Onboard Residency
Verified news on rule changes that affect our programmes, and on the alternatives they can be compared with. Every item carries two dates: the day of the event and the day of publication.
News
Latvia's new Immigration Law entered into force on 15 September 2026. Temporary residence permits can no longer be granted on the basis of buying property or investing in subordinated liabilities of credit institutions.
The US Department of State has made the bond for business and tourist visas permanent through a final rule. How a country grants citizenship is one of the criteria for choosing the countries concerned.
Because of EU security standards, Hungarian permanent residence cards issued between 3 August 2016 and 2 August 2021 to third-country family members of EEA citizens and of Hungarian citizens lost their validity on 3 August 2026. Those affected must apply for a different Hungarian residence status.
The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) has published its figures for the first half of 2026. From January to June, 66,078 Golden Visas were issued.
In April 2026 the Commission still planned to launch ETIAS, the EU travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, in the last quarter of 2026. In July several outlets reported that the launch may slip to 2027.
The European Commission has written to the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia, asking them to phase out their citizenship-by-investment programmes by 1 June 2028. The states concerned have agreed on coordinated diplomatic action.
On 6 July 2026 the Permanent Immigration Observatory (OPI) of the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration published its analysis of the residence documents issued to foreign nationals in 2025. The total number of documents issued rose, but the number of non-lucrative residence permits and of permits under Law 14/2013 fell.
On 26 June 2026 the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) updated its annual data series on foreign citizens residing in Hungary. On 1 January 2026, 252,290 foreign citizens were residing in the country, compared with 255,443 a year earlier. By purpose of stay, gainful activity remained the largest group, but the numbers residing for studies and for settlement continued to grow.
The Hungarian Government has ended new applications for guest-worker residence permits by decree. According to the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (OIF), the application rules for residence permits issued for other purposes have not changed.
On 4 June 2026 the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in Case C‑147/24 Safi. Answering a question from the court in The Hague, the Court held that a third-country national mother of an EU citizen child cannot be refused a derived right of residence merely because she has a right of residence in another Member State.
The Croatian Parliament has adopted amendments to the Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima). The changes mainly affect students, seasonal workers and holders of a residence and work permit.
Portugal has amended its nationality law. Nationals of countries that are neither in the EU nor Portuguese-speaking now need ten years of legal residence for naturalisation, instead of the previous five.
Croatia's Ministry of the Interior has amended the rulebook on the residence of third-country nationals. When a family member joins a digital nomad, a bank account can be submitted as proof of means of support.
Three property-linked residency services are moving from the Dubai Land Department to the immigration directorate's system. The aim is to let customers handle their matters through one channel.
At the Schengen area's external borders, passport stamps have been replaced by a digital record. The change affects non-EU travellers on short stays. If you hold a residence permit issued by a country that operates the EES, the system does not register you.
Archive
