Australia - New citizenship application fees from 1 July 2023

From 1 July 2023, new citizenship application fees will apply. Fees are increasing to reflect the cost of processing applications. On 1 July each year, indexation will be applied to citizenship application fees based on the consumer price index (CPI).

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New Zealand - Simplified path to residency for skilled workers

• No cap on highly skilled workers
• New six-point system to give certainty to migrants on their eligibility
• Clearer criteria and faster pathway to residence for highly skilled people
• Extension of Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) to five years and introduction of five-year maximum continuous stay AEWV

The Government is making changes to the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) as part of the immigration rebalance, to help businesses attract workers to fill skill shortages, Minister of Immigration Michael Wood announced.

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Denmark: Replacing residence cards for third-country family members to EU-citizens with permanent residence

You may need to have your residence card replaced, if you are a third-country citizen (i.e. a citizen in a country outside of the EU/EEA and Switzerland) with permanent residence in Denmark as a family member to an EU-citizen. 

This is due to new safety requirements for residence cards. This means that some residence cards will no longer be valid in either 2023 or 2026.

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Singapore: Aperian Global part of Inclusively Asia' Inclusive Careers Fair 2023

Does supporting a worthy cause for the underrepresented population sound interesting to you? Meeting new people? Spending a Saturday differently as you would for any Saturdays?

If yes, READ ON.......

Aperian Global is proud to be a part of Inclusively Asia’s Inclusive Careers Fair (ICF) 2023 last Saturday June 17 at WeWork in Singapore. 

ICF is a Pink Fest signature event, supported by big names such as venue sponsor WeWork with supporting sponsors Dyson, Nomura and Standard Chartered Bank. Some of the participating organisations included Expedia Group, NBC Universal, Netflix, Unilever and Airbnb.

Inclusively Asia is a social enterprise dedicated to social equity for diverse underrepresented groups in Singapore and across Asia by promoting inclusive employment and business practices.

While ICF is a free open registration event, there were 6 heavily discounted ticketed Confidence Classes among a slew of program activities. 

Aperian Global's Team Up confidence class explored the wider context of cultural perceptions leveraging our GlobeSmart Profile (GSP), to take a closer look at our own cultural work style to enhance cultural agility. 

Schengen visa: Political agreement on digitalisation of visa application

The Commission welcomes political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council allowing for the digitalisation of the Schengen visa procedure.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE

New Zealand - New Online forms for visa transfers and Parent Resident Visa expressions of interest

Immigration New Zealand have launched 2 new online forms to make both transferring a visa to a new passport, and expressing interest in applying for the Parent Resident Visa easier.

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Japan Mulls Introducing “Digital Nomad” Visa

The government is considering introducing a special visa for so-called digital nomads who work remotely while traveling around the world.

Eying the increasing number of countries in Europe and elsewhere that have launched digital nomad visas, the government hopes to boost consumption among foreign visitors to Japan by creating a convenient environment in which high-skilled workers can stay in the country.

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Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam (Official Video)

Kylie is back to reclaim her Dancing Queen's tiara, <Padam Padam> into your summer! Not exactly "Can't Get You Outta My Head", but definitely "Padam Padam" enough to be one of the hottest dancing track of this summer to get you on the dance floor!

Japan to subsidize local chip plants for foreign firms / Micron reveals ¥500 billion Japan chip plan

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says his government will spend big to help foreign chipmakers bring more of their operations to Japan.

Kishida had a meeting on Thursday with executives from Taiwan's TSMC, South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology from the US, among others.

Micron said Thursday it will invest ¥500 billion to produce next-generation semiconductors in Japan, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held talks with some of the world’s biggest chipmakers.

READ THE NEWS HERE ON JAPAN SUBSIDIZING FOR FOREIGN FIRMS 

READ THE NEWS HERE ON MICRON REVEALING 500 BILLON YEN

New Zealand - The trustee tax rate will be aligned with the top personal tax rate of 39 percent from April 2024

The trustee tax rate will be aligned with the top personal tax rate of 39 percent from April 2024, improving the fairness of the tax system and reducing opportunities for high-income taxpayers to circumvent the top personal tax rate.

READ MORE HERE