The impact of “real life” on your immigration process

The impact of “real life” on your immigration process
An immigration procedure is never comparable to another: this is partly what makes an immigration expert’s work interesting, and which makes it quite essential to personalize as much as possible the accompaniment and management of each immigration file. A process that promised to be  “straightforward” may, due to various external factors, take longer or take a different turn. Here are some of the external “real life” factors that can impact your procedure!
 
1. Political events and bilateral political decisions
Immigration is an eminently political subject. Whether it is immediate repercussions such as border closures and/or closures to nationals of both countries, or long-term consequences such as the difficulty for nationals of both countries to obtain visas/work authorisations/work permits, the effects on immigration procedures are felt fairly quickly. Concrete example: this is the case for Russia currently – the European Union had clearly indicated that sanctions would be put in place, and it can be seen concretely that the processing of immigration files for Russian citizens may be slower than usual. Countries relatively often operate bilaterally in terms of immigration – if one of the two puts in place a measure considered as unfavorable to the citizens of the other, the response is often proportionate. Recent example with Brazil, which will re-impose from October a visa to citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan… since these countries have continued to require one from Brazilian citizens, despite the removal of this obligation by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019. Election periods can also be more complex periods in the management of an immigration file, since they can lead to impactful changes, as well as of course, disastrous periods following a natural disaster. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
2. Changes in legislation
Generally, changes in immigration legislation are known in advance and can be anticipated – it is then necessary to decide on the logistics of the file and decide whether to file it before the change, or to adapt to the new law. Concrete example: it is known and expected that in France, the SMIC ( minimal wage) is generally revalued at the beginning of the year. For a file prepared in December, it should be anticipated that the SMIC will have increased in January and that the salary data will have to be adapted to be accepted in January or later. However, when it comes to more subtle changes from more “local” authorities such as a Consulate, these changes are not systematically communicated and it may happen that one learns upon filing that an additional document must now be provided, or that such signature must now be authenticated. This can obviously cause a delay in the management of the file. ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
3. Holidays/ national holidays/ religious or cultural events
Events like summer holidays in Europe, Thanksgiving, February in Brazil because of Carnival, Chinese New Year,… .  can have an impact on the management of the immigration file, for the simple reason that the authorities operate at a slower pace: either because more civil servants are on leave, or because they are closed or observing modified schedules. Concrete example: an immigration request filed a few days before the start of Ramadan will generally be processed less quickly than at any other time of the year. ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
4. Computer bugs
More and more countries are digitizing immigration to facilitate its processing – inevitably, if the immigration management system encounters a problem for more than a few hours, the consequences on the timeline of the immigration file can be real. An immigration expert cannot resolve bilateral conflicts between countries or debug software but will still be able to warn when a more complex period is looming, and accordingly, offer you a suitable timeline! And you, what “real life” factors have had an impact on your immigration procedure? And you, what “real life” factors have had an impact on your immigration procedure? ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ For any questions/comments: oui@oui-immigration.com
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