The EU Talent Pool is a free online platform, built and run by the European Commission, that will match employers in participating EU countries with non-EU citizens who live outside the EU and work in one of 42 shortage occupations, from nurses and software developers to welders, cooks and lorry drivers. The regulation behind it … Read more
Sweden’s work permits now carry a salary floor of 90 percent of the national median wage, and extension applications filed from 2 December 2026 will face it too. For applications received since 16 June, the line is SEK 34,470 a month, based on a median of SEK 38,300. People whose permits were granted before 1 … Read more
Japan’s Employment for Skill Development (ESD) program is scheduled to start on 1 April 2027, replacing the Technical Intern Training Program with a three-year route into the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa. The government announced on 23 January 2026 that it will accept up to 1,231,900 foreign workers through the end of fiscal 2028, which ends in … Read more
Where a right to disconnect exists in law, it takes one of at least five forms: a duty on employers to negotiate a policy (France, Belgium), a ban on after-hours contact (Portugal), a worker’s right to refuse it (Australia), a duty to write a policy (Ontario), or a code with no legal force (Ireland). Which … Read more
In France, the Netherlands, the UK and Australia, an employer cannot pull your criminal record on its own. You apply for the certificate yourself and decide whether to hand it over, and what it shows depends on the country: a French extract lists only the most serious convictions, a Dutch certificate is a pass or … Read more
the age range at 18 to 35 inclusive and allows two participations, each in a different category. The working holiday category is for stays of up to 12 months, and the permit cannot outlast the passport. Applicants need health insurance, at least CAD 2,500 for expenses, a return ticket or the money to buy one, … Read more
Employers in Ontario with 25 or more employees have had to state in public job ads whether they use AI to screen, assess or select applicants since January 1, 2026. The EU’s hiring-specific AI rules now start on December 2, 2027, after a delay, and South Korea’s AI Basic Act has applied since January 22, … Read more
Five Asian jurisdictions run a formal route that lets a recent graduate stay on to look for work: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. They differ on three points that matter more than the headline length of stay: whether the graduate may work during the search, whether the degree has to come from … Read more
For more than seventy years, a foreign worker’s legal status in Saudi Arabia was tied directly to a single employer, the kafeel, who controlled whether that worker could change jobs, leave the country, or even hold onto their own passport. That system, known as Kafala, was formally replaced in June 2025 with a contract-based employment … Read more
Labor shortages in several major economies have pushed governments to open or expand work visa programs for foreign workers in 2026. The scale varies, and so do the requirements. Some programs target university graduates. Others are built for technical or vocational workers with no degree at all. None of them are simple, and details change … Read more