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.[1]

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

Countries, citizenship, and articles on immigration law

Country or Area	Article	Citizenship	Retrospective changes to immigration law
US	United States nationality law	After 5 years of permanent residence.
United Kingdom	British nationality law	A foreigner may apply for naturalisation after having had indefinite leave to remain for one year in addition to 5 years of residency, or (treaty nationals) may apply after having been resident in the United Kingdom for 5 years.	It has been changed retrospectively in the past and likely to change retrospectively in the future.
Canada	Canadian nationality law
Australia	Australian nationality law
New Zealand	New Zealand nationality law
South Africa	South African nationality law	Citizenship may be applied for after 5 years of permanent residence.[2]
Guernsey
Jersey
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
South Korea	South Korean nationality law	If you meet the requirements for naturalization.
Hong Kong		Foreigner who is a Hong Kong Permanent ID Card holder may naturalise as a Chinese national with HKSAR Passport, if applicant: has settle in Hong Kong or Chinese territory; has near relatives of Chinese nationals; and/or other reasons deemed as legitimate.[3]
India	Indian nationality law	After 12 years of residence (of which 1 year should be continuous).
Israel	Israeli nationality law
European Union	Citizenship of the European Union
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg	Luxembourgian nationality law[4]
Malta
Netherlands	Dutch nationality law
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Singapore
Norway	Norwegian nationality law	Minimum 7 years.

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.

Regular immigration visa categories

Country or territory	Employer-Sponsored Work Visa	Independent Work Visa	Businessperson, Self-employed or Entrepreneur	Investor	Ph.D. or Scientist	Spouse	By birth (foreign national parents)	Studying as a migration route
US	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.[5]		EB-5: minimum investment of $500,000.	PhDs are generally allowed to apply for an employer-independent EB2 visa		Available
United Kingdom	Tier 2 – settlement (ILR) 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.	(practically not available since April 2011) Tier 1 General – settlement (ILR) 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 (as opposed to businesses) 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."[6] 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.
Canada	Official information[7]	Available but the number of jobs in demand have been reduced. (e.g. software engineers are now unable to use this route.)[8]			Federal skilled worker program
Australia		Available[9]			Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189)and Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
New Zealand			Available
South Africa	Corporate worker permit. [10]	General work permit, Quota work permit, exceptional skills work permit and Intra-company transfer work permit.[11]	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. [12]	See Business permit. [13]	No specific category. May fall under Exceptional Skills or Quota work permit.[14]	Spousal visa. Proof of cohabitation and shared finances. [15]	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.
Guernsey
Jersey
Gibraltar
Isle of Man		Similar to British Tier1 General, but does not lead to EU nationality	Similar to British Tier1 Entrepreneur, but does not lead to EU nationality
South Korea	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.[16]	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.[16]	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.[17]	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.[16]	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.
Hong Kong	General Employment Policy (GEP); will receive Right of Abode (ROA) in Hong Kong, after 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong.	General Points Test (GPT)		Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES); you need to invest HK$10 million except on real estate;[18] will receive Right of Abode (ROA) in Hong Kong, after 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong.	passing General Points Test (GPT) within Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS)[19]		Person under 21 years of age born in Hong Kong of foreigner with HK Permanent ID Card, will receive Right of Abode (ROA) in Hong Kong, but not Chinese nationality.[20]
India
Israel		Not available
European Union	Varies by member state	See Blue Card (European Union)
Austria		May be available in the future, called Rot-Weiß-Rot-Card
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus	It is considered to be very unlikely to get nationality through work route	Not available
Czech Republic		Not available
Denmark	Available: Danish Green Card
Estonia
Finland
France		Not available
Germany		Not available
Greece
Hungary
Ireland		Not available					Available
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands	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.[21]	Zoekjaar ('search year') visa: a one-year visa available to all students who recently graduated from a university or a college. No other requirements (e.g. sponsor/employer).[22]	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 (RVO).[23]				Citizenship or permanent residency can be applied for after 3 years in marriage or partnership with a Dutch national and living in the country.[24]	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.[25]
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain	Not available
Sweden	[26]		[27]
Singapore
Norway						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

Irregular/special immigration visas

Country or Area	Illegal Migrant	Special arrangements
US		Green Card Lottery
United Kingdom	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.
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa	Arrest, detention, court to decide on outcome. [28]
Guernsey
Jersey
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
South Korea		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.[29] If the Korean government recognizes that you made an important contribution to the nation, you are eligible for F-5 permanent residence.[16]
Hong Kong		Mainland China issued a daily quota of 150 One Way Permits to mainland Chinese for Hong Kong settlement;[30] will receive Right of Abode (ROA) in Hong Kong, after 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong; plus the right to apply for a HKSAR Passport.
India
Israel		Law of Return
European Union
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany		There are programs for Continental Refugees and Repatriates but the rules are severely tightened to prevent as little new migrants as possible to benefit from them.
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands		After 5 years of continuous residence and sufficient integration.[31]
Poland		[32]
Portugal
Romania		Special arrangements for citizens of Moldova
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Singapore
Norway		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?
US		The dependant of a resident visa holder may not work.			No	No, but foreign earnings are liable to taxation.
United Kingdom	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
Canada					No
Australia
New Zealand
Israel				[33]	Yes, unless citizenship obtained by Law of Return
Germany					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.
Ukraine						Yes
Norway				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
Russia					Yes	No
Azerbaijan						Yes
China					Yes	Yes
Denmark						Yes
Japan					Yes	Yes
India						Yes

See also

• Asylum shopping
• Refugee identity certificate
• Migrant worker
• Immigration policy
• Immigration regulations of New Zealand
• Immigration to the United States
• Impediment to expulsion
• Investment Migration

References

1. United Nations. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. art. 12(4).
2. "Permanent Residence Permit South Africa - Legal Migration Services". lissa.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
3. "Application for Naturalisation as a Chinese National - Immigration Department". www.gov.hk. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
4. "Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes // Le gouvernement luxembourgeois". mae.lu. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
5. "United States Visa: EB1 Green Card Priority Workers". Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
6. British Nationality Act 1981, s2(1)(a), subject to s14
7. "Working temporarily in Canada". Cic.gc.ca. 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
8. "Immigrating to Canada". Cic.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
9. "immi.gov.au". immi.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
10. "General Work Permit South Africa - LISSA - Legal Immigration Service SA". lissa.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
11. "Department of Home Affairs - Critical Skills Visa". www.home-affairs.gov.za. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
12. "Business VISA South Africa - LISSA". lissa.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
13. About Business Permits in South Africa Archived 2013-08-06 at the Wayback Machine
14. "Exceptional Skill for Scientists or PhD's in SA". Archived from the original on 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
15. Spouse Visa or Spouse Permit Archived 2013-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
16. "hsmgo2014님의블로그 : 네이버 블로그". blog.naver.com. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
17. "'영주권에 시세 차익은 덤?'…빈틈 많은 투자 이민제". 이데일리. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
18. FAQ New Amendments to the Rules for Capital Investment Entrant Scheme Archived 2012-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-02-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link); will receive Right of Abode (ROA) in Hong Kong, after 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong.
20. "Apply for Right of Abode in Hong Kong - Immigration Department". www.gov.hk. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
21. https://ind.nl/en/work/Pages/Highly-skilled-migrant.aspx
22. https://ind.nl/en/work/Pages/Looking-for-a-job-after-study-promotion-or-research.aspx
23. https://ind.nl/en/work/Pages/Self-employed-person.aspx
24. https://ind.nl/en/Pages/Exceptions-5-year-term-nationalisation.aspx
25. https://ind.nl/en/dutch-citizenship/Pages/by-birth-or-acknowledgement.aspx
26. "Working in Sweden – Migrationsverket". Migrationsverket.se. 2011-12-22. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
27. "Self-employed from countries outside the EU – Migrationsverket". Migrationsverket.se. 2012-02-21. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
28. All about South African Legal Immigration Service Archived 2013-09-12 at the Wayback Machine s
29. "Immigration Bureau". www.immigration.go.kr. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
30. "LCQ17: One-way Permit". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
31. https://ind.nl/en/dutch-citizenship/Pages/Naturalisation.aspx
32. Репатриация в Польшу. Новый закон о репатриации, права репатрианта в Польше – официальная информация (in Russian). Wiza.polska.ru. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
33. "Решение об отмене израильского гражданства и как с этим бороться". Pravo.israelinfo.ru. 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2012-04-01.

External links

• Citizenship Laws of the World – the most comprehensive although a little bit outdated report by United States Office of Personnel Management Investigations Service PDF, copy: PDF