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels on Monday that the Italian government has plans to introduce legal immigration. He said the introduction program could be completed through multilateral and bilateral agreements to support legal migration.

This could be an opportunity for those who want to come to Italy legally and safely. But after reports surfaced, he denied that the Italian government had any plans. He said 500, 000 refers to the number of workers Italy needs to bring into manufacturing, transport, agriculture and tertiary industries. He also stressed that cracking down on illegal immigration is more important now because illegal immigration is bad for legal immigration. Italy is not against immigration, it is against illegal immigration.

04.Domestic information

The National Immigration Administration's Immigration Management and Rule of Law Research Base was established in Beijing

A research base on the rule of Law in immigration management, jointly established by the National Immigration Administration and China University of Political Science and Law, was officially established at the university on Feb 26. Thirty experts and scholars from China University of Political Science and Law, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Northwest University of Political Science and Law, People's Public Security University of China, People's Police University of China, Zhejiang Police College and other well-known institutions of higher learning were recruited to become the first batch of experts in the expert database of Immigration Management Rule of Law Research Base.

Hong Kong lifts face mask ban

Hong Kong Chief Executive Li Ka-chiu announced on Monday that as the overall risk of the epidemic in Hong Kong is under control, Hong Kong will lift the "mask ban" on all places from March 1, and people will not have to wear masks indoors, outdoors or on public transport. Lu Pam-mau, Secretary for Medical Services and Health of the HKSAR government, also said on Monday that the lifting of the "mask order" represents the end of all social distancing measures and a full return to normal in Hong Kong.

Embassies in New Zealand, Thailand, Switzerland, South Africa, Hungary, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, etc

Starting from March 1, 2023 (local time), people on direct flights to China will be allowed to replace nucleic acid tests with antigen tests (including self-testing with kits).