Singapore - Strengthening Singapore's Position as a Global Hub for Talent / Enhanced Work Pass Framework

The Ministry of Manpower, together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Communications and Information, have announced enhancements to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global hub for talent.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE

READ THE FACTSHEET ON WORK PASS FRAMEWORK ENHANCEMENTS

Singapore - Get a quick overview of the Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass

Get a quick overview of the Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass which is valid for 5 years. Details on application process will be released closer to 1 January 2023.

READ MORE HERE

Denmark - New guidelines regarding bookings for preliminary permits

Appointments for preliminary permits must be booked the day before.

SIRI’s regional offices receive a large number of bookings for preliminary permits for quick job start under the Fast Track scheme, and the bookings are often made on very short notice.

READ MORE HERE

Japan moving to allow individual tourists in again

The Japanese government is moving to start accepting overseas tourists who do not want to take guided tours in a bid to address a decline in the numbers of foreign travelers visiting Japan.

READ THE NEWS HERE

Singapore - All travellers entering Singapore from 29 Aug 2022 no longer need entry approvals

All travellers entering Singapore from 29 Aug 2022 no longer need entry approvals.

For Short-Term Visitors and Long-Term Pass holders entering before 29 Aug 2022, entry is generally disallowed unless an Entry Approval is obtained for compelling reasons. 

Travellers may apply for entry approval by clicking on the appropriate application form below. 

Approvals are given on a case-by-case basis, which includes your ability to fulfil the conditions of entry.

READ MORE HERE

Vietnam - Foreign firms required to store users' data in Viet Nam

Foreign firms shall be required to store users' data within Vietnamese territory and set up local offices, according to the Government's Decree No. 53/2022/ND-CP scheduled to take place from October 1, 2022. 

READ MORE HERE

BLACKPINK - ‘Pink Venom’ M/V

<Pink Venom> MV dropped today!

BLACKPINK, BLACKPINK

BLACKPINK, BLACKPINK

Kick in the door, waving the coco

팝콘 이나 챙겨 껴들 생각 말고

I talk that talk, runways I walk, walk

눈 감고 pop, pop 안 봐도 척

One by one, then two by two

내 손끝 툭 하나에 다 무너지는 중

가짜 쇼 치곤 화려했지

Makes no sense, you couldn't get a dollar outta me

자 오늘 밤이야 난

독을 품은 꽃

네 혼을 빼앗은 다음

Look what you made us do

천천히 널 잠재울 fire (Fire)

잔인할 만큼 아름다워

I bring the pain like

This, that pink venom

This, that pink venom

This, that pink venom

Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em

Straight to ya dome like woah, woah, woah

Straight to ya dome like ah, ah, ah

Taste that pink venom

Taste that pink venom

Taste that pink venom

Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em

Straight to ya dome like woah, woah, woah

Straight to ya domе like ah, ah, ah

Black paint and ammo, got bodies like Rambo

Rеst in peace, please light up a candle

This the life of a vandal, masked up and I'm still in CELINE

Designer crimes or it wouldn't be me, ooh

Diamonds shining, drive in silence, I don't mind it, I'm riding

Flying private side by side with the pilot up in the sky

And I'm wilding, styling on them and there's no chance

'Cause we got bodies on bodies like this a slow dance

자 오늘 밤이야

난 독을 품은 꽃

네 혼을 빼앗은 다음

Look what you made us do

천천히 널 잠재울 fire (Fire)

잔인할 만큼 아름다워

I bring the pain like

This, that pink venom

This, that pink venom

This, that pink venom

Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em

Straight to ya dome like woah, woah, woah

Straight to ya dome like ah, ah, ah

Taste that pink venom

Taste that pink venom

Taste that pink venom

Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em

Straight to ya dome like woah, woah, woah

Straight to ya dome like ah, ah, ah

원한다면 provoke us

감당 못해 and you know this

이미 퍼져버린 shot that potion

네 눈앞은 핑크빛 ocean

Come and give me all the smoke

도 아니면 모 like I'm so rock and roll

Come and give me all the smoke

다 줄 세워 봐 자 stop, drop

I bring the pain like

Brra-ta-ta-ta, krra-ta-ta-ta

Brra-ta-ta-ta, krra-ta-ta-ta

Brra-ta-ta-ta, krra-ta-ta-ta

Straight to ya, straight to ya, straight to ya dome like

Brra-ta-ta-ta, krra-ta-ta-ta (BLACKPINK)

Brra-ta-ta-ta, krra-ta-ta-ta (BLACKPINK)

Brra-ta-ta-ta, krra-ta-ta-ta (BLACKPINK)

I bring the pain like

Taiwan to ease rules for last four days of arrival COVID-19 protocol

Travelers arriving in Taiwan will face slightly less restrictive protocols on where they can stay starting Sept. 1, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced Monday.

After entering Taiwan and remaining in quarantine for the standard three days, travelers will be allowed to spend the four-day "self-initiated epidemic prevention" period on a one person to a room basis, and will not need permission to change locations, the CECC said. 

READ MORE HERE

New Zealand - Tax incentives to boost long-term rental supply

• Tax changes aimed at growing quality, secure rental supply

• New and existing build-to-rent developments exempt from interest limitation rules in perpetuity, when offering ten-year  tenancies

• Exemption to apply from 1 October 2021.

The Government is encouraging more long-term rental options by giving developers tax incentives for as long as the homes are held as long-term rentals, the Housing Minister Megan Woods has announced. 

READ MORE HERE

UAE issues new reporting requirements for real estate transactions

The Ministry of Economy (MoE) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), in partnership with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), have announced the introduction of new reporting requirements aimed at certain real estate transactions conducted in the UAE. 

READ MORE HERE

US - CHIPS and Science Act Will Lower Costs, Create Jobs and Strengthen Supply Chains

• Micron is announcing a $40 billion investment in memory chip manufacturing, critical for computers and electronic devices, which will create up to 40,000 new jobs in construction and manufacturing. This investment alone will bring the U.S. market share of memory chip production from less than 2 percent to up to 10 percent over the next decade.

• Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries are announcing a new partnership that includes $4.2 billion to manufacture chips in an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York facility. Qualcomm, the leading fabless semiconductor company in the world, announced plans to increase semiconductor production in the U.S. by up to 50 percent over the next five years. 

READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE

HKSAR - Government announces adjustments to quarantine arrangements for inbound persons

After reviewing the latest data, the Government announced today (August 8) enhanced isolation and quarantine arrangements for inbound persons. The testing arrangements will also be correspondingly adjusted.

According to Government surveillance data, since the addition of the Day 3 nucleic acid test in early July in designated quarantine hotels (DQHs) during the quarantine period, about 80 per cent of imported cases were detected by the first two nucleic acid tests upon arrival at Hong Kong (i.e. "test-and-hold" at the airport and the Day 3 test in DQHs), among which some 50 per cent were detected by "test-and-hold" at the airport. As the overall positive case detection rate among inbound persons after the third day of quarantine in DQHs is lower than the positive case detection rate in the local community, mandating a longer period of DQH quarantine for the purpose of detecting a small number of imported cases is neither cost-effective nor precise and targeted, causing unnecessary disruption to travellers. 

READ MORE HERE

READ THE PRESS TRANSCRIPT HERE

Scotland - Planning permission required for Edinburgh’s short-term let conversions

A measure to help maintain the availability of long-term residential housing in Edinburgh has been approved.

Edinburgh will become Scotland’s first designated Short-Term Let Control Area after the Scottish Government approved the City of Edinburgh Council’s proposed change to planning requirements. 

READ MORE HERE

New Zealand’s border fully open to visitors and students

• New Zealand’s international border opens to all visitors, including from non-visa waiver countries, and international students from 11:59PM, 31 July 2022.

• Cruise ships and recreational yachts able to arrive at New Zealand ports.

31 July's evening marks the final step in the Government’s reconnecting plan, with visitors from non-visa waiver countries and international students able to apply for a visa to enter New Zealand, announced Tourism Minister Stuart Nash and Immigration Minister Michael Wood.

READ MORE HERE