South African pair Johan van der Wath and Riki Wessels were unable to return because of problems with their working visas.

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If they don't, they usually grant working visas on condition of a job offer, in which case companies carry out their own recruitment process.

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Working visas to Hong Kong are tied to a job offer, which is only considered valid if there is difficulty in finding a local candidate.

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Lacking a koseki (household registration), foreigners on temporary visas working illegally can get no social services.

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The Shanghai Daily reported on Wednesday that the city is working to extend business visas of expats employed by multinationals.

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For the many east Europeans already working in London, either on student visas or illegally, prospects have become markedly better.

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U.S. tech firms successfully lobbied for the draft immigration bill to include caps on the number of foreign workers a U.S.-based company can employ on skilled-worker visas, according to lobbyists working for U.S. firms and another representing Indian outsourcers.

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To help take care of people like Ronnie, the U.S. government is offering 1, 000 special immigration visas over the next two years for Iraqis and Afghans working with U.S. forces.

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The center utilizes 6 different types of employment visas, most of which are for more than 200 visa holders working as postdoctoral fellows.

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