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Established in 2010, the Dubai World Centre is one of the largest airports in the UAE  and saw a traffic of over 900,000 in 2017. Dubai Airports, its operator, reported that the airport received a 6.4 percent growth from 850,633 people in 2016 to 904,940 passengers in 2017. The Dubai World Centre received most of its traffic from Eastern Europe, a 168 percent increase from the last year. In 2017, 452,631 people from Eastern Europe entered the Dubai World Centre. Russia was the leader in statistics with a 955.4 percent increase in passengers from last year, totaling 279,100 passengers in 2017. Passengers from Western Europe also increased by 34.6 percent reaching a total of 94,452 in 2017. From Western Europe, most number of passengers were from Germany, totaling 41,671. Airlines that brought most of the passengers to The Dubai World Centre are Royal Flight, Wizz Air, Condor, Ural Airlines, and Azur Air. Freight volume also increased quite a lot between the two financial years, reaching the one million mark in 2017. 972,295 tonnes was carried into the airport in 2017, an increase of 8.3 percent from 2016. In the last quarter of 2017, 267,560 tonnes were carried into the airport, an increase of six percent from the last quarter of 2016. 34,198 flight entered and exited from the airport, a decrease of 11.6 percent from 38,670 flights. However, the number of seats per flight increased from 94 in 2016 to 129 in 2017. United Arab Emirates Over the past year, the UAE tourism has grown tremendously. The country was always popular among Indians but is gaining popularity among the Chinese as well. Best places to visit in UAE are Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Dubai Fountain, Jumeirah Mosque, and Jabal Ḥafeet. Source link

Things aren’t great between Hong Kong Beijing, and scared residents are moving to a safer Taiwan, Hong Kong’s neighbor. Hong Kong has been under China’s rule for almost two decades now and is a major financial hub for the Asian country. According to a Taipei news site, Hong Kong citizens migrate to Taiwan when there is political disturbance with China. Until December 2016, 71,263 inhabitants from Macau and Hong Kong were giving Taiwanese residency. On January 1, 2018, hundreds of citizens of Hong Kong protested against Beijing. Later in the same month, Hong Kong stopped a pro-democracy candidate from running in the elections. In return, China arrested a Hong Kong bookseller who has Swedish citizenship. Raymond Wu, managing director, political risk consultancy e-telligence from Taipei, believes that the number of immigrants will continue to rise. The count is increasing for the past few years, and it will continue to increase amidst the political drama. Hong Kong’s youth is against Beijing’s role in the territory’s legislative elections. Some are against the fact that citizens of mainland China are permitted to work and live in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s history Hong Kong was under British rule for 150 years until China took over in 1997. It was democratized in the 1980s. For long, China has tried to make Hong Kong a part of its country but decades of political leaders were successful in resisting it. Even the citizens prefer autonomy. Chu Kang-ming is a retired professor from Hong Kong who currently lives in Taiwan. According to him whenever there is uncertainty in Hong Kong, people leave the territory because Taiwan has a stronger freedom of speech. After studying in Taiwan, students from Hong Kong realize that the country is free and decide to stay back, making them one of the largest groups of immigrants in Taiwan. Source link

Qatar is soon planning to start the world famous visa-on-arrival program for 80 countries including India. The news was first reported by a British news agency, who said that visas will be given for 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days and are renewable. Hassan-al-Ibrahim, acting Chairman of Tourism Authority of Qatar, said that the visa-on-arrival program has made Qatar the most friendly country to travel to and encouraged citizens of the 80 countries to come visit soon. For Indians, the visa-on-arrival is valid for a period of 30 days and can extend the visa for another 30 days. The US, Canada, the UK, and Australia enjoy the same kind of benefits. It also means that they don’t have to pay for the visa upon arrival because it is given free of charge. The same is applicable for multiple entry visas as well. All the visa-on-arrival applicants have to show is their passport that has a minimum validity of six months and a confirmed return ticket. Akbar Al Baker, chief executive, Qatar Airways group, welcomed the move and said that it makes Qatar the most open country in the Gulf region. It is a monumental moment for the state and Qatar Airways is very proud of being a part of it. He said that the national airlines are extremely honored to bring millions of tourists into his beautiful country and are continually looking for opportunities to increase their contribution. Visa waiver program for Gulf countries In the near future, Qatar is planning to waive off visa requirements for residents of Gulf countries, which include the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait and also for western nations including the United States, Canada, and the UK. Residents and citizens of these countries will have to fill a simple online application minimum 48 hours before boarding the flight to inform the ministry that they will be coming. For More Updates Follow Us @Facebook Source link

Before matters started getting worse between Russia and the United States, Russians could get the US travel visa within a week. But now, Russians have to wait for a minimum of eight months, making them restless. It is too long to wait for a travel visa forcing Russians to give up on their dream of traveling to the United States. Mohamed Torky, executive chef, Holiday Inn, North Moscow, said that he is waiting for a miracle to happen. He hopes that maybe tomorrow the United States and Russia feel they want to be friends and the embassy will be staffed again and he’ll get his visa. Torky has planned a trip to the United States in July 2018 because he wants to visit Las Vegas and eat steak in Texas. It was his dream to ride a Ford Mustang on American highways, but because of the tension between Moscow and Washington, he will have to settle for a trip to Egypt or Georgia. Torky is furious because Putin or Trump doesn’t suffer, but people like him do. In March 2018, Russia closed the US consulate in St Petersburg, firing 60 US diplomats. The US Embassy in Moscow is open, and the earliest appointment is 250 days away. Last month, 150 Russian diplomats were expelled from Russian Embassy in Great Britain after Sergei Skripal, a former double agent, and his daughter was poisoned at his residence in Salisbury, England. As the cold war Sergei Lavrov, foreign affairs minister of Russia, said that the tension between the United States and Russia it as worse as the Cold War. Kremlin accused that the United States denied visa appointments off Aeroflot crew members, Russia’s flagship carrier and only airline with direct flights to the United States. However, US State Department denied the claims that unhelpful and simply false. Source link

In the light of globalization, the Turkish government has decided to issue post-study work permits to international students. It means that the 117,000 foreign students currently studying in Turkish educational institutions for a particular amount of time will get a work permit so that they can continue their stay in Turkey. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey, also said that he is thinking of changing the health insurance policy and instead of waiting for three months before giving it to international students, he is planning to give health insurance right away. It will help Turkey become a more accepted study destination in the Middle East, which is currently dominated by the United Arab Emirates.  The Turkish president revealed his plans at an event organized by the Federation of International Students Associations in the last week at the Haliç Congress Center in Istanbul, a major Turkish city that lies in Europe as well as Asia. He also shared his goal of attracting 350,000 in the next academic year with attendees of the conference. Erdoğan mentioned that after students complete their studies, they have to return to their home country. He wants Turkey to become one of the top five international study destinations.  Continuing Relationships  Many students come to Turkey through an exchange student program or study abroad programs conducted by their universities. In 2014, Turkey received 7,948 such students, but after that, the count reduced vigorously by more than half in 2016-17 after many countries of the European Union issued travel warnings to traveling to Turkey.  Erdogan said that it didn’t matter to him from where the international students came from. He is only interested in forming and maintaining a good relationship with these students. Turkey not only wants to open its educational institutions to international students but also its heart. It means all international students will get working permission once they successfully complete their course. Source link

Japan might be a unique study abroad option for Indian students as most prefer studying in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany. The educational system is very different in Japan, and you’d be divided into choosing a study abroad program and a college. Most students go to Japan to study their language, cooking and art skills, and history.  Here is top four Japan study abroad programs that will help you make a choice: 1. KCP International KCP International is a Japanese school run by Japanese people and the best one to study the Japanese language. The program is intensive, but the teachers are very cooperative and friendly and even share secret Ramen restaurants with the students. When you are in Tokyo for studying the language, make sure you stay in homestays and take full advantage of the free transportation provided by the school. 2. CISabroad CISabroad has a summer study abroad program that offers you extensive learning experience. The classes are conducted at the educational institution and Seisan University, which gives you the chance to explore the streets of Japan and travel your way around with high-speed bullet trains.  3. Meiji Academy Meiji Academy has a study abroad program called Gateway into Japan that teaches you the Japanese language and also details of the culture. Apart from classroom education, the educational institute also conducts real-life classes where you can take into the market or business centers, where you get the chance to practice your newly acquired language skills. 4. Youth For Understanding If you want to achieve international understanding, mutual respect, and life-long learning experience along with studying Japanese, Youth For Understanding program is the best program around. You also get the chance to live with Japanese host families, which is an entirely different experience and make your own Japanese family. Source link

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative in Singapore Visa’s Everywhere Initiative is a program that solves the payment problems and commercial challenges of start-up communities. At first, the program was started in the USA in 2015 and has expanded it globally, with helping over 2,100 startups. All in, these startup communities have increased over US$2 billion in funding. Now, Visa is getting a proposal to launch the VIE in Singapore on Nov 13, 2018, to attract the start-up communities by solving their commerce challenges and payment-related problems. To appreciate top start-up participants, Visa will offer a monetary cost, allowance to Visa’s services and products through APIs on the Visa Developer Platform, support from Visa, exposure to fin-tech constituents, and expert mentor-ship across government sectors, merchant and banking sectors. Since launching in 2015, the Visa’s Everywhere initiative has awarded over US$1 million and trained over 130 finalists. Singapore’s VEI program is the first ever scheme in the world to begin in 2019. VIE aims to address the problems and offer solutions to Start-Ups in Singapore. The government will also be announcing the winners during the week of the Singapore FinTech Festival at Asia Pacific VEI Regional Finals. Kunal Chatterjee Says Visa country manager for Brunei and Singapore, Kunal Chatterjee has stated that solving startup community issues is not totally new to Visa in Singapore. Our Visa had worked previously with another client to launch a startup competition, where the involving startups ready to win a spot in the regional finals that are held in Hong Kong. He also said that VEI in Singapore raised our participation with the startup community to the further level. Payment innovation leads to provide security, speed, and convenience to the consumers and merchants in Singapore. We are committed to continuing this program in partnership with the worldwide startup community. Three Themes to Explore VIE For Singapore-based financial technology companies with ideas to pitch to Visa, here are three main themes to explore. Changing commerce experiences and payment process for merchants and consumers. Visa thoughts to utilise analytics and data and to increase consumer experiences, providing consumer loyalty solutions and encouraging new segments to adopt digital payments. Speeding up the process of e-payment and offering the latest value for businesses and merchants. Helping consumers to use digital ways when they are travelling. It means finding the latest and simple methods and to encourage consumers to go with digital payments. Source link

India issued 25 lakh e-Visas in 2018 which is a tremendous increase from 2015. It also reduced the main category visa to 21 from 26 after clubbing several categories. Fresh Developments The officials of the Home Ministry stated regarding reducing sub-categories of visa to 65, from 104 as a measure to rationalize and simplify the visa administration. 25.15 lakh e-Visas were issued last year, by the Bureau of Immigration, of the Home Ministry. Additionally, during 2015 the figures were 5.29 lakh. Furthermore, the volume of paper visas issued by the missions of India abroad was 35 lakh from the figures of 45 lakh during the same period. The e-Visa facility presently covers 166 countries and foreign persons can get the online visa in just 72 hours for pursuing any travel with the purpose of tourism, attending a conference, business growth, health-related matters, and for medical attendants. Moreover, there is an increase in the film visa scope. It now includes web shows and series and seeing locations. Other Facts A foreigner’s stay on film visa for 180 days in India, does not require registration. The aim of such measures is removing the obstacles in implementing film visa for promoting India as a preferred destination to shoot films and shows. There is an expansion in the scope of the tourist visa. It now includes short-term, unstructured courses on local languages, courses on arts, music, dance, crafts, medicine, and cooking. It is also allowing Voluntary work for one month under a tourist visa. There is also the liberalization of the Provisions of Internship Visa. Previously, the authorities gave it after graduation or on completing the study. Now, a foreigner can come for an internship in India at any time during his studies. It is now allowing Visa for an internship to pursue in the Indian companies for a minimum annual salary of Rs. 3.6 lakh instead of the limit of Rs.7.8 lakh in the past. Positive Trends Presently, there is an overhauling of the Visa regime in the last two years. It is simple to understand as well as administer it. Additionally, it has a liberal approach in matters of staying, allowing a number of visits and is flexible to undertake many activities. The regime also promotes tourism, business contact, and people-to-people, closeness. There is an increase in the period of e-Tourist and e-Business visas (60 days in the past to one year now). There are no Restrictions on making two entries within a year. It allows multiple entries on e-Business/e-Tourist visas. A foreigner can apply for them online at any time. There are no Restrictions on 120 days of submitting the advance application before the date of arrival in India. Source link