United States: Greece Joins Visa Waiver Program

Greece has become a member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced. DHS estimates that, in about 30 days, Greek citizens should be able to begin using the program to make short trips for business or tourism visits without the need to obtain a visa, provided that they meet program requirements.

Source: Fragomen

Ireland: Finance Bill 2010

The Department of Finance issued its 2010 Finance Bill on 4 February 2010. Many of the measures contained in the Bill reflect the announcement made by the Minister last December during his annual Budget Speech to Parliament. However the Bill has provided clarification on a number of provisions in addition to introducing some new legislation.

Source: Sterling

Costa Rica: New Immigration Law Takes Effect

The new Costa Rican immigration law came into effect on March 1, 2010. Among other changes, the new law requires all residence and work permit applicants to submit proof that they have registered with the Costa Rican Social Security Administration, imposes new penalties on foreign nationals who remain in Costa Rica beyond their authorized period of stay and significantly increases fees for initial and renewal residence applications.

European Global Mobility Challenges 2010 Survey Report by Interdean

At the beginning of 2010, Interdean commissioned a survey on the challenges facing organisations operating international relocation programmes out of Europe.

The first of its kind, the survey was completed by 137 companies with relocation programmes managed out of Europe.  The report provides insight into their priorities, identifying trends across the European region and a breakdown by member states and zones.  The report also provides a comparison of the priorities of large relocation programmes against those of smaller volume relocation programmes.

Top 5 Priorities for the European relocation programmes

It will come as no surprise to you to learn that cost control topped the list of priorities for the majority of companies involved.

In fact, across the companies questioned in the survey, 82% of all respondents defined controlling costs as a high priority for their organisations for 2010, and it’s interesting to note that it was controlling costs that was a priority rather than cutting costs. A key challenge identified by the HR and Mobility professionals that responded, related to managing costs against fluctuations in currencies, housing prices and rental costs.

Regional Variations Defy Cultural Stereotypes

Priorities between different regions within Europe varied more considerably than expected with the results making interesting reading.

Large Vs Small Relocation Programmes

Amongst the findings, businesses operating larger volume relocation programmes were more focused on issues relating to refining and improving the performance of their relocation programmes, whilst smaller relocators were more likely to prioritise cost control measures.

Read the full report:

http://www.interdean.com/PanEuropean_Mobility_Challenges_2010_Survey_Report/index.html

Source: www.interdean.com

Poland, Warsaw: Work Permit Delays

Work permit processing times for Warsaw, Poland have doubled from thirty to sixty days due to new filing procedures that took effect at the beginning of the year.

U.K. and Follow up on Statement of Practice 01/09

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the U.K. has announced that legislation will not be introduced until the 2011 Finance Act concerning (this legislation would have replaced Statement of Practice 01/09 regarding resident but not ordinarily resident taxpayers).  SoP 01/09 will now apply for the U.K. tax year ending 5 April 2011, with one amendment regarding joint accounts.  This amendment will apply to all qualifying bank accounts for periods on or after 6 April 2009.

Jamaica Has New Tax Rates

The new tax-free threshold for taxpayers in Jamaica is $441,168 per annum.  Additionally, since that date, a progressive tax system has been in effect.  Also, the standard rate of General Consumption Tax (GCT) was increased from 16.5 percent to 17.5 percent.

EU Social Security Regulations Update

On 1 March 2010, initial guidance1 was released by the U.K.’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on the practical implementation of the new European Union (EU) social security rules, effective 1 May 2010, as contained in Regulations (EC) 883/2004, 987/2009, and 988/2009.2 It is expected that in the coming weeks HMRC will issue further comments in the form of frequently asked questions and that the social security authorities in other member states will issue their practical guidance.

Expatriate spouses: what do they want?

Every time an expatriate employee returns home before completing his or her assignment, their employer loses $1 million. That’s on average – it could be more. HR makes a major contribution to the bottom line if even one expatriate assignment ‘failure’ is averted.