IELTS One Skill Retake now available in India; Sri Lanka introduces Digital Nomad Visa; Madrid exempts non-EU doctors from Spanish Nationality clause

IELTS One Skill Retake now available in India: Indian test takers preparing to take International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the world’s most popular English language test, can now access a new feature to help attain the score they need to achieve their global learning and career goals. Now available in eligible IELTS Computer Delivered test centres in India, IELTS One Skill Retake (OSR) enables test takers to retake any one of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing or Speaking) if they did not achieve their desired score in that skill they aimed for the first time around. This feature is currently available for test takers who have opted for the Computer Delivered IELTS test.

IELTS OSR is currently available only for Australia. IDP plans to launch it for other countries soon, according to a release by IDP, co-owner of the IELTS.

Test takers who choose an IELTS One Skill Retake will receive a second Test Report Form (TRF) with their new score that can be used for migration and study. Depending on their score, test takers can choose whether they would like to use their old or new TRF for the skill they retook.

“IELTS One Skill Retake, which is available for both Academic and General IELTS, gives test takers in India a new option and increased flexibility as they get their plans on track. It is currently available across all 47 IELTS on Computer centres in the country,” Piyush Kumar, Regional Director – South Asia and Mauritius, IDP Education, said.

Sri Lanka introduces Digital Nomad Visa: Following the footsteps of several European countries, Sri Lanka has introduced a Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) that will allow foreign nationals to work remotely.

Under the Digital Nomad Visa programme, applicants are required to demonstrate a minimum monthly income of $2,000, which must be channelled through the Sri Lankan banking system. This visa is renewable annually, subject to certification of the requisite funds.

Requirement: 

·      Passport  valid for 6 months or more to enter Sri Lanka

·      Work remotely as an employee, business owner, or freelancer earning income from abroad

·      The minimum income requirement is US$2,000 which must be deposited into a Sri Lankan bank account

·      The application fee for the DNV is set at $500, and it encompasses the visa holder’s spouse and dependents.

·      You must have international health insurance with coverage in Sri Lanka for the duration of your stay

·      Documents to prove the purpose of your trip. This could be contracts of employment or hotel reservations.

·      Proof of your financial means.

Non-EU doctors exempt from Nationality clause in Madrid: Madrid, the capital of Spain, has announced that from now on doctors from non-European Union (EU) countries will be able to work in Madrid without being required to have Spanish nationality. The non-EU doctors will be exempt from the mandatory Spanish-nationality clause for three years.

The relaxed rules come in the wake of severe shortages in various sectors in Spain, specially the healthcare sector.

Previously, it was mandatory for foreign doctors in Spain to have their qualifications recognised by the government through the administrative process known as homologación. The time to have the qualifications processed goes up to several weeks, and foreign doctors have to wait for months before being able to sit in the MIR public health examination.

Finland warns against sending personal data by regular mail: In view of rampant email fraud, the Finnish Immigration Service has asked applicants to refrain from sending personal data related to their residence permit applications, (such as their date of birth, passport number, bank account statements and payslips) via regular mail.

“Never send your personal data via email that is not encrypted. If you receive email from us, keep in mind that all email messages sent by the Finnish Immigration Service come from an address that ends with @migri.fi”, Finland’s official immigration website states.

Start using the secure Enter Finland service for your application matters available on migri.fi, the official website for information on residence permits, citizenship and asylum matters.  You can take care of most permit matters with the Finnish Immigration Service via the Enter Finland service. Fill in an application, submit your important attachments and pay the processing fee of your application through the service’s secure connection. Using Enter Finland is often faster than using email.

If you cannot use Enter Finland, use a secure email service. If you must send an email with personal data, use their Securemail Service mail that opens in a new tab that encrypts your message. For technical and information security reasons, we only open email messages sent via the Finnish Immigration Service’s Securemail service.

Only send the message once – the department processes messages in the order they arrive.