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25 Oct 2026
New Zealand graduate work visa

New Zealand Graduate Work Visas Change on 16 November

Categories Study Abroad, Visa Updates, Work Permits

From Monday 16 November 2026, the New Zealand graduate work visa options change: a new Short-Term Graduate Work Visa opens and the government widens eligibility for its Post Study Work Visa, with applications for both made through Enhanced Immigration Online. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) announced both changes. The new visa gives six months of open work rights, and the wider Post Study Work Visa now reaches more graduates holding diplomas, postgraduate diplomas and master’s degrees.

Contents

The Short-Term Graduate Work Visa

INZ says the new visa gives graduates six months of open work rights to look for work and, where suitable, move to an Accredited Employer Work Visa. Eligible graduates hold a New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) Level 5 to 7 qualification, studied full-time for at least 24 weeks in New Zealand, that is not an English language, foundation or bridging course and does not already qualify them for a Post Study Work Visa. They need at least NZ$5,000 available to support themselves, a medical certificate and chest X-ray where required, and must never have held a Short-Term Graduate Work Visa or Post Study Work Visa.

The visa allows work under an employment agreement or contract for services but not business ownership. It cannot be extended or granted a second time. Holders cannot support a partner’s work visa or a dependent child student visa, although partners and children may apply in their own right.

Wider Post Study Work Visa eligibility

For the longer visa, INZ lists these groups as benefiting from 16 November: graduate diploma (Level 7) holders who also hold a bachelor’s degree, postgraduate diploma (Level 8) graduates who may receive a one-year visa, and master’s (Level 9) graduates who may receive a three-year visa. Postgraduate diploma and master’s applicants need at least 30 weeks of full-time study in the qualification the visa is based on. Transferred credits, cross-credits and recognition of prior learning do not count toward the master’s for this purpose.

Only one Post Study Work Visa can be held per person. Holders can support partners and dependent children on visitor, work or dependent child student visas, if the requirements are met.

Filing windows and cut-offs

The Short-Term Graduate Work Visa must be applied for within three months of the student visa expiring. INZ’s own example is that a student visa which expired before 16 August 2026 would not qualify when applications open. Law firm Clark Hill’s September APAC recap adds that paper Post Study Work Visa applications end, with those filed by 15 November 2026 still processed. Treat that detail as the law firm’s reading and confirm it on the INZ site.

A worked example

Consider a hypothetical graduate. Maricel is a Filipino graduate finishing a Level 7 qualification that does not lead to a Post Study Work Visa. Under the new rules she could apply for the six-month visa within three months of her student visa ending, use that time to find an employer, and then explore an Accredited Employer Work Visa. She would need her funds evidence and medical documents ready before she applies. A neighbouring example: our report on Australia’s student visa changes shows how quickly neighbouring countries are reshaping post-study options.

What to do before 16 November

Check your qualification level and study length against the INZ lists, note when your student visa expires, and gather proof of funds and health documents. Create your Enhanced Immigration Online login in advance. If you are comparing study destinations, the visa eligibility checker can help you weigh post-study options before you pay tuition deposits.

New Zealand graduate visa questions

These answers rely on the INZ announcements cited above.

When does the Short-Term Graduate Work Visa open?

Applications open on Monday 16 November 2026 through Enhanced Immigration Online, according to Immigration New Zealand.

How long does the visa last?

Six months with open work rights, per INZ.

Can I get it twice or extend it?

No. INZ says holders cannot apply for a second visa or extend the first.

Who gets the three-year Post Study Work Visa?

Master’s (Level 9) graduates who meet the 30-week full-time study requirement in the master’s itself.

How much money do I need?

INZ says at least NZ$5,000 available to support yourself for the Short-Term Graduate Work Visa.

Can I run a business on this visa?

No. INZ says work must be for an employer under an agreement or contract for services, and business ownership is not allowed.

Sources

25 Oct 2026
Netherlands master's scholarships

Netherlands Master’s Scholarships for 2027: Key Deadlines

Categories EU, Netherlands, Scholarships, Study Abroad

Two Dutch universities have Netherlands master’s scholarships for September 2027 with deadlines on 1 February 2027, and the steps before that start earlier. VU Amsterdam’s Fellowship Programme covers tuition and its Studielink registration is advised by 1 December 2026. Maastricht University runs a separate NL High Potential Scholarship. Both are aimed at students from outside the EU and EEA, and both require admission to a master’s programme first.

Contents

VU Amsterdam Fellowship Programme

According to VU Amsterdam, the programme covers tuition fees only, with no allowance for rent, food or insurance. A small number of recipients also receive a one-off NL Scholarship of €5,000 toward first-year living costs, from roughly 20 to 25 available a year. Applicants need a non-EU/EEA passport, no Dutch nationality, and a bachelor’s GPA equivalent to a Dutch 8.0 on the 1 to 10 scale. They must be admitted, conditionally or unconditionally, to a full-time English-taught master’s starting in September 2027. February starts and joint programmes where VU does not run admissions are excluded.

The dates are firm. Studielink applications open on 1 October 2026 with an advised deadline of 1 December 2026. The fellowship application opens on 1 November 2026 and closes on 1 February 2027 at 23:59 CET. Results are expected in mid-March 2027, and offers must be accepted by the end of March. Meeting the GPA minimum only gets an application processed and does not guarantee an award.

Maastricht NL High Potential Scholarship

Maastricht University lists the scholarship on its own scholarship page for students from abroad. We could not read the full 2027-28 terms there, so the details below come from a third-party summary on Scholars4Dev and should be checked against the university before you apply. That summary reports 21 awards of up to €36,000 per academic year, a scholarship application deadline of 1 February 2027, a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher, a maximum age of 35 on 1 September 2027, and no earlier degree-seeking study in the Netherlands. It also gives conflicting admission deadline dates, one of which looks like a typo for 10 December 2026, so confirm the admission cut-off with Maastricht directly.

Order of steps

The sequence matters because both schemes require admission before the scholarship application. Register for your programme in Studielink, receive conditional admission, then submit the scholarship form with transcripts. Each form can only be submitted once, so gather the documents first and read the instructions twice. Our report on the Erasmus Mundus joint master’s deadlines covers a parallel European route with similar timing.

A worked example

Consider a hypothetical applicant. Linh is a Vietnamese engineering graduate with a strong transcript who wants a one-year master’s in Amsterdam. She would register in Studielink before 1 December 2026, wait for conditional admission, prepare her transcript with a clear explanation of the grading scale, and submit before 1 February 2027. If she is selected, tuition is covered but she would still need to budget for housing and living costs, unless she receives the NL Scholarship contribution.

Choosing between them

The two schemes differ in what they pay for, so read the terms before assuming either covers living costs. The VU programme is described by VU as tuition-only. The Maastricht summary reports a larger package, but that comes from a non-official source. Funding of this kind is competitive, so applying to more than one university is reasonable, as long as each application follows its own rules. Students weighing the UK instead can read our guide to the Clarendon Scholarship at Oxford. If you are unsure which visa and study route fits your profile, try the visa eligibility checker.

Dutch scholarship questions

When is the VU Fellowship Programme deadline?

The fellowship application closes on 1 February 2027 at 23:59 CET, according to VU Amsterdam. The advised Studielink deadline is 1 December 2026.

Does the VU programme pay living costs?

No. VU says it covers tuition only. A few recipients also receive a one-off €5,000 NL Scholarship.

Who can apply?

Students with a non-EU/EEA passport and no Dutch nationality who are admitted to a full-time English-taught master’s starting in September 2027, with a bachelor’s GPA equal to a Dutch 8.

What is the Maastricht scholarship deadline?

A third-party summary gives 1 February 2027 for the scholarship. Confirm this and the admission deadline with Maastricht University.

Do I need admission before applying?

Yes, for VU you must be conditionally or unconditionally admitted before submitting the fellowship application.

When are VU results announced?

VU expects results in mid-March 2027, with offers to be accepted by the end of March.

Sources

25 Oct 2026
USCIS deference proposal

US Proposes Ending Deference on Work Visa Extensions

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates, Work Permits

The USCIS deference proposal is the US Department of Homeland Security’s plan to end the rule that tells US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to defer to prior approvals when it reviews work-visa extensions. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on 14 October 2026 and would delete 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5). It is only a proposal: the current deference rule stays in force unless and until DHS issues a final rule. Public comments close on 13 November 2026.

In this report

What DHS proposes

Under the current regulation, when USCIS decides an extension petition on Form I-129 involving the same parties and the same facts as an earlier approval, it generally defers to that earlier decision. The exceptions are a material error, a material change, or new material information that hurts eligibility. DHS says removing the provision places the burden of proof squarely on the petitioner and leads to a fuller review. Officers could still consider a prior approval where relevant, but it would carry no automatic weight.

Law firm Manifest Law, in its summary of the proposal, lists H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and E classifications among the extensions that could be affected. Eligibility standards for each category would not change. What changes is how much an officer may rely on what was already decided.

DHS’s own estimates

The figures below come from DHS’s notice and should be read as the agency’s claims, not independent findings. DHS says about 208,429 Form I-129 petitions a year, out of roughly 688,830, were eligible for deference on average between fiscal years 2022 and 2025. It estimates the change would raise the rate of requests for evidence (RFEs) by 2.9 percentage points, or about 6,044 additional RFEs a year, and says it found no corresponding change in denial rates. It puts added cost to petitioners at about $133,987 a year.

Manifest Law reports that DHS justifies the change partly with worksite-inspection data, citing fraud or noncompliance findings of 22.4% for H-1B extensions in fiscal years 2022 to 2025, against 16.8% in fiscal years 2018 to 2020 when deference did not apply. Those are DHS’s numbers, presented by an agency that has an interest in the outcome.

Who could be affected

The people most exposed are those on a long-running status with the same employer. Consider a hypothetical example. Arjun is an Indian software engineer on an H-1B whose employer files for a three-year extension with the same job duties. Today, USCIS would normally treat the first approval as the starting point. Under the proposal, an officer could ask him to prove again that the role is a specialty occupation, even though nothing changed. Employers and workers from every country use these categories, so the proposal is not specific to any one nationality.

What changes for employers and workers

The practical effect is likely to be more paperwork and more waiting. A timely filed extension can generally allow continued work while it is pending, and the regulation on work authorization sets limits on how long that lasts. A longer review leaves less of that window. Manifest Law’s advice is to file complete petitions with initial-level evidence and not to assume a prior approval will carry the case.

The proposal also arrives alongside other tightening on the same classifications. Tamara News has tracked the H-1B $100,000 fee extension and the proposed $70,000 OPT fee. If you are planning a move to the US on a work route, the visa eligibility checker can help you compare routes before you commit.

What happens next

Comments must be submitted through Regulations.gov under docket USCIS-2026-0529 by 13 November 2026, before midnight Eastern time. DHS must then review them before it can finalise, change or withdraw the proposal. The proposed text, as summarised by Manifest Law, does not explain how pending petitions would be treated at the effective date, so that is a question to watch in any final rule.

Questions on the deference proposal

Is deference to prior approvals already gone?

No. The proposal is not final. The current rule remains in effect until DHS issues a final rule.

When is the comment deadline?

13 November 2026, through Regulations.gov under docket USCIS-2026-0529.

Which visas could be affected?

Form I-129 extensions, including H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and E classifications, where the parties and facts match an earlier approval.

How many petitions does DHS say are eligible for deference?

DHS estimates about 208,429 a year, based on a fiscal 2022 to 2025 average.

Will approval standards change?

No. The eligibility criteria for each classification stay the same. The proposal changes how much weight a past approval carries.

What should employers do now?

File complete extension petitions with fresh evidence and plan for possible requests for evidence, rather than relying on a past approval.

Sources

24 Oct 2026
Kuwait 15-year residency

Kuwait 15-Year Investor Residency: Reported Conditions

Categories Business, Citizenship, Immigration

Kuwait 15-year residency for investors allows eligible foreign investors in companies licensed by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) to hold residency for up to 15 years. KDIPA announced the framework on 14 June 2026, and EY reports that it also covers senior executives of licensed companies. The conditions are significant, so this is a route for established investors rather than a general visa.

In this explainer

What KDIPA announced

According to KDIPA, the Council of Ministers issued a resolution under Article 13 of Law No. 114 of 2024 on the Residency of Foreigners, covering foreign investors licensed under Law No. 116 of 2013 on the Promotion of Direct Investment. It allows eligible licensed investors to secure residency for up to 15 years. EY gives the resolution number as 651 of 2026, issued in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, while the KDIPA page’s own rendering of the number is unclear. Khaleej Times also reported the announcement as residency of up to 15 years for qualified foreign investors, immediate family, accredited senior executives and approved partners.

Reported conditions

KDIPA lists several conditions. The investment value must be no less than KWD 5 million, capital for approved investment activities no less than KWD 1 million, operations in Kuwait must be active, and the entity must meet a minimum employment requirement for Kuwaiti nationals. KDIPA does not give the required number of Kuwaiti employees, and its page does not describe application steps, documents or fees.

Who is covered

KDIPA names owners of licensed investment entities, partners, KDIPA-approved senior executives and eligible immediate family members, subject to prescribed conditions. It does not state how long executive or family permits last. EY says the residency is for investors and senior executives, and notes only that it covers granting and renewal across defined categories.

Consider a hypothetical case. Minh is a Vietnamese manufacturer who is weighing a KDIPA-licensed plant in Kuwait. Under the reported rules, his company would first need a KDIPA licence, meet the capital and investment thresholds, and show Kuwaiti employment. Only after that could he or approved executives seek the long-term residency. A residency-first plan would not work, because the permit is tied to the licensed company.

What is not yet clear

EY says an effective date is not stated on the page we read, and its full tax alert was not available to us. KDIPA does not set out fees, documents or timelines. Anyone planning around this should ask KDIPA and Kuwaiti immigration authorities for the current process rather than relying on summaries, including ours.

How it compares in the Gulf

Kuwait joins other Gulf states offering longer residency for investors and executives. Our guides cover Qatar’s 10-year residency for founders and executives and Dubai’s golden visa figures, and our note on Oman free-zone rules for foreign investors. Each programme has different thresholds and conditions, so compare them on the capital you can commit and the staff you plan to hire. If you are choosing a jurisdiction for a new company, our company formation page sets out options.

Kuwait residency questions

How long is Kuwait’s investor residency?

KDIPA says up to 15 years for eligible licensed investors.

When was it announced?

KDIPA announced the framework on 14 June 2026.

What are the investment thresholds?

KDIPA lists an investment value of no less than KWD 5 million and capital of no less than KWD 1 million for approved activities.

Are executives covered?

EY says senior executives in KDIPA-licensed companies are covered, and KDIPA names approved senior executives. Their permit length is not stated.

Do I need Kuwaiti employees?

KDIPA lists a minimum employment requirement for Kuwaiti nationals, but does not give the number.

What are the fees and steps?

They are not described on the KDIPA page we read. Ask KDIPA or the Ministry of Interior.

Sources

24 Oct 2026
FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting

FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Rule: What Foreign Founders Must Know

Categories Business

FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting for companies formed in the United States is permanently over, but foreign companies that register to do business in a US state can still have to report. FinCEN issued its final rule on 11 August 2026, and it took effect on 14 August, according to Greenberg Traurig. For founders outside the US, the answer depends on where the company was formed.

At a glance

What the final rule does

According to BDO, the rule (RIN 1506-AB67) makes permanent the relief from beneficial ownership reporting for US companies under the Corporate Transparency Act. It adopts the interim final rule of 26 March 2025 without substantive changes. Greenberg Traurig adds that US companies and US persons are permanently exempt, that FinCEN will delete information previously reported about individuals it reasonably believes are US persons, and that US persons who applied for FinCEN IDs need not update their original information.

Who still reports

Foreign legal entities that registered to do business in a US state or Tribal jurisdiction by filing with a secretary of state or similar office may still qualify as reporting companies, according to both firms. Greenberg Traurig says such entities may need to report beneficial ownership information about their foreign owners. Several entity types are exempt, including some public companies, banks, securities brokers and dealers, insurance companies, and registered investment companies and advisers, so each foreign entity should check the criteria. Foreign companies generally do not need to report US persons, and are exempt from reporting US persons who are company applicants.

Deadlines

BDO says foreign reporting companies must file within 30 calendar days after receiving notice that their US registration is effective, and that transition rules applied to foreign entities registered before the interim final rule was published. Neither article gives penalty amounts, so we do not state any. Foreign individuals must still report changes to information submitted for their FinCEN IDs, according to Greenberg Traurig.

What it means for founders

Consider a hypothetical case. Priya is an Indian founder with a company formed in India that plans to register in a US state to sell there. That structure is a foreign entity registering to do business, so it is the type the sources say may still report. A founder who instead forms a new company under US state law would be a domestic company under the rule as the firms describe it. The structure, not the founder’s passport, drives the answer, so confirm your facts with a US adviser. Tamara News does not give legal advice.

Practical next steps

List where each entity was formed and where it is registered. Check the exemption list against your business. Note the 30-day clock from the date a US registration becomes effective. Keep records of ownership in case banks, partners or states ask for them, since reporting relief at the federal level does not remove other transparency rules, such as the UK identity verification deadline at Companies House or the beneficial ownership rules we described in our Vietnam company formation guide. If you are weighing jurisdictions for a new company, see our company formation service, and use FinCEN’s own page at fincen.gov/boi for official updates.

Beneficial ownership questions

Is beneficial ownership reporting over for US companies?

Yes. According to BDO and Greenberg Traurig, FinCEN’s final rule permanently exempts US companies and US persons.

When was the final rule issued?

FinCEN issued it on 11 August 2026 and it became effective on 14 August 2026, according to Greenberg Traurig.

Do foreign companies still report?

Foreign entities registered to do business in a US state may still qualify as reporting companies, according to both firms.

What is the filing deadline?

BDO says foreign reporting companies file within 30 calendar days after notice that their US registration is effective.

Do foreign companies report US owners?

BDO says foreign companies generally do not need to report beneficial owners who are US persons.

Where do I check for updates?

FinCEN publishes updates on its beneficial ownership information page. Take advice from a US lawyer for your own structure.

Sources

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