Global Immigration: 2025 In Review

• Published date: 14 January 2026
• Law Firm: Clark Hill
• Author: Lisa Atkins, Alexander Witt, Greg Jansen and Josefina Botero

Clark Hill's Global Immigration practice guides corporate clients and individuals through complex global immigration challenges worldwide. We pride ourselves on creative, compliant and people-centered solutions - looking at global mobility from a wholistic perspective in an ever-changing immigration environment. Our team assists with short-term assignments, long-term relocations, consular processing, document procurement, document legalizations/apostilles, and business visas in 100+ countries worldwide.

Reviewing the major updates from 2025, we continue to see EMEA implementing tighter controls around immigration - specifically the entry and tracking of business visitors and tourists - while many countries are focusing on innovation and modernized processes to allow for faster visa issuance for skilled workers (to fill occupation shortages or secure new outstanding talent) and greater mobility.

Select a region to view the major updates from 2025.

Americas | EMEA | APAC

AMERICAS

Brazil

Change in Brazil's Visitor Visa Regime - Inclusion of Technical Assistance and Technology Transfer Activities:

On Oct. 08, 2025, The Brazilian Government published new regulations around what activities can be performed in Brazil on a visitor visa.

The scope of the visitor visa now expressly includes technical assistance and technology transfer activities.

This change simplifies certain short-term assignments of foreign nationals to Brazil. Previously the above activities would have required prior authorization and would have fallen under the VITEM V - Work visa.

Canada

Canada Releases 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan:

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have released its plan outlining detailed admission targets and substantial shifts in immigration strategy.

The Plan sets permanent resident admissions at 380,000 annually through 2028 and reduces temporary resident arrivals to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027-2028, with a goal of lowering Canada's temporary population to below 5% of the total population by 2027.

The biggest impact from Canada's 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan is that international student permits are significantly reduced, with annual intakes expected to fall from roughly 305,000 in 2025 to 155,000 in 2026 ' a 49% decrease.

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Suspends Express Entry: Skilled Trades Stream:

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has suspended the Express Entry: Skilled Trades Stream following a program review that identified systemic misrepresentation and compliance concerns related to eligibility criteria. These findings impact the OINP Director's ability to reliably assess whether applicants meet program requirements.

The program is currently considered high-risk and unable to support Ontario's labor market needs. As a result, the OINP director has:

• Stopped accepting new Skilled Trades Stream Applications and
• Initiated the return of all outstanding applications, with full refunds issued under Ontario Regulation 421/17.

The suspension highlights a growing focus across Canadian provinces on program integrity, fraud detection and responsible allocation of nomination spaces. Ontario's decision aligns with broader trends of enhanced verification and increased scrutiny of employer-supported and occupation-specific pathways.

EMEA

United Kingdom

Significant reforms to work routes:

Further changes to the UK immigration system were announced on October 14, 2025 by the Home Office. These were clarifications on reforms outlined in the Immigration White Paper released by the UK government earlier this year and they aim to reduce net migration, boost productivity and strengthen the UK economy by attracting highly skilled talent. We expect further updates to be released in the coming months.

Included in the reforms were:

• Increased Immigration Skills Charge for Employers;
• Higher Financial Requirements for Students;
• Reduced Graduate Visa Lengths;
• Expansion of High Potential Individual Route;
• New Entrepreneurship Pathway for Recent Graduates;
• Increased English Language Requirements;
• Continued transition to a digital immigration system;
• Botswana and Palestine Added to Visa National List.

Ireland

Reforms to Irish Citizenship eligibility and family reunification for non-EEA family members:

The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has updated the Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy to make the policy shorter and clearer to applicants.

Main changes to the policy include:

• Increasing the income requirements for sponsoring dependent adults;
• Extending the right to work to children aged 16-18, for certain permit holders; (General and Critical Skills Employment Permits);
• Reducing income requirements from two years to one year, to align with the existing one-year waiting period;
• Allowing dependent family members to transition to an independent permission earlier, assuming the sponsor naturalizes before the standard 5-year waiting period;
• Clarifying the existing Policy on how and when the Minister may waive certain criteria of the Policy in exceptional circumstances.

Spain

Elimination of Real Estate Golden Visas:

As of April 03, 2025, the Spanish government has officially abolished the option to obtain residency through property investment under the so-called "Golden Visa" program. Investors whose applications were submitted prior to the cutoff date (or who previously held a Golden Visa) retain their permits and may continue to renew them under the conditions in force at that time.

Comprehensive reform of the regular immigration law:

In May 2025, the Spanish Government implemented a comprehensive reform of its immigration regulation framework by putting into force the new RELOEX, approved in late 2024 under Real Decreto 1155/2024. The reform aims to streamline immigration processes, simplify bureaucratic procedures, and broaden legal pathways for residence, work, family reunification, study, and regularization. Among its main...