In Costa Rica, the deadline for employers to regularize the immigration status of workers who come to the country to work in agricultural activities was extended until October 22.
The decision was made not to extend the decree that allows employers to regulate the immigration status of workers who come to Costa Rica to work in agricultural activities.
The decree concerned is No. 42406-MAG-MGP and establishes that employers in the agricultural sector may regularize the immigration status of foreigners who entered the country between January 15, 2016 and January 15, 2020.
International labor mobility as an important factor in business competitiveness is being obstructed in Costa Rica by the inefficiency of the Department of Immigration.
EDITORIAL
Inefficiency is the right adjective to describe the management of the Department of Immigration and Alien Affairs, where"... there are more than 20,000 cases pending resolution."
A new edict orders procedures which are very similar to the "melting pot" held under previous administrations, in order to regularize the status of undocumented immigrants.
An article on Prensa.com reports that "...Decrees 167 and 168 issued on June 3, 2016 by the Executive for general regularization and also for migrants from China, respectively, have generated a debate about its resemblance to Decree 547 of July 22, 2012, whereby migratory regularization fairs known as the Melting Pot were created during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli."
The emigration of six out of seven Salvadorans who have studied for 12 years or more is removing a vital resource for economic performance, preventing improvements to labor productivity in the country.
Up until 2000, 85% of high school and college graduates with twelve or more years of education had migrated, reveals the study 'Measuring the international mobility of skilled workers'.
The government has asked the Assembly to return to the first legislative body a bill which eliminates the immigration fairs and to start discussions to establish a migration code.
At the request of the executive branch, "... The document was dropped from second to first debate, "arguing that it had to go back for review and take into account the considerations of the business sector, particularly the hotel industry and businesses linked to the Colon Free Zone.
"... Some of the professions reserved for national citizens are chemical engineering and petrochemicals, careers which are not offered by any university in Panama. "
EDITORIAL
Acting as a backdrop to the contradiction between migrant's human right to work and the need to reserve jobs for nationals, is the upkeep of competitiveness and economic development of each country.
The increasing international mobility of "business travelers" does not have adequate regulation in terms of taxes or migration.
From Deloitte Costa Rica’s Tax Column:
Considerations for business travelers
By: Mr. Diego Padilla Duran
Junior consultant
From 2013, the Directorate General of Immigration will be taking measures for a more efficient implementation of the sanctions provided for in Article 33 of the General Law of Immigration, Law No. 8764. According to these rules, the sum of one hundred dollars in U.S. currency ($ 100) will be charged for each month of illegal stay in the country to people who do not meet the requirements of the law in this area.
The government created the temporary resident subcategory by decree for the Panama Canal expansion projects.
The proposed new temporary resident category means that "parents, spouses and children under 18 and up to 25 years old, as long as they are studying on a regular basis, may be claimed as a dependents if they are economically dependent on the temporary resident," according to what was published in the Prensa.com website.
Costa Rica and Panama will have to import about 300,000 workers over the next few years to ensure the harvest of their agricultural products and the modernization of the Panama Canal, an official from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says.
The IOM director for Mexico and Central America, José Pirés, said these countries will have to import workers from Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba or Brazil to meet the demand for workers.