The new president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, has announced the future implementation of compulsory exams aimed at migrant workers. Once the presidential decree comes into force, foreign employees, with the exception of highly skilled professionals, will have to prove their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history, and the basics of Russian legislation in order to work in Russia.

The Ukraine has opened a consulate in Dubai responsible for providing consular services to six out of the country’s seven emirates. The consulate accepts visa, citizenship, legalization as well as document procurement applications.

Failure to consider all immigration and labor issues during the period of a foreign assignment can leave a company liable for penalties. Due to the often changing regulations, less vigilant employers often find themselves without adequate oversight of immigration compliance.

A short-term work permit may be an option for non-EU foreigners intending to work in Hungary for a period of less than 90 days while remaining on a foreign payroll.

The government of Slovakia has introduced new requirements for non-EEA foreigners in an attempt to boost the employment of Slovak nationals and reduce the country’s growing unemployment rate. The labor office published the regulations internally in February 2012, however, the rules have only been brought in practice since 1 April, 2012.

The Federal Migration Service has started the strict enforcement of a regulation which requires Highly Qualified Professionals (HQP) to submit work permit extension requests no later than 30 calendar days before the work permit expiration.

Following the decision of the Macedonian government, nationals of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine may enter Macedonia without a visa between March 15, 2012 and March 15, 2013. The allowed period of visa-free stay for the purpose of tourism or business is limited to 90 days within 180 days from the first day of entry into the country.

Saudi Arabia plans to introduce a new tracking system to monitor the payment of employee’s salaries. The system is to be launched in May 2012 and it will keep track of foreign workers as well as Saudi employees, ensuring that their monthly salaries are transferred to their bank accounts in line with the terms specified in their employment contracts.

Russian immigration authorities have canceled the requirement for foreigners to complete HIV tests at state clinics, thereby revoking legislation introduced in July, 2011.

Effective 1 April, 2012 foreigners applying for new residence permits or renewing expiring residence permits for the Emirate of Dubai must register for a national ID card as part of their immigration procedure.