What changed, and what it means

What changed

New Zealand's Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has announced final changes to the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) Resident Visa and Work to Residence visas. These changes start on 24 August 2026. Most people applying for an SMC Resident Visa will now only need to meet one wage rule. This rule will be set at the wage they earned when they started their skilled work experience, or when their work visa was granted if they started work within five months. This gives them more certainty. People applying for Work to Residence visas (Care Workforce and Transport) will also use the wage rule from their work visa grant date. New evidence rules include needing a bachelor's degree to support some Level 8 or 9 qualifications. Points for bachelor's degrees and accredited qualifications will increase from 3 to 4. The rule that required 120 credits for overseas Trades and Technician qualifications has been removed. Self-employment will no longer count as relevant work experience for the new Trades and Technician and Skilled Work Experience pathways. The meaning of 'genuine employment' for all skilled residence visas has been made clearer. It now means job offers must be 'available and ongoing' and show a 'genuine need to be based in New Zealand'.

What changed

The Trump administration proposed a new rule. This rule would officially set the H-1B work visa fee at $103,265 for each application in the United States (US). This proposal was published in the US Federal Register. Last year, a temporary fee of $100,000 was put in place. Courts blocked this temporary fee, and it will end in September. If this new rule becomes final after a 30-day public comment period, it will greatly increase the cost of H-1B visas. H-1B visa fees historically cost between $2,000 and $5,000. This change would affect foreign workers and employers in areas like technology, education, and research.

What changed

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants to add a fee of $103,265 for all H-1B cap-subject petitions. This includes petitions for people with advanced degrees that are exempt from the usual cap. This new fee was announced on 24 August 2026. You would pay it when you file the petition, along with other fees you already pay. DHS believes this fee will raise about $8.8 billion each year. This money would help cover the federal government's costs to run the legal immigration system. The fee will apply to employers and people who file H-1B cap-subject petitions. It will not apply to petitions that are not subject to the cap. Examples include petitions from non-profit research groups and universities, which are exempt.

What changed

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) gave a 30-day notice about a new request for information. This request is for 'Requests for DOJ Certification Letters for T Visa Holders'. The notice came out on 17 August 2026. People can give comments until 16 September 2026. The Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is sending this request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This must happen under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 30-day notice follows an earlier 60-day notice for the same new collection. It shows that the approval process for collecting this information is moving forward.

What changed

Belgium will start new rules for people who work across its borders. These rules begin in August 2026. The old rules were from 1981. They are now being updated. Under the new rules, people who live in Germany, France, Luxembourg, or the Netherlands and work across the border in Belgium can use their Annex 15 permit for 12 more months. This is a grace period. After this, they must follow the new rules. People who work across the border from the United Kingdom can no longer enter Belgium with an Annex 15 permit. They must apply for a long-term (D) visa. They must do this at the Belgian Embassy in London. A D visa is a visa for stays longer than 90 days, often for work or study.

What changed

The Tasmanian Skilled Migration State Nomination Program for 2026-27 will start accepting new Registrations of Interest (ROIs) on 17 August 2026. Invitations will begin weekly on 20 August 2026. This programme year has 2,050 nomination places. This includes 1,250 places for subclass 190 and 800 places for subclass 491. Key changes are: new priority attributes with clearer words and scoring. This scoring better recognises people who contribute to Tasmania for a longer time. The TSE Gold attribute now requires working at least 30 hours per week. Income attributes now match Australian median and average earnings. The service fee for nomination applications has increased to $387.00, or $425.70 including Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Subclass 491 Overseas Skilled Occupation Profiles - Invitation Only Pathway is stopped for this year.

What changed

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security changed a rule. This rule affects how long I-visa holders can stay. I-visa holders are foreign journalists and people who work for foreign news groups. Before, most I-visa holders could stay for the time their work required. This was called "duration of status." Now, most I-visa holders will get a set stay of up to 240 days. Journalists who have a passport from the People's Republic of China, but not Hong Kong or Macau, can only stay up to 90 days. People can ask for more time through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

What changed

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) completed a rule change. This rule expands a special fee, called the 9/11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee. This fee now applies to requests for H-1B and L-1 visa extensions. It affects specific large employers. The fee is $4,000 for H-1B requests. It is $4,500 for L-1 requests. This fee applies to employers that have 50 or more employees in the U.S. Also, more than 50% of these employees must be H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B visa holders.

What changed

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has published new guidance. This guidance is about English language levels for people applying to immigrate. It first came out on 8 January 2026. It was updated on 7 August 2026. The update on 7 August 2026, added how to prove English skills using a degree taught in English. It also updated the rules for people applying on the Skilled Worker route and the Scale Up route. This guidance applies to people making different immigration applications. These applications must meet an English language rule. This rule is set out in the Immigration Rules Appendix English Language.

What changed

The UK Global Talent visa now allows over 100 new research companies to help international researchers come to the UK. These companies include AstraZeneca and JLR. This change helps bring top scientists and engineers to the UK. They will work on breakthroughs in clean energy, life sciences, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This supports the UK's plan for industry. This change adds to other changes made in April that made it easier for academics to get visas quickly. The government also plans to expand the Future Technology Research and Innovation (FTRI) scheme. This scheme uses the Government Authorised Exchange visa route.

What changed

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), a part of the Department of Labor (DOL), is updating the minimum wage rates. These rates are called Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR). They apply to foreign workers who come to the U.S. temporarily or seasonally for agricultural jobs. These workers are called H-2A workers. The rates also apply to similar U.S. workers. Employers must pay these rates. This stops employers from lowering wages and working conditions for U.S. workers.