Sweden - Update: New Policy on Minimum Salary Requirements for Foreign Workers

Swedish authorities now allow taxable allowances and benefits received by foreign workers to be included in addition to their base pay as part of their salary for purposes of complying with minimum salary requirements in Sweden. Authorities have since clarified that daily living allowances may also be included, but only for intracompany transferees, and not for foreign workers hired directly in Sweden.

Daily living allowances paid to intracompany transferees may be included in their salary amount to meet minimum salary requirements, Swedish authorities have clarified. However, these allowances are not included in the salary amount of foreign workers hired directly in Sweden to meet the minimum salary requirements.

The Swedish immigration authorities recently changed their policy on salary requirements for foreign nationals working in Sweden. When calculating salaries for purposes of complying with minimum salary requirements, taxable allowances and benefits can be considered along with base pay. The cumulative salary amount must meet or exceed the minimum required salary for the occupation as determined by the Swedish Migration Board and the applicable employee trade union.

In preparing this alert, Fragomen worked closely with Bird & Bird Advokat KB (Sweden). The content herein is provided for informational purposes only.

If you have any questions regarding this alert, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.

Source: Fragomen

Ireland: New Program for Foreign Workers Who Have Lost Their Status

Ireland has created a new program for foreign nationals who were once lawfully present in Ireland pursuant to an employment permit but have since fallen out of lawful status through no fault of their own. Eligible applicants may apply for a four-month temporary residence permit to allow them time to become eligible and apply for a new employment permit. Interested foreign nationals must submit applications before December 31, 2009.

The Irish Nationalisation and Immigration Service recently announced the creation of a new temporary residence program for certain foreign national workers who currently lack lawful immigration status. To qualify, foreign nationals must have previously held an employment permit and lost their lawful status through no fault of their own. The new program will be of use to foreign nationals whose current or former employer failed to timely apply for a permit renewal, for example, or to foreign nationals who may not have met the renewal criteria when the application was filed. This new program is only available through the end of this year. Applications must be submitted before December 31, 2009.

To qualify for the new program, applicants must demonstrate that (1) the circumstances in which their employment permit was not renewed were outside of their control; (2) they have not lost their employment due to a lay-off; (3) they will not be an unreasonable burden on Irish resources; and (4) they will not engage in any criminal or other behavior contrary to public policy. Applicants who are unemployed may qualify for the program, which is intended to allow individuals to secure employment. However, if an applicant is currently working for an employer that is willing to file an employment permit application on his or her behalf, this fact will help their case.

Qualified applicants will receive a four-month temporary residence permit that will allow them to become eligible and apply for a new employment permit. This four-month period will be evidenced by a stamp in the applicant’s passport and a certificate of registration. The four-month period may not be extended. If a foreign national is unable to secure an employment permit during the four-month validity period, he or she would be required to leave Ireland.

Note that the new program is targeted at a limited group of foreign nationals who held valid green card employment permits or regular work permits. Individuals who previously held other statuses or who fell out of lawful status due to other circumstances do not qualify under this program. For example, foreign nationals who have been laid off do not qualify. However, as previously reported, there is a separate new program for laid off foreign nationals. Individuals who are already subject to a deportation or transfer order are also specifically excluded from the terms of this new program.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.

Sweden: New Policy on Minimum Salary Requirements for Foreign Workers

Sweden recently changed its policy on salary requirements for foreign nationals working in Sweden. Taxable allowances and benefits provided to foreign workers can now be included in addition to base pay when calculating a foreign worker’s salary for purposes of complying with minimum salary requirements in Sweden.

The Swedish immigration authorities recently changed their policy on salary requirements for foreign nationals working in Sweden. Taxable allowances and benefits received by a foreign worker – in addition to his or her base pay – can now formally be included as part of the foreign worker’s salary. This cumulative salary amount must meet or exceed the minimum required salary for foreign workers in Sweden as determined by the Swedish Migration Board and the applicable employee trade union. Daily living allowances cannot be included in the salary amount to meet the minimum salary requirements in Sweden.

Previously, allowances and benefits could only be considered part of the foreign worker’s salary in the discretion of the Swedish authorities. Generally, a foreign worker’s base salary, exclusive of allowances and benefits, was assessed by Swedish authorities when determining whether her or his salary complied with the minimum salary requirement.

Under Swedish law, the terms and conditions of a foreign national’s employment in Sweden, including wages, must be consistent with Swedish collective bargaining agreements or, if there is no collective bargaining agreement, with prevailing wages in the relevant business or industry.

In preparing this alert, Fragomen worked closely with Bird & Bird Advokat KB (Sweden). The content herein is provided for informational purposes only.

If you have any questions regarding this alert, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.

Canada: Proposed Regulatory Changes for Temporary Foreign Workers Program

The government of Canada recently proposed regulatory changes to its Temporary Foreign Workers Program. If approved, the proposed regulations would impose new restrictions on employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers. Note that these proposed regulatory changes must be adopted by Canadian authorities before they can take effect. Fragomen is monitoring these developments and will issue updates as they become available.

Under the proposed changes, temporary foreign workers would be limited to a cumulative maximum of four years of work in Canada, which would be followed by a period of at least six years during which they could not be authorized to live or work in Canada. Certain workers, such as those who intend to perform work pursuant to international agreements, would be exempt from the limit. In addition, Canada’s labor authority would be required to introduce a validity period for Labor Market Opinions. If a potential foreign worker failed to apply for work authorization within that validity period, the employer would then need to obtain a new Labor Market Opinion.

The proposed regulations would also establish a set of factors for adjudicating the genuineness of an employer’s offer of employment to a proposed foreign worker. Employers would have to meet these factors in order to sponsor temporary foreign workers. Most notably, these factors would include past compliance by the employer, and any recruiters or agents acting on the employer’s behalf, with federal and provincial laws that regulate employment or the recruitment of employees.

Lastly, employers could face new sanctions for failing to comply with Temporary Foreign Workers Program requirements. When applying for a Labor Market Opinion or work authorization, employers could be investigated by Canada’s labor or immigration authorities. If an employer were found to have provided a previous temporary foreign worker with significantly different wages or working conditions than were originally offered or employed the worker in a significantly different position than originally described, the employer could have its ability to sponsor foreign workers suspended for two years. Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the country’s immigration agency, would publish on its public website a list of employers that are ineligible to use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

If you have any questions regarding this alert, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to canada@fragomen.com.

United Arab Emirates: New Wage-Payment System to Affect Employers of Foreign Workers

Under the United Arab Emirates’ new Wages Protection System, certain employers will be required to pay their workers through a UAE financial institution rather than directly. Employers will also have to pay wages at least once a month and meet specified payment deadlines. Employers that are not registered with the Ministry of Labour, such as those operating in one of the UAE’s Free Trade Zone, will not have to participate in the new system.

Certain employers in the United Arab Emirates must soon pay their employees’ wages and salaries through a new electronic salary transfer program called the Wages Protection System (WPS). Under the WPS, employers will no longer be able to pay their workers directly. Employers will transfer wages to a UAE financial institution, such as a bank, which will in turn transfer the wages to the appropriate workers. In addition, employers will have to meet certain payment deadlines. The WPS will allow UAE authorities to monitor salaries and wage payments throughout the private sector, and failure to comply may lead to sanctions. Note that the WPS will only apply to employers registered with the Minister of Labour; therefore, employers operating in one of the UAE’s Free Trade Zones will be unaffected.

The WPS took effect on September 1, 2009, but employers have a period of time in which to phase in their compliance based on the number of workers they employ. Employers with 100 or more employees must participate in the WPS by November 30, 2009; those with 15 to 99 employees by February 28, 2010; and those with fewer than 15 employees by May 31, 2010.

To participate in the WPS, an employer must first be registered with the UAE Ministry of Labour. The employer then chooses a UAE financial institution to act as its registered agent under the WPS. The employer will then upload information about its workforce, its salaries, and its registered agent into the WPS electronic system. The agent will make arrangements with the individual workers regarding the receipt of their wages.

Under the WPS, employers must make pay wages at least once a month. Depending on when the employer plans on paying its wages, it must then meet specified payment deadlines. Compliance with these deadlines will be monitored by UAE authorities. There will be a dedicated office within the Ministry of Labour that works on the WPS.

Employers that fail to register with the WPS or that fail to transfer the correct salary amounts on time may be blocked from filing future work permit applications until they comply with the WPS procedures. Repeat offences may lead to a permanent bar from filing work permit applications. In addition, employers that provided false information regarding wages may face civil or criminal fines.

The content of this alert is for information purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to middleeast@ae.fragomen.com.

Source: Fragomen