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04 Oct 2026
Bitchat India ban - messaging app on a smartphone

Bitchat India Ban: App Pulled From Stores After Govt Order

Categories Tech

The Bitchat India ban took effect on 3 October 2026, when Jack Dorsey’s Bluetooth messaging app disappeared from Apple’s App Store and Google Play for users in India. According to TechCrunch, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the order, and the app’s website also became unreachable on Indian internet providers.

In this report

What the government ordered

TechCrunch reports that Apple’s removal notice cited Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the provision that governs government-ordered online blocking. The order covered the App Store, Google Play, the TestFlight beta service and the website. Bitchat sends encrypted messages over Bluetooth mesh networking, so it can work without mobile data or an internet connection.

The July precedent

This is not the first step. TechCrunch says Indian authorities ordered GitHub in July 2026 to remove repositories for the open-source app, citing concerns that its design prevents lawful interception and lets people communicate during internet shutdowns. The digital-rights group SFLC.in said that order was issued on 23 July by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, gave GitHub three hours to comply, and relied on Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act rather than Section 69A. SFLC argues the order lacked legality, necessity and proportionality. Those are the group’s views, not a court finding.

The legal dispute

TechCrunch quotes the Internet Freedom Foundation as calling the latest action unconstitutional, arguing that Section 69A “allows the government to block unlawful information but not a messaging app because of its ability to operate during internet shutdowns.” The government’s stated rationale in the July order, as SFLC describes it, was that the app would “impede the state’s ability to conduct lawful interception and surveillance.” We have not seen a public government statement accompanying the October removal.

Why it matters to users and developers

TechCrunch notes the app gained popularity during protests in July 2026 and accounted for roughly 85 percent of its global downloads in that period. For an Indian developer who built on open-source mesh tools, the practical effect is that the app can no longer be installed from official stores and its code has been taken down in India. The case also tests how far a blocking power can reach into software that has no central server to switch off.

The episode sits alongside wider debates over AI and online control we have covered, including the FTC probe into AI agents and the Gemini 4 release.

What happens next

Watch for a court challenge from digital-rights groups, any statement from Apple or Google about the legal basis, and whether people who already installed the app can keep using it. Bluetooth mesh apps already on phones are not obviously affected by a store removal, though that point has not been confirmed in the reports we read.

Questions about the Bitchat ban

Is Bitchat banned in India?

It has been removed from the App Store and Google Play in India and its website is unreachable on Indian ISPs, per TechCrunch. The order cites Section 69A of the IT Act.

Who ordered the removal?

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, according to TechCrunch.

What happened in July?

Authorities ordered GitHub to remove Bitchat repositories, per TechCrunch and SFLC.in.

How does Bitchat work?

It uses Bluetooth mesh networking for encrypted messaging without mobile data or internet.

Who is challenging the order?

The Internet Freedom Foundation and SFLC.in have publicly criticised the actions as unlawful.

Follow our tech coverage for the next development, and read how OpenAI’s rogue agent incidents are shaping regulation.

03 Oct 2026
Green card interview setting shaped by the public charge rule change

The Old Green Card Test Is Back. Here’s What DHS Now Weighs

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates

The United States has rolled back a four-year-old limit on green card reviews. It governs how immigration officers judge whether an applicant might depend on government support. The public charge rule change took effect on September 18, 2026. On that date, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the 2022 public charge regulation. The move restores a broader test. Officers can again weigh age, health, family situation, finances, assets, liabilities, and education and skills together. They use this mix to judge whether an applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government support. The change landed about two weeks before the start of a new government fiscal year. Its effects are still unfolding.

The Public Charge Rule Change Explained

“Public charge” has long been part of U.S. immigration law. It lets officers deny a green card or visa when they conclude an applicant will likely rely mainly on government benefits to survive. The concept dates back decades, but its practical meaning has shifted with each administration. One version took effect in 2019 with a wide list of weighable factors. Courts blocked parts of it, and a later administration withdrew it entirely in 2021. DHS then wrote a narrower rule in 2022. That rule limited which factors could count against an applicant. It leaned heavily on whether someone received specific cash assistance or long-term institutional care, and it set a higher bar for officers to deny a case on public charge grounds.

The public charge rule change undoes that narrower approach. DHS rescinded the 2022 regulation outright, not just parts of it. That detail comes from a Newsweek report on the October 2026 shift. Officers can again weigh a wider set of personal and financial factors when forming a public charge determination. They are no longer tied mainly to a short list of specific benefit programs.

DHS Regulation Rolls Back 2022 Protections

Officers can now weigh age. They can weigh health. They can look at an applicant’s family situation, finances, assets and liabilities, and education and skills. No single factor decides a case on its own. Together, these factors form a fuller picture. An officer uses that picture to judge future reliance on government support.

A green card interview now shaped by the public charge rule change

This brings the test closer to the broader 2019 standard. A court fight and a change in administration had replaced that standard with the narrower 2022 rule. The current DHS regulation keeps that 2022 version off the books entirely, effective September 18, 2026. Immigration lawyers describe the shift as a return to a wider lens, not a brand-new test, since the underlying public charge statute itself has not changed.

DHS has not released a new numeric scoring system alongside the rule change. Officers instead apply judgment across the full set of factors, case by case. That gives individual officers more discretion than the 2022 framework allowed.

Green Card Applications Now Face a Wider Review

The rule change affects most green card applications. That includes cases filed inside the United States and immigrant visa applications processed at consulates abroad. An officer reviewing a Form I-485 or a consular visa application can now ask for a fuller financial and personal picture. They can do this before approving the case.

The change lands alongside several other adjustments tied to the October 1, 2026 start of the government’s 2027 fiscal year. Annual visa number limits reset on that date. The EB-2 category’s Final Action Date for India, for example, moved to November 1, 2013. USCIS also selected the Dates for Filing chart for October 2026. That chart lets some applicants submit Form I-485 earlier than usual, ahead of their category’s Final Action Date.

Applicants are also tracking a separate narrowing of USCIS filing deadline extensions. That policy shift tightens how much extra time USCIS grants when paperwork arrives incomplete. Taken together, the fiscal year 2027 changes give applicants both new opportunities and new risks to manage in the same filing season.

Financial Criteria DHS Officers Can Weigh

Finances sit at the center of the public charge rule change. Officers can examine an applicant’s income, assets, liabilities and credit history. They can weigh these alongside the usual affidavit of support filed by a sponsor. Education and skills count too, since they relate to an applicant’s ability to support themselves over time.

Age and health remain part of the mix as well. A younger applicant in good health with marketable skills presents a different financial outlook than an older applicant with significant medical needs and few assets. Family situation matters too. An officer can consider household size and whether other family members contribute income or depend on the applicant.

DHS has not published new numeric thresholds for any of these factors. Officers weigh them together rather than applying a fixed formula. That approach gives the agency flexibility, but it also means two similar applicants could see different outcomes depending on how an individual officer weighs the same facts.

How This Changes a Green Card Interview

Applicants preparing for a green card interview should expect broader questions. An officer may ask about savings, debts, job history, education and health insurance coverage. That goes beyond the narrower set of benefit programs the 2022 rule focused on.

Thorough documentation helps. That includes recent bank statements, pay stubs, proof of health insurance, education records and a complete Form I-864 affidavit of support from a sponsor. None of this guarantees approval. Gaps in any one area now carry more weight than they did before September 18, 2026.

Immigration attorneys are advising clients to review their financial paperwork well before a scheduled interview. Officers now have more room to ask follow-up questions on any of the factors DHS restored. Applicants who update their documentation early tend to have fewer surprises at the interview itself.

The public charge rule change is one of several shifts reshaping cross-border mobility this year. Canada has tightened scrutiny in its own system too, including a parallel tightening around a work permit refusal tied to a procedural fairness letter. Scholarship timelines are shifting as well. A recent example is this year’s Chevening Scholarship timeline, released after its 2027-28 deadline results.

Public Charge Rule: What You’re Asking

What is the public charge rule change?
It is DHS’s September 18, 2026 rescission of the 2022 public charge regulation. It restores a broader set of factors officers can weigh, including age, health, family situation, finances, assets, liabilities, and education and skills, when deciding whether an applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government support.

When did the new rule take effect?
September 18, 2026. October 2026 is the first full month processed under the restored framework.

Does the public charge rule change affect visa applications too?
Yes. It applies to green card applications filed inside the United States and to immigrant visa applications processed at U.S. consulates abroad.

What factors can officers now weigh?
Age, health, family situation, finances, assets and liabilities, and education and skills.

Is the public charge rule change connected to other October 2026 immigration changes?
Yes. It coincides with the fiscal year 2027 reset of annual visa number limits, a new EB-2 Final Action Date for India of November 1, 2013, and USCIS’s October 2026 Dates for Filing chart.

Where can applicants find official information?
The Department of Homeland Security publishes immigration policy updates on its own site.

Sources

03 Oct 2026
Companies House identity verification - London skyline

UK Companies House Identity Verification: Deadlines for Directors

Categories Business, Uk

Companies House identity verification is now mandatory for people running or controlling UK companies, and existing directors face deadlines during 2026. The requirement applied from 18 November 2025 to new director and person-with-significant-control appointments, according to a guide by advisory firm Hawksford. This article summarises that guide; confirm current rules with Companies House before acting.

In this guide

Who has to verify

Per Hawksford, the rules cover individual directors of UK companies and overseas entities registered in the UK, members of limited liability partnerships, and people with significant control, meaning those holding more than 25 percent of shares or voting rights or the power to appoint a majority of the board. That matters for non-UK founders who use a UK company as a base.

Deadlines for existing directors

Hawksford reports that existing directors must verify by their company’s next confirmation statement due in 2026, and that people with significant control who are not directors have a window tied to their birth month. Because dates differ by company, check your own filing calendar.

How verification works

The guide lists three routes: the GOV.UK One Login online service, in person at a Post Office, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Each verified person receives an 11-character personal code that works across all their roles, so verification happens once per person, not once per company.

What happens if you miss it

Hawksford says non-compliance can lead to rejected company filings, blocked new appointments, enforcement action with financial penalties and a public notation on the register. A founder whose filing is rejected may find a bank or investor asking awkward questions, so treat this as housekeeping with consequences.

Picture a Pakistani IT specialist who set up a UK limited company two years ago to bill European clients. She is the only director. Her next confirmation statement falls in 2026, so she should verify before that filing, not on the due date. This is a hypothetical example.

Founders comparing jurisdictions can read our reporting on the UAE corporate tax and VAT changes and the UAE golden visa changes. For the political backdrop in Britain, see the UK rejoin-EU debate.

What happens next

Verify early, keep your personal code somewhere safe, and check with your accountant or company-secretarial provider if you are unsure which deadline applies to you.

Questions about Companies House verification

Is ID verification mandatory?

Yes. Hawksford reports it became mandatory on 18 November 2025 for new directors and persons with significant control.

When must existing directors verify?

By their company’s next confirmation statement due in 2026, per Hawksford.

How can I verify?

Through GOV.UK One Login, at a Post Office, or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.

Do overseas directors have to verify?

The guide says individual directors of UK companies and overseas entities registered in the UK are covered.

Do I verify once per company?

No. One verification gives a personal code usable across all roles, per Hawksford.

More business and company-setup news is in our business section.

03 Oct 2026
Investment paperwork tied to the EB-5 visa fee increase

EB-5 Investor Visa Fee More Than Doubles Before 2026 Ends

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates

USCIS is raising the price of its EB-5 investor visa program. Starting November 30, 2026, the EB-5 visa fee increase will push the main immigrant investor petition fee from $3,675 to $7,615. That more than doubles the cost for foreign nationals seeking US permanent residency through investment. A related fee for investors who route their capital through EB-5 regional centers will rise to $7,850. USCIS has tied both increases to a broader set of fee adjustments for fiscal year 2027, the agency’s budget cycle that began October 1, 2026. The change is real but not yet in force. It lands in about eight weeks.

EB-5 Visa Fee Increase: What Changes on November 30

The EB-5 visa fee increase applies to Form I-526E. This is the petition most EB-5 investors file to request conditional permanent residency. USCIS confirmed the fee moves from $3,675 to $7,615 on November 30, 2026. That is an increase of $3,940. It works out to more than 107 percent, according to a Newsweek report on the fiscal year 2027 fee schedule.

Investors who file before the effective date pay the current, lower fee. Petitions filed on or after November 30, 2026 must include the new amount. USCIS has not announced further EB-5 fee changes for 2027 beyond this adjustment, at least not yet.

The timing matters for anyone mid-preparation. Eight weeks is enough time to finish a filing already underway. It is a tight window to start one from scratch.

The Investor Visa Program’s New Price Tag

The EB-5 investor visa program lets foreign nationals and their immediate families seek a US green card by investing in a new commercial enterprise that creates American jobs. Investors typically route that capital either directly into a project or through a USCIS-designated regional center. Full program details sit on USCIS’s EB-5 program page. The filing fee is separate from the investment itself. It covers USCIS’s cost of reviewing each petition, not the capital an investor commits to a project.

Investors discussing the EB-5 visa fee increase before signing documents

USCIS periodically adjusts fees across its programs to keep pace with processing costs. The agency is fee-funded rather than tax-funded, so petition fees cover the bulk of its operating budget. A jump of this size is unusual even by that standard. Doubling a flagship investor fee in one step signals USCIS expects its EB-5 caseload, and the work of reviewing it, to keep growing through fiscal year 2027.

For investors, the fee is a small fraction of total program cost next to the required investment itself. Even so, a near-$4,000 jump adds a real, upfront expense to the filing stage specifically.

Regional Center Fee Rises to $7,850

Most EB-5 investors route their capital through a USCIS-designated regional center rather than managing a project directly. These investors file Form I-526E referencing the regional center’s project. Under the new fee schedule, the regional center investor fee rises to $7,850. That sits slightly above the $7,615 direct petition fee.

Both fees take effect the same day, November 30, 2026. They apply to different filing paths, though. Investors already working with a regional center sponsor should confirm which fee applies to their specific petition before they file. The gap between the two fees is $235, small next to the overall increase but worth checking before submission.

Fiscal Year 2027 Changes Beyond the EB-5 Fee

The EB-5 fee increase is one part of a wider set of USCIS and State Department adjustments tied to fiscal year 2027, which began October 1, 2026. The annual reset of visa number limits let several employment-based categories reopen. The EB-2 category’s Final Action Date for India moved to November 1, 2013. The EB-1 category for India advanced from October 15, 2022 to February 1, 2023.

USCIS also selected the “Dates for Filing” chart for both family-based and employment-based categories for October 2026. That chart can let some applicants submit Form I-485 earlier, ahead of their Final Action Date. It does not shrink the underlying backlog. It simply opens an earlier filing window for people who already qualify under the numbers available.

Immigration attorney Senthurjothi called the fiscal-year reset a “meaningful opportunity” for Indian applicants. Senthurjothi also cautioned it is a “reset” rather than a reduction of the underlying visa backlog. The distinction matters. A reopened Final Action Date moves the line forward for people already waiting. It does not add new visa numbers to the pool. Tamara News covered the full category movement in its October 2026 visa bulletin report, which lays out the month’s chart changes category by category.

What Investors Should Do Before November 30

Investors who plan to file Form I-526E have roughly eight weeks before the fee more than doubles. Those close to finishing source-of-funds documentation may want to complete their filing before November 30, 2026. Doing so locks in the current $3,675 rate before it more than doubles.

USCIS fee changes do not apply retroactively. Petitions already filed keep the fee paid at submission. Applicants with cases already in the pipeline owe no difference once the new rate takes hold.

Rushing a filing purely to beat a fee deadline carries its own risk. An incomplete petition can cost more in delays than the fee increase itself. Investors should weigh readiness against the calendar rather than treat November 30 as a reason to file before their documentation is solid.

Some prospective investors are weighing EB-5 against other residency routes while they plan around the deadline. Processing timelines move on separate schedules abroad, too. Tamara News has tracked Canada’s updated processing times and recent changes to the UAE’s golden visa program for readers comparing options side by side. Anyone planning an EB-5 filing should confirm current fee amounts directly with USCIS before submitting. Fee schedules can change again in future fiscal years.

EB-5 Fee Hike FAQ

When does the EB-5 visa fee increase take effect?
The increase takes effect November 30, 2026.

How much is the new EB-5 petition fee?
The main EB-5 immigrant investor petition fee rises from $3,675 to $7,615.

What is the new EB-5 regional center investor fee?
The regional center investor fee rises to $7,850, effective the same date.

Does the fee increase apply to petitions filed before November 30, 2026?
No. The increase applies to petitions filed on or after November 30, 2026.

Is the EB-5 fee increase connected to other visa changes?
Yes. USCIS grouped it with broader fee adjustments for fiscal year 2027, alongside visa bulletin movement in categories including EB-2 and EB-1 for India.

Where can applicants confirm current EB-5 fees?
USCIS publishes current fees on its EB-5 program page.

Sources

03 Oct 2026
Erasmus Mundus scholarships 2027 - students in Europe

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships 2027: Deadlines and How to Apply

Categories EU, Scholarships, Study Abroad

Erasmus Mundus scholarships 2027 applications are opening across Europe, and most programmes close between October and January for courses starting the following academic year, according to the European Commission Erasmus+ site. Unlike many scholarships, there is no single portal: you apply directly to the programme you want.

Quick guide

How Erasmus Mundus applications work

The Commission says students apply directly to the institution running their chosen Erasmus Mundus Joint Master. A new batch of selected programmes is added to the list each year, so a programme you saw last year may or may not be running. The official course catalogue sits on the EACEA site, and each programme sets its own deadline, entry requirements and procedure.

What the scholarship covers

Selected programmes offer full scholarships covering participation costs plus support for travel, visa fees and a living allowance. The Commission describes the awards as merit-based and open to top-ranked applicants worldwide. Amounts vary, so read the programme page instead of relying on a blog post.

Who can apply

You need a bachelor’s degree or be in your final undergraduate year before the master’s begins. Equivalent qualifications recognised in your country can also count. Programmes run one to two academic years, and graduates receive either a single joint degree or separate degrees from the consortium institutions.

Picture a Vietnamese engineering student finishing a bachelor’s next summer. She would shortlist two or three programmes from the catalogue, note each deadline, and prepare one core set of documents she can adapt for each application. This is a hypothetical illustration, not a record of a real applicant.

A sensible plan for the next three months

Start by listing programmes in the catalogue that match your field. Check each programme’s own page for its deadline, since the Commission only gives a general October-to-January window. Then work backwards: language tests and transcripts take the longest, so request them first. Applying to several programmes is common, and the programme pages will say whether that is allowed.

Erasmus Mundus is one of several routes. Our recent guides cover the Chevening 2027-28 timeline, the DAAD scholarship deadline and Gates Cambridge rounds. Before applying anywhere, confirm visa rules for your destination country with its official immigration authority.

What happens next

Programmes will publish or refresh their calls through the autumn. Check each programme’s site regularly, because deadlines are set programme by programme and can differ by weeks.

Questions about Erasmus Mundus

Is there one central application portal?

No. The Commission says students apply directly to the programme they choose.

When are the deadlines?

Most programmes require submissions between October and January, per the Commission. Check each programme for its exact date.

What does the scholarship cover?

Participation costs plus support for travel, visa fees and living allowance, for selected programmes.

Who is eligible?

Holders of a bachelor’s degree, or students in their final undergraduate year, or those with an equivalent recognised qualification.

How long are the programmes?

One to two academic years, ending in a joint degree or separate degrees from consortium members.

Browse our study abroad section for more deadlines as they open.

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