Immigration law
Immigration law refers to the national statutes, regulations, and legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country. Strictly speaking, it is distinct from other matters such as naturalization and citizenship, although they are often conflated. Immigration laws vary around the world, as well as according to the social and political climate of the times, as acceptance of immigrants sways from the widely inclusive to the deeply nationalist and isolationist. Countries frequently maintain laws which regulate both the rights of entry and exit as well as internal rights, such as the duration of stay, freedom of movement, and the right to participate in commerce or government.
National laws regarding the immigration of citizens of that country are regulated by international law. The United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mandates that all countries allow entry to their own citizens.
Control measures
To control immigration, many countries set up customs at entry points. Some common location for entry points are airports and roads near the border. At the customs department, travel documents are inspected. Some required documents are a passport, an international certificate of vaccination and an onward ticket. Sometimes travelers are also required to declare or register the amount of money they are carrying.Immigration law by country or territory
Immigration visa categories by country or territory
This section is an attempt to classify and bring together information about immigration legislation on a number of countries with high immigration.| Country or territory | Employer-Sponsored Work Visa | Independent Work Visa | Businessperson, Self-employed or Entrepreneur | Investor | Ph.D. or Scientist | Spouse | By birth | Studying as a migration route |
| Through H1B lottery, many applicants failed to receive a settlement after 6 years and had to leave the country. | EB-1 Extraordinary Ability – for internationally recognized scientists, sportsman etc. | EB-5: minimum investment of. | PhDs are generally allowed to apply for an employer-independent EB2 visa | Available | ||||
| Tier 2 – settlement after 5 years. A limit on number of Tier 2 migrants per year coming from outside the country was introduced by new government which makes it more difficult to find an employer willing to sponsor the visa if applying from outside the UK. | Tier 1 General – settlement after 5 years. A limit on 1000 Tier 1 migrants per year introduced by new government. Besides that the migration legislation changes on average every six months which makes Britain not attractive for skilled migrants looking for a second nationality. | Tier 1 Entrepreneur | Tier 1 Investor | There is no specific category here but it is easier for universities to acquire a Tier 2 sponsorship licence. | ILR is provided after 5 years in marriage or partnership and living in the country. | British citizenship can be obtained as a right for anybody who was born in the UK before 1983. After 1983, it can only be obtained by birth if at least one parent was settled there. It is also available as of right for people of whom one parent is a British citizen otherwise than by descent." All other classes of British Nationality do not confer right of abode in the UK to the holder. | Tier4 Full-time students at university education are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week. Others are allowed to work up to 10 hours per week. After 10 years of continuous presence in the country on residential visas ILR is provided. There is a cap on the duration of staying in the country on a student visa. | |
| Official information | Available but the number of jobs in demand have been reduced. | Federal skilled worker program | ||||||
| Available | Skilled Independent visa and Skilled Nominated visa | |||||||
| Available | ||||||||
| Corporate worker permit. | General work permit, Quota work permit, exceptional skills work permit and Intra-company transfer work permit. | Business permit. Minimum foreign capital investment ZAR 2,5 Million into book value of business which may be reduced on application. Minimum of 5 South African citizens/residents to be employed. | See Business permit. | No specific category. May fall under Exceptional Skills or Quota work permit. | Spousal visa. Proof of cohabitation and shared finances. | Not applicable. Children born in South Africa to foreign nationals will obtain the same status as their parents. | Study is viewed in isolation in relation to the course of study. No benefits obtained promoting continued stay. | |
| Similar to British Tier1 General, but does not lead to EU nationality | Similar to British Tier1 Entrepreneur, but does not lead to EU nationality | |||||||
| If you have lived more than 5 years under a D-7, D-8, D-9, E-1, E-2, E-3, E-4, E-5, E-7 or F-2 visa. | If you have internationally recognized extraordinary ability in science, business, culture, sports or education. | If you are over 60 and receive income via pension from overseas. | If you invest $2 million. If you invested only $500,000, you need to stay more than 3 years on a D-8 visa. If you invest $500,000 in real estate of Jeju, Incheon Free Economic Zone, Busan's Haeundae, Pyeongchang or Yeosu, you are given a F-2 residence visa and 5 years later, F-5 permanent residence. | If you have a Ph.D. in a high-tech field and are employed by a Korean firm, earning 4 times the average GNI in Korea. If you only have a bachelor's in a high-tech field or a recognized technical certificate issued in Korea, you need to have stayed for at least 3 years and earn 4 times the average GNI in Korea. | If you have stayed in Korea for more than 2 years under a F-2 visa and are the spouse of a Korean or foreigner with a F-5 permanent residence visa. | If you were born to parents who are stateless or were found abandoned within the territory of South Korea as a child, you will automatically get Korean citizenship. | ||
| General Employment Policy ; will receive Right of Abode in Hong Kong, after 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong. | General Points Test | Capital Investment Entrant Scheme ; you need to invest HK$10 million except on real estate; will receive Right of Abode in Hong Kong, after 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong. | passing General Points Test within Quality Migrant Admission Scheme | Person under 21 years of age born in Hong Kong of foreigner with HK Permanent ID Card, will receive Right of Abode in Hong Kong, but not Chinese nationality. | ||||
| Not available | ||||||||
| Varies by member state | See Blue Card | |||||||
| May be available in the future, called Rot-Weiß-Rot-Card | ||||||||
| It is considered to be very unlikely to get nationality through work route | Not available | |||||||
| Not available | ||||||||
| Available: Danish Green Card | ||||||||
| Not available | ||||||||
| Not available | ||||||||
| Not available | Available | |||||||
| Highly-skilled migrant' visa: available only for employers to apply on employee's behalf. Employer must be recognized as a sponsor by IND. Specific salary requirements apply. | label=none visa: a one-year visa available to all students who recently graduated from a university or a college. No other requirements. | A visa is available for self-employed people. Granting of such is determined based on innovative nature of your business, which must be assessed by a certain agency. | Citizenship or permanent residency can be applied for after 3 years in marriage or partnership with a Dutch national and living in the country. | No provision to grant citizenship based on country of birth is available. At least one parent must be a Dutch national. Prior to January 1, 1985, child's father must have been Dutch for the child to get Dutch citizenship. | ||||
| Not available | ||||||||
| Min 4 years | ||||||||
| Country or Area | Employer Sponsored Work Visa | Independent Work Visa | Businessperson, Self-employed or Entrepreneur | Investor | Ph.D. or Scientist | Spouse | By birth while both of parents are foreign nationals | Studying as a migration route |
| Country or Area | Illegal Migrant | Special arrangements |
| Green Card Lottery | ||
| After 20 years of continuous illegal but proven presence in the country ILR is provided. | Treaty nationals may enter the UK to work, provide services or self-employment or study or reside there as self-sufficient migrant. Some commonwealth citizens have right of abode in the UK, which, for most practical purposes, gives them the same rights as British Citizens in the UK. | |
| Arrest, detention, court to decide on outcome. | ||
| If you previously had Korean nationality or either of your parents or grandparents had Korean nationality in the past, you are immediately eligible for a F-4 visa, a practically permanent residence visa that is renewable every 2 years. If the Korean government recognizes that you made an important contribution to the nation, you are eligible for F-5 permanent residence. | ||
| Mainland China issued a daily quota of 150 One Way Permits to mainland Chinese for Hong Kong settlement; will receive Right of Abode in Hong Kong, after 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong; plus the right to apply for a HKSAR Passport. | ||
| Law of Return | ||
| There are programs for :de:Kontingentflüchtling|Continental Refugees and :de:Spätaussiedler|Repatriates but the rules are severely tightened to prevent as little new migrants as possible to benefit from them. | ||
| After 5 years of continuous residence and sufficient integration. | ||
| Special arrangements for citizens of Moldova | ||
| Citizens of other Nordic Council countries may naturalise after a two-year residence |
General guidelines by country or territory
| Country or territory | Requirements and restrictions | Employed dependants | Social benefits | Deprivation of nationality | Forgoing other nationalities required for naturalization? | Deprivation of original nationality for those who naturalise in foreign countries? |
| The dependant of a resident visa holder may not work. | No | No, but foreign earnings are liable to taxation. | ||||
| Before settlement: No more than 180 days spent overseas within 5 years, no more than 90 days per trip. After settlement: Settlement would be cancelled after a certain number of days spent abroad. A single parent may immigrate if one is the sole supporter. | The dependant of a resident visa holder is allowed to work. | Before settlement: No access to public funds. After settlement: Accessible. | Dual nationals may be deprived of their nationality for engaging in terrorism. | No | No | |
| No | ||||||
| Yes, unless citizenship obtained by Law of Return | ||||||
| Yes, unless the prior nationality held was one of the European Union, Norway, or Switzerland; or if the applicant cannot approach the authorities of their previous country for reasons of personal safety. | Yes, unless the nationality acquired is one of the EU, Switzerland, or Norway; or if the applicant obtained permission from the German government prior to submitting an application for naturalisation. | |||||
| Yes | ||||||
| Legitimately naturalised persons can be deprived of their nationality. | Yes, unless the applicant cannot approach the authorities of their previous country for reasons of personal safety, or if the authorities demand a fee considered too high. | Yes | ||||
| Yes | No | |||||
| Yes | ||||||
| Yes | Yes | |||||
| Yes | ||||||
| Yes | Yes | |||||
| Yes |