Thursday, September 18, 2008

18:00-19:30







19:30

WELCOME COCKTAIL
Offered by Fragomen LLP

Law Society of England and Wales
113 Chancery Lane - London
Chancery Room


GALA DINNER
Law Society of England and Wales
113 Chancery Lane – London
Strand Fleet and Bell Room

Speaker: Ministère de l'Immigration, de l'Intégration, de l'Identité Nationale et du Co-développement, Paris, France

Friday, September 19, 2008

08:30-09:00




09:00-09:15

REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS
Law Society of England and Wales
113 Chancery Lane - London
Strand Fleet and Bell Room

Welcome and Opening of the Seminar
Andrew HOLROYD, Immediate Past President of the Law Society of England and Wales, London, Jackson & Canter, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Héctor DÍAZ- BASTIEN, UIA President, Díaz-Bastien & Truan Abogados, Madrid, Spain

Introduction
Ellen G. YOST, President of the UIA Working Group on Immigration and Nationality Law, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, New York, United States

 
09:15-12:30

When does a foreign business person need a work permit, visa or other entry document?  To Visit? To Work? Does Country of Citizenship Matter? How does S/he Get an Entry Document? What if the Application is Denied? How Long Does it Take? What if the Person Does not Have the Necessary Document?

To answer these questions, the panelists will discuss the national immigration laws, regulations and procedures of selected major business jurisdictions. They will also consider recent and proposed legislation including new benefits and difficulties for business people (including business visitors); enhanced enforcement; traps for the unwary; and what to watch for in the future

9:15 - 10:15

Europe

Louise BOYES, Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP, Colchester, United Kingdom
Alexandru LUPU, NNKDP Law Firm, Bucharest, Romania
Henry HACHEZ, Verhaegen Walravens, Brussels, Belgium
Marla BOJORGE, BOJORGE & ASSOCIATES International Corporate and Immigration Lawyers, Valencia, Spain

10:15 – 10:45

COFFEE BREAK

10:45-11:45

The Americas

Hugues LANGLAIS, Hugues Langlais Law Firm, Montreal, Canada
Gabrielle BUCKLEY, Vedder, Price, Chicago, Illinois
Marc Antoine MANCINI, Wasserman, Mancini and Chang, P.C.
Washington, United States
Enrique ARELLANO, Enrique Arellano Rincón Abogados, S.C., Mexico D.F, Mexico

11:45-12:45

Asia and Oceania

Robert WALSH, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
Sydney, Australia
Ranjit MALHOTRA, Malhotra and Malhotra Associates, Chandigarh, India

12:45 – 02:15

LUNCH

and address on Global Migration Discussions by
Dr. Rolph K. JENNY, Special Adviser to the Chair-in-Office, Global Forum on Migration and Development, Geneva, Switzerland

14:15 – 15:45

Immigration: Moving up the Corporate Agenda

Governments are focused on ensuring businesses are compliant and bringing in effective measures to "police" companies across a raft of areas, including immigration. As a result, immigration is beginning to move up the agenda within companies in terms of its potential impact on business strategy and also in terms of the burden put on "sponsoring" entities to adhere to rigorous resident labour tests as part of their recruitment policies, to conduct checks on all employees joining the company and to notify the immigration authorities of departures/changes in employment conditions.  The concept of immigration audit of companies is becoming a reality in many countries.  What challenges do businesses face? How can they organise immigration compliance programmes?

The panel will propose methods and strategies to ensure that companies are in compliance with the increasingly complex provisions of national immigration laws and regulations. Lawyers from several jurisdictions will describe the challenges posed to the various composing entities of international businesses operating in their jurisdiction.

Owen DAVIES, Fragomen LLP, London, United Kingdom
Susan COHEN, Mintz, Levin, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

15:45 - 16:15

COFFEE BREAK

16:15 – 18:00

Human Rights and Immigration
 
Countries' concerns about the management of migration, and about national security, together with the increased use of information technology and the sharing of information among States, have led to increased interference with the human rights and civil liberties of those traveling working and residing outside their country of nationality  - in what circumstances are these disproportionate and oppressive? Increasingly a range of internal immigration controls and obligations on private companies and individuals are used in the enforcement of immigration control, not always with full consideration of whether the safeguards that would apply to State powers apply to them.  Are these protecting those most at risk of exploitation, or contributing to discrimination and interference with the rights of foreign nationals?   Measures such as re-entry bans impose harsher, and in some cases disproportionate, penalties for breaches of immigration law; foreign nationals who commit crimes or infractions may find themselves facing immigration penalties that last far beyond any sanctions imposed within the criminal justice system and measures that appear neutral may adversely affect the nationals of some countries more than others.  What are the current challenges presented by these developments, and how do lawyers rise to meet them?
 
Michela COCCHI, Studio Legale Avv. Michela Cocchi, Bologna, Italy, Chair, Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Sophie BARRETT-BROWN, Chair, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA),  Laura Devine Solicitors London, London, United
Kingdom,
Dr. Valsamis MITSILEGAS, Reader in Law, Queen Mary College London, Expert Adviser (EU), London, United Kingdom
Gülay MEHMET, Chair of the Lawy Society Immigration Law Committee, Gülay Mehmet Solicitors, London, United Kingdom
Elloitt COOK, Immigration Attaché, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, American Embassy, London, United Kingdom

18:00

END OF THE SEMINAR