Australian Trade and Education Sectors would be promoted in many locations of India

As the reports of Indian students being bashed up in Australia have been making news on various TV channels and print media since quite a while, now an important step had been taken to ensure that the two countries- Australia India- builds a partnership in trading and education sector. In an important step for the Australian-Indian relationship, the two countries have outlined a major expansion of the Australia trade network in India. Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean made the announcement last week saying that the Australian Government has been determined to significantly build the relationship with India, a country which is important to Australian immigration and trade. The information of the trade relationship is good news for many Indians who have been impatiently waiting to hear positive news about pathway immigration to Australia.
Australia now seems to have measured up against all the allegations made by people wishing to immigrate to the country and against the unfair practices the country exercise. Currently, Indian nationals studying in Australia with an Australian Student Visa make up the second-largest group on international students in Australia’s multi-million dollar overseas education industry. Many Indians who complete their studies in Australia take up an Australian permanent residence after graduating. This is also an option that the Australian Government provides to foreign students to retain skilled workers. As it is also notable from figures obtained in 2008-2009, India was Australia’s fastest growing major two-way trading partner with total trade between the two nations jumping 55 per cent to $21.7 billion Australian dollars. Addressing the issue Mr. Crean said, “For the past two years this Government has been building and strengthening links with India and my first trip as Trade Minister featured a visit to the sub-continent. Expanding economic links are a vital component in giving effect to the shared commitment to building the relationship.” He also said that there was significant untapped potential in the Indian market, and the two economies have complementary strengths that the expanded Austrade network will be seeking to explore. Five new trade offices will be launched in India and another three existing operations will be expanded, a move that will give Australia the largest trade promotion network in Indian of any foreign country. Under the planned expansion new Austrade offices will be established in Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kochi and Pune with offices in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata expanded. The news would bring delight to many who wish to immigrate to Australia on skilled immigration or student visas.

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New Tender released for Migrant English Programme for Australian Immigration

Immigration program to Australia has been now enhanced as a new scheme has been released for the welfare of non-English speaking countries that would provide provisions for the settlements of people willing to immigrate to Australia who cannot speak English. The scheme is called the Adult Migrant English Programme (AMEP). The scheme would provide English Language education support to people who have either immigrated to Australia or took an asylum and also they are not native English speakers. A tender has been proposed for the welfare of non-English speaker immigrants.
Laurie Ferguson, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, announcing the tender said, "This tender is for a new model of services, including enhanced vocational counselling to help migrants identify their own learning path and track their progress through the programme. The AMEP will help clients enter the workforce and access further training opportunities through a Settlement Language Pathways to Employment/Training course." For the provision of the young who have just left the schools, the new programme will also be extended to the 15-17 year-old age group to help school leavers to begin working in Australia. On top of that the new English language skills, entrants into the programme will receive information about Australian society, services, customs and laws.
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is the Australian Government's largest settlement program. The AMEP offers up to 510 hours of free English language tuition to eligible migrants and humanitarian entrants who do not have functional English. The AMEP plays an important role in assisting migrants in their transition to life in Australia by providing settlement focussed basic language skills and settlement support. According to Ferguson, the new tender scheme would be an important step for Australian Immigration. He said, “This course combines successful features of the Employment Pathways and Traineeships in English and Work Readiness Programs established by the government last year. It is an integral part of the suite of settlement services delivered by DIAC to new arrivals to support their social inclusion and economic participation in Australian society.”
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UK Point Based Tier 2 System is changing from 14th December

The United Kingdom is all set to change the Tier 2 Visa with the effect of 14th December, due to which the rule that enabled employers to offer jobs to immigrants earlier would be altered a bit. According to the Immigration Department’s website of UK, new plans would be introduced to extend the period of advertisements for jobs that may eventually go to UK work visa holders. According to the statement, all the jobs will have to be advertised in the UK for about four weeks before workers from outside the EU are called to fill the positions. The rules will be implemented from 14th of December this year. Arguing on the topic the UK immigration minister Phil Woolas , said, “we've always said that we would run our immigration system for the benefit of the UK and that is why the Prime Minister announced that we will extend the amount of time employers must advertise jobs in Jobcentre Plus, before they can bring in a worker from outside Europe.” The changes have been sought because of the suggestions made by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in August late this year. The move is made by keeping in mind the welfare of work visa holders and also to help British workers to gain the jobs they need as the country emerges from the recession. However, talking about hiring foreign immigrants to UK, Phil Woolas further said that it will still allow firms to hire foreigners who want to work in the UK: "It will ensure that businesses can recruit the skilled foreign workers that the economy needs.”
Apart from the job advertisements rule, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) also published proposals for a revised shortage occupation list on 21 October 2009. These proposals have been accepted in full by the UK Government. Some of the changes to the occupation list are as follows:
· A revised list of healthcare and engineering professionals
· The continued inclusion of chefs, ballet dancers, work riders, veterinary surgeons and secondary teachers in maths and science, and sheep shearers.
· The addition of special needs teachers and skilled meat boners and trimmers. Etc.
It is easier for employers to obtain Tier 2 visas if the occupation is on the skilled shortage list as the Government has already accepted that there are insufficient people from the resident labour market to fill vacancies in these occupations. The occupations in skill shortage list continue to attract people to come live and work in UK. Where the job advertisement rule would help the work visa holders to find a job in UK on the other hand people in shortage occupation list would continue to immigrate to UK on employment basis.
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Immigration to Australia will boost as thousands of jobs added in October

While most of the countries are having a hard time emerging out of recession, it is believed that Australia is on top while recovering from the same. Individuals who cannot find a decent job in their home countries are suggested that it’s time for them to pack up and ship out to Australia as the work sector in Australia is now out of recession and there are plenty of jobs being created every day. In late September this year a certain numbers of Jobs were expected to be created in October but to the surprise of many individuals a lot more jobs were created than expected, which proved that Australian economy was proving out to be a developing economic force. While moving to Australia has remained a successful destination among many immigration seekers but while undergoing recession people have thought it more clearly. The facts suggest that about 24,500 people were employed in Australia in the month of October alone.
Australian statistics released recently has shown on balance positive news for the Australian economy, with the country performing better than expected and in the top three countries in the world. Australia was expected to lose 10,000 jobs in October but the Australian economy actually managed to add 24,500, neutralising the impact of the slightly higher unemployment rate across the country. Australia's current unemployment rate is 5.8 per cent, up from 5.7 per cent, but the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that Australia's unemployment rate has stabilised and will not reach the peak of 6.75 per cent forecast in this month's mid-year budget review instead touching just 6.3 per cent next year before turning down. The result show the Australian economy is performing better than any Western country, other than Norway and Switzerland, with unemployment in Britain predicted to peak at 10 per cent. The figures suggest that the employment ratio of the Australian economy is an indication for a way to recovery in global contexts since UK is still stuck with recession. The Australian figures of employement in the month of October are not only surprising but are better than expected. In fact, the employment figures have led the world’s economists to predict that Australia may increase its interest rates to 3.75 per cent in December after having become the first G20 economy to increase rates since the beginning of the global recession, when it did so in October. Immigrating to Australia for skilled immigration or for study purpose is particularly very attractive for many graduates from around the globe.
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Immigration to Australia will boost as thousands of jobs added in October

While most of the countries are having a hard time emerging out of recession, it is believed that Australia is on top while recovering from the same. Individuals who cannot find a decent job in their home countries are suggested that it’s time for them to pack up and ship out to Australia as the work sector in Australia is now out of recession and there are plenty of jobs being created every day. In late September this year a certain numbers of Jobs were expected to be created in October but to the surprise of many individuals a lot more jobs were created than expected, which proved that Australian economy was proving out to be a developing economic force. While moving to Australia has remained a successful destination among many immigration seekers but while undergoing recession people have thought it more clearly. The facts suggest that about 24,500 people were employed in Australia in the month of October alone.
Australian statistics released recently has shown on balance positive news for the Australian economy, with the country performing better than expected and in the top three countries in the world. Australia was expected to lose 10,000 jobs in October but the Australian economy actually managed to add 24,500, neutralising the impact of the slightly higher unemployment rate across the country. Australia's current unemployment rate is 5.8 per cent, up from 5.7 per cent, but the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that Australia's unemployment rate has stabilised and will not reach the peak of 6.75 per cent forecast in this month's mid-year budget review instead touching just 6.3 per cent next year before turning down. The result show the Australian economy is performing better than any Western country, other than Norway and Switzerland, with unemployment in Britain predicted to peak at 10 per cent. The figures suggest that the employment ratio of the Australian economy is an indication for a way to recovery in global contexts since UK is still stuck with recession. The Australian figures of employement in the month of October are not only surprising but are better than expected. In fact, the employment figures have led the world’s economists to predict that Australia may increase its interest rates to 3.75 per cent in December after having become the first G20 economy to increase rates since the beginning of the global recession, when it did so in October. Immigrating to Australia for skilled immigration or for study purpose is particularly very attractive for many graduates from around the globe.
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The Migration Institute of Australia expresses concern over changes to Priority Processing

After the new priority processing arrangements have been made by the Australian government on September 24th, many applicants who had applied to Australia for immigration have protested in numerous ways. The new rules were not only unjust and unfair but it holds back the visa applicants for a time period of 3 years. Late last week an online petition was taken out by some applicants who had been waiting for their visas since past year. This whole issue has not only raised concerns among certain organisations but it has also made some Australian authorities worrying. The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) has written to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship expressing their concerns about the priority processing of General Skilled Migration applications.
The visa applicants were writing to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for a refund of their application fees since many of the applicants do not wish to wait for next 2 to 3 years for a visa. Despite the call for a refund of visa costs to those who face a waiting period of up to three years before their Australia visa will be processed the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Evans has dismissed the idea. Speaking about the opposition and call for a refund of visa fees, the Minister said Australia Immigration would continue taking applications, although the entire system including the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) was under review.
Pointing out the Minister’s quotes, MIA stated that the new visa processing regime creates numerous serious problems including damage to Australia’s reputation, additional costs related to the wait to the Australia visa application, and the difficulty for employment for applicants on bridging visas. The MIA further said there was a potential risk to Australia’s reputation with thousands of people having paid Australia visa application charges, with the reasonable expectation that the applications would be finalised within published service standard times, waiting indefinite lengths of time for a decision on their applications. The outcome could be drastic as people would start protesting. The MIA has suggested that the Department should refund fees for applicants who now wish to withdraw their application, and that it is particularly important to give priority processing exemptions to those applications which were about to be finalised just before the changes were announced. Nevertheless the proposals made by The MIA are well received by the protesting applicants whose applications for immigration to Australia under certain categories are now put on hold by the Australian Immigration department.

Quebec Province to welcome more Immigrants after Changes in the Quebec Skilled Worker Program

Modifications in the Quebec Skilled Worker Program will let the province to greet additional immigrants. The fresh selection system for Quebec Skilled Workers will make it easier for a number of applicants to meet the criteria. On July 2009 there were reports highlighting that the province of Quebec which handles its own immigration program as part of an agreement with the Canadian Federal government, would be making certain changes to the Quebec Skilled Worker program. On October 14th changes to the Quebec immigration programme were announced and implemented and the new criteria could make it very easy for some applicants to qualify for immigration to Quebec province. According to the new changes, the most significant change reduces the overall selection pass mark from 59 to 55 for a single applicant and from 68 to 63 for a couple. There are various new measures now like the breakdown of points awarded for education has been amended to recognize more types of diplomas than under the previous system. Undergraduate diplomas attesting to 1 or 2 years of university education and more vocational and technical diplomas are now considered. Applicants with certain educational backgrounds will not only benefit from more points, but will also qualify for priority processing. The more encouraging weighting of the education and age criteria could make it easier for some applicants, who did not meet the criteria under the previous system, to become entitled to immigrate to Canada in the Quebec Skilled Worker category.
Apart from that, in addition, the “Areas of Training” criterion, which awards bonus points to applicants with certain educational or training backgrounds, has been changed to reflect the current needs of Quebec’s economy and labour market. The breakdown of points awarded for an applicant’s age has also been adjusted, so that it declines less rapidly after the age of 35 than under the previous system. After the implementation of giving Education and Age criteria so much of importance in a more favourable kind of way it can make it easier for some applicants that do not qualify under the previous system can now become eligible to immigrate to Canada under the Quebec Skilled Worker Category.
People who make a successful application to obtain a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) can later submit their application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada office for various checks like medical and security checks for the issuance of a Canadian PR visa. The new rules had been in operation since October 14 and all the applications that are being received now are now assessed under this new system of follow up. For many reasons Quebec is the best choice if one wishes to immigrate to Canada.

Australia requires 1.4 million skilled workers by 2025

A research made in Australia regarding immigration outlines that Australia would face a potential skills shortfall if steps are not taken to increase workforce participation. According to the report by the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce, Australia will have a skills shortage, and will require 1.4 million additional workers by 2025. Australia is expected to see strong population growth, figures based on the continuation of high birth and net migration rates, but the report paper warns the ageing population will mean a decline in workforce growth which will exacerbate labour shortages. "The prominence of demographic change and skill shortages has recently been overtaken by the economic downturn of the last 12 months. With unemployment increasing over that period, it would be easy to assume we no longer have a labour or skills shortage problem. However, skills shortages still exist in many industries, and the reality of Australia's ageing workforce means we face a structural deficit of workers over the next 15 years”, the paper says.
The report indicates that under current trends and government policies, the nations participation rate (The percentage of Australia's working-age population that is employed or seeking employment) would fall from 65.2 to 61.8 by 2025. Based on their findings, the organisation has recommended a number of measures, including removing barriers to work for older people, and boosting skilled immigration intake. Providing further information, one of the reporters of a famous Australian newspaper, Darin Ritchie said "To meet moderate levels of labour-demand growth, Australia's participation rate would need to be 68 per cent. To address this workforce deficit, Australia needs to raise the average retirement age, increase the workforce participation of disadvantaged groups, increase migration, or offset labour demand through productivity growth."
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Frustrated visa applicants file petition against Australian Immigration Department

On 23rd of September the new Priority Processing procedures were put forth in practice by the Australian Immigration authorities. The new procedures not only are applicable to those who would apply with a fresh application but are also applicable to those who had applied earlier too. Because of the new priority processing arrangements, people who had applied earlier and were waiting for a response from the immigration department were put on hold till 2011-2012. Frustrated by the sudden, unfair and unexpected move by DIAC (Department of Immigration and Citizenship) to have changed the processing policies overnight many visa applicants who had applied for a visa have now set up an online petition to protest against such ‘extremely unfair practices’ by the Australian authorities. As per the new rules the Australia immigration department announced a new list of processing priorities for the General Skilled Migration program affected both unallocated applications and Australia visa applications already allocated to case officers and in the process of being finalised. The new visa processing priorities were announced unexpectedly and suddenly and were put into immediate effect by the Australian government due to which many visa applicants are now facing abrupt changes of their plans.
Frank Claassen's, publisher of the petition, said: “We feel the implementation of these changes to applications already in the process of being finalized to be an extremely unfair practice and respectfully ask the department to reconsider this decision. We ask that DIAC apply fair practice and not penalize applications already in the process of being finalized.” It is a call that many immigration specialists and government commentators have considered unlikely to be headed given current economic pressures. As per the Australian government’s plans to review and announce the new MODL (Migration Occupation in Demand List) is expected to have extensive changes to the immigration system to Australia and it is expected to shed some light on the new pathways for Australian immigration.
The petition is available online on http://www.gopetition.com/online/31230.html and the Senator for Australian Immigration, Chris Evans had been informed about the same. All of the applicants who feel strongly against the same cause are expected to sign the online petition and the same would be forwarded to the Senator. The Petition outlines the unfair and sudden changes made by the Australian authorities and a strong opposition for the same. Please follow the link and sign the petition to make your disagreement against the new rules heard by the Australian Government. The petition is available on - http://www.gopetition.com/online/31230.html
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British Prime Minister to Review and Reduce Immigration Rate

Gordon Brown, The British Prime Minister, in a recent article revealed his plans to tighten the UK's immigration rules by reducing the number of professions which can recruit from outside Europe and also limit the number of immigrants coming to Britain on student visas. He revealed his plans that doctors and other professionals from outside Europe would be prevented from taking up jobs in the country in a crackdown on immigration. Brown said immigration had been a source of "economic, social and cultural strength for Britain," but he understood concerns about the impact of a rising population on employment, wages and the cost of housing. "I know people worry about whether immigration undermines their wages and the job prospects of their children and they also worry about whether they will get a decent home for their families," he said. "They want to be assured that the system is tough and fair. They want to be assured that newcomers to the country will accept their responsibilities... obey all the laws, speaking English is important, making a contribution."
Addressing the media on the problems arising because of increase in Immigration the Prime Minister said, “The case for managed and controlled immigration was not an issue for many political parties but the emphasis is on the right way of British immigration. Brown has made many reforms after holding the office as a prime minister and the new laws introduced by him are better as per the global trend. Further Mr. Brown promised to tighten the ‘labour market test’ which generally allows employers to recruit skilled workers from outside Britain for a job which would now allow the skilled immigrant to take up the job only in case there is no settled worker that fits for the same. The new test would obligate that the job should be advertised for a month before any immigrant from outside could be recruited. In future as per the prime minister, government sanctioned training schemes would be created to ensure that the unskilled job seekers in Britain could prepare for the jobs in severely shortage job categories like Catering, Supply Teaching or some skilled Medical and Engineering jobs. A review of student visa is also announced that would consider the case for raising the minimum level of course for which students can apply. Under the points system, all employers and colleges will be expected to obtain a license to act as a sponsor for each immigrant and ensure they are following the rules. Brown said a round of inspections of colleges approved to sponsor student applications had seen the list of such institutions cut by more than half – from 4,000 to 1,800 – as well as the temporary shutting down of applications for student visas from parts of China where there had been evidence of abuse.
He stressed the need for a fundamental restatement of what Britain expects of those who aspire to become citizens, as well as strengthening the idea of what it means to be British. "If the main effect of immigration on your life is to make it easier to find a plumber, or when you see doctors and nurses from overseas in your local hospital, you are likely to think more about the benefits of migration than the possible costs. But people want to be assured that newcomers will accept the responsibilities as well as the rights that come with living here – obeying the law, speaking English, and making a contribution. So if people ask me: 'Do I get it?' Yes I get it."
The prime minister said those who wanted to stay in Britain would have to prove their commitment after five years of being in the country by a probation system, which included a clean criminal record. "The changes I have set out today – the new points-based system on entry, and the proposed points-based system for citizenship – amount to far more than a different mechanism for handling immigration," Brown said.
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Trade Courses- A Pathway for Australian Immigration

Trade courses now hold a ticket to Australia as trade occupations like Plumbing, Carpentry or Masonry are quite popular for helping a student take permanent residency (PR) in Oz land. There were times when an MBA or courses in beauty industry from Australian educational institution were more than popular to fetch a dream job and also a PR in Australia. If Sajan John, Director of Melbourne based Ind Aus Business Links, is to be believed then in the present times a student who completes an MBA also has to struggle to get a PR in Australia. He said, “There is a huge shortage of technically qualified manpower in the fields of painting, carpentry, brick laying (mason), plumbing and electricians. Not only would one get a PR after a two-year course in any of these disciplines but also get a handsome monthly income.”
Mr. John further elaborated that following the huge media publicity on the attacks against Indian students in Australia, the waiting period to get a student’s visa has gone up from one month to two. Prior to a student visa being issued by the Australian Embassy in India, most of the students are called for a personal interview. John came to India early this month and is conducting a series of seminars across the state and in Chennai for prospective students immigrating to Australia for studies. He stated, “Nursing is still in demand but my advice to prospective nurses looking to immigrate to Australia is not to be duped by agents. We have seen a good number of cases of nurses, who arrive there to do a course in community welfare, which they are told is an easy way to get a job as a nurse. But at the end of the day they end up nowhere,” said John.
Speaking about the tuition fees and courses charges in Australia John said, “The total tuition fee for a two-year course in either a university or any of the various colleges in any technical areas would be in the range of Australian $18,000-22,000 ($16,700-20,430)”. According to John, living expenses would range around Australian $1,000 a month and this can be recovered by working 20 hours a week. “After the course those who start working can earn around Australian $40 an hour in these trades. This is huge money but surprisingly from the various seminars I have conducted here the demand from students here is still for MBA and for nursing careers. The minimum eligibility for students aspiring for a higher education in these technical trades is Class XII and a score of 5.5 in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) ,” said John.
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VETASSESS Changes Requirements for Immigration to Australia

Vetassess, the Australian assessment body, just announced that they are going to implement a new policy from 01st January 2010 for the assessment of all people who are applying to immigration to Australia. The changes made by the assessment body would be applicable for General Professional Occupations and not applicable to the Trade Occupations. Vetassess is responsible for many occupation assessments some of which are:

− Office Manager (ASCO) 3291-11
− Urban and Regional Planner (ASCO) 2523-11
− Property Manager (ASCO) 3293-13
− Construction Project Manager (ASCO) 1191-11
− Financial Investment Advisor (ASCO) 3213-11


Currently, VETASSES only demand that an applicant have a qualification 'comparable to the Australian standard' in order to receive a positive assessment, with no criteria set regarding the qualification content or work experience. However, in order to receive a positive skills assessment through Vetassess from 1 January 2010, applicants will now need to have:

− A qualification that is in a 'highly relevant field of study' to the nominated occupation;
− Between 1 year and 3 years (depending on occupation) of 'relevant employment' to your nominated occupation


This clearly sets the bar higher for Vetassess applicants, demanding that they present far more evidence demonstrating their experience and study as it directly correlates to their nominated occupation. The changes have the potential to affect anyone in a general professional occupation who is looking to be assessed under Vetassess, but especially those who lack the necessary qualification or work experience to be positively assessed in their nominated occupation under the new rulings. As per the Vetassess statement made after the changes have been announced, "DIAC will continue to accept all VETASSESS Skill Assessments from both the old and new system provided that your nominated occupation remains on the Skilled Occupation List and VETASSESS is the designated assessing authority for that occupation. However, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship may ask you to have a current VETASSESS assessment if there is a significant gap between the date of assessment and the date of applying for your visa."

A number of immigration pathways have been tightened due to restrictions implemented by both the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and the various Australian states and territories. As a result, some migrants could find that without the ability to receive a positive skills assessment from VETASSESS in a specific nominated occupation, they will lack any route to Australia. According to VETASSESS if you lodge a complete application before 31 December, you will be assessed under the current rules (with the further recommendation that applicants ensure to send their applications no later than 18 December, in order for VETASSESS to receive the application in time). However, if anything is missing from your application, then it is likely you will be assessed under the new criteria. Even if you feel confident that you will qualify under the new criteria, it would still be preferable to be assessed under the current familiar criteria and be in the best position possible to avoid any potential hurdles to your immigration to Australia
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source: visa bureau

UK constricts Immigration Policies keeping Elections in Mind

UK makes an ‘immigration policy’ move that could unfavorably impact entry of foreign immigrants including those coming from India into the country. As the British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown announced in his first speech on immigration in 18th months that UK vows to tighten immigration rules to restrict the number of professionals coming to UK under any kind of immigration scheme.
The Prime Minister suggested that some occupations like engineers, hospital consultants, skilled chefs and care workers should be removed from the current occupation list. In a statement made by the Prime Minister, Mr. Brown said, “So we favour, a tough but fair approach, rooted in a points system, under which we decide what category of skills are to be allowed into this country. This combines the flexibility and control that is right, with a continued commitment to strong borders and a rigorous enforcement of the laws against illegal immigration.”
Adding to the following, Mr. Brown also announced that a review of the student visa system should be made in order to make the present student visa rules stricter for overseas students. The statement on student visa could mean that visas granted on short courses would be limited on assigned quotas and also the review would include limiting part time work rules for foreign students as statistically speaking about 31,000 foreign students are currently studying in the UK. New immigration rules, which have been announced earlier, also include extending the point based system to citizenship.
According to the experts, the constrictions made to the immigration system are necessary due to the present economic situation which has undergone recession and a lot of local population is unemployed. The experts have also warned that the new rules would be considered more unfair towards non- EU immigrants. The amendments proposed also suggest that the influx of immigrants coming from Europe also needs to be controlled. The debate on immigration arose as UK elections are just a month away and immigration and its consequences is a very controversial topic in the UK.
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“Practical Skills an Asset for Immigration to Australia”

To live and work in Australia in order to pursue a good life, one must consider becoming a plumber or a carpenter, suggests Economic Times. As per the Economic Times, a recent article stated that Plumbing, Carpentry like professions is never going out of services in Australia. These skills are also very beneficial for people who want to move to Australia to live and work. While people are assuming that occupations falling under Management category or high level category are in demand and they prepare themselves by specializing in such fields presuming a quick immigration under these occupations to Australia. But in reality, Australia drastically suffers from occupation shortages in ‘practically skilled’ professions like such which requires one to work in manual and technical fields like construction and electrics.

Stating about the present situation in ‘practically skilled’ shortage of professionals, Saian John, The Director of Melbourne based Ind Aus Business Links Ltd, said, “there is a huge shortage of technically qualified manpower in the fields of painting, carpentry, brick laying (mason) and plumbing and electricians. Not only would one get a PR after a two-year course in any of these disciplines, but also get a handsome monthly income.” Making a suggestion he also added that gaining practical skills that are in short supply in Australia is a good way for students to secure permanent residency and move to Australia. Australia thus now looks for skilled immigrants under various categories to welcome them to move to Australia. Gaining any kind of ‘practical skill’ would not only enhance their profiles but would also ensure approval of their visa applications for Immigration to Australia.
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Australian Immigration Authorities Proposes a few changes to Student Visa Requirements

On 09th November 2009, Australian Government has proposed a few changes to the requirements of Living Costs and evidence of funds for international students. The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced that the requisite amount required for ‘show money’ for a student visa application for international students will increase under the proposed changes. Other than the proof of funds required for a visa, the genuinity and availability of finances would also be questioned. The proposed changes would be crucial for the grant of a visa to any applicant who is wishing to pursue education in Australia.

Changes in Living Costs and Evidence of Funds

As, it is made mandatory by the Migration Regulations that international students must show evidence of sufficient funds so that they have no problems paying the living costs and cost of studying during their stay in Australia. In order to sustain living in Australia, the foreign student must provide enough evidence of funds as it is necessary to ensure that the student has the capability to concentrate on their studies and have a great studying and living experience. Students can however work part time in Australia so that they are also able to supplement some of the money they need and also enrich their work experiences. However, permitting a student to work part time does not signify that they should depend on it for their living costs and take their studies for granted in order to make their ends meet.

Now the Australian legislation is going to make changes and would increase the financial amount required for a visa application. Previously under the Migration Regulations the basic rate of living is set for $12,000 per year. If approved by the Governor General, the proposed changes will come under effect from 01st January 2010. Under the proposed new regulations, prospective student visa applicants and their family members must have access to the following funds to meet the living costs requirements:
$18 000 per year for the main student
$6300 per year for the student’s partner
$3600 per year for the student’s first child
$2700 per year for every other child; and where required demonstrate that the funds they are relying upon to meet the costs of studying in Australia will be genuinely available to them during their stay in Australia.

The proposed changes will come into effect after an observation that the funds required earlier, since 2001, were not adequate anymore for a healthy stay of students in Australia. Students would be required to prove that the funds they are showing would be genuinely available by various procedures, if questioned by the authorities. The immigration authority would check the applicant’s previous financial and immigration history as well to ensure that they only allow a genuine student to enter Australia. On top of that the authorities would also check the employment histories of the student or the person who is sponsoring the living cost and studies of the student. If doubted again, the immigration authorities could ask for more information from the student. A students relying upon a bank loan may need to show that these funds have been deposited into a bank account to which they have unrestricted access, and that they have the financial capacity to service the loan both before they depart for Australia and once they arrive.

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by Varsha Negi

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Singapore Top Destination for Immigration According to Gallup

While the Indian people are looking towards West as an immigration destination they leave a spot in Asia, equally capable of providing the same opportunities or may be more than the West. Perhaps the West and other nations have now acknowledged the fact that ‘Singapore’ could be a very good destination for immigrating and settling down as well.

According to the Gallup Global Immigration Survey, Singapore is a top destination for immigration abroad. Based on the survey, if you were to take up all the people who wish to immigrate to Singapore, the present adult population of Singapore would jump from 3.6 million (present) to 13 million.

The Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI), Gallup released the present figures of people wishing to immigrate abroad. The PNMI is estimated as the number of adults who wish to leave a country permanently subtracted from the estimated number who wish to immigrate to the country, as a proportion of the total adult population. The higher a positive PNMI value, the greater the potential of net population gain the proportional to the population size. Based on the PNMI, Singapore emerged tops with the highest PNMI value of 260 per cent, followed by Saudi Arabia (180 per cent), New Zealand (175 per cent), Canada (170 per cent) and Australia.

However, analysts have studied that PNMI for Singapore is necessarily not surprising since Singapore has a small size and a strong, stable economy. According to the United Nations' 2009 Human Development Report, Singapore is already a popular immigration destination. It ranked No.10 in the world in terms of the share of immigrants as part of total population, at 35 per cent. The UN report also showed that Singapore had a relatively low emigration rate of 6.3 per cent. "If most of those who say they want to come here are mostly economic migrants from other Asian countries, I won't be surprised because Singapore's economy is doing quite well relatively,” Dr Chua Beng Huat, a sociology professor at the National University of Singapore, told the local media when asked to comment on the Gallup survey findings.
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UK Border Agency and Immigration Checks to be Stricter for Bogus International Students

Immigration, if unchecked, in any form is dicey now a days keeping in mind the fanatic activities going around the world. Apart from just the extremist activities there are various checks that the immigration authorities ought to undertake. The UK Border Agency has been widely criticised for failing to stop illegal immigrants who pose as students. Reacting to the situation, the UK Border Agency has taken various methods following their critique and has responded to the allegations for such a failure.

In response to the same allegations, Head of the Points Based System, Jeremy Oppenheim said, “The points-based system means that only those colleges and schools who provide quality education and take responsibility for their students will be licensed to bring in foreign students. Schools and colleges are inspected by accreditation bodies and the UK Border Agency to ensure they are genuine. Before we tightened controls, around 4,000 UK institutions were bringing in international students; this currently stands at around 2,000. Anyone coming into the UK must satisfy the Border Force officer that they meet the immigration rules and will comply with any conditions attached to their visa. If they cannot, the officer can and will refuse entry.'


However many immigration officers have warned their authorities that the new rules designed to ensure that no bogus student enter UK, are not working. Foreign students are supposed to show sufficient funds if they wish to come to UK to ensure that they can support their stay in the country. The UK Border Agency insisted that it is compulsory for all the entrants to satisfy the immigration rules. Many immigration officers at the big international air ports of UK like, Heathrow Airport are stunned to see the number of people entering UK on student visas. The numbers of people entering UK are so many in numbers that sometimes the queues they stand in stretch for hundreds of yards down the terminal. The airport authorities reported that there could be chaos and problems in future if the checks aren’t properly ensured.

Many interesting cases have been reported by media about bogus students and how they enter UK. As reported by an immigration officer about a recent case of an Indian woman in her 50s who presented herself as a student enrolled in an advanced course, despite the fact that she could barely speak English. The Immigration officer said, "She was going to do an ACCA accounting course, of which when asked in Hindi what ACCA meant, she didn't have a clue. She wasn't even able to say in her own language what the course was going to entail."

It is likely that anyone coming in to the UK must satisfy the border force officer that they meet the immigration rules and will comply with any conditions attached to their visa. If they cannot, the officer can and will refuse entry ensuring that only genuine students with proper knowledge about the course would enter UK.
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by varsha negi
www.angadinfo.com

Many colleges shut down overnight in Australia

The overnight closure of some Australian colleges in Australia sent jitters to the students of those campuses. The Meridian International School and the International College of Creative Arts, both in Melbourne, and the Meridian International Hotel School and International Design School, with campuses in Melbourne and Sydney, closed on Thursday. They provide tuition in hospitality, design, English, fashion and secondary education. However, the outcome of the sudden closure was not very surprising as several hundred international and local students rallied and protested against this sudden action of the college authorities.

The administrators however stated that it would be unlikely that the company that owned the colleges is in a position to refund students their fee amount or pay anything to the staff members. The Global Campus Management owned about four college campuses in Sydney and nine in Melbourne, all of which are now closed. The act of sudden closure has however left an uncertain future for almost 2,700 international students and about 370 staff members.

Speaking on the issue Voluntary administrators PPB Corporate Recovery stated that it was unlikely that students are going to receive any funds from the organization. Some of the students were only few weeks away from completing their courses. However, keeping in mind their future it is a possibility that these students may be relocated to some other colleges so that they would be able to complete their courses or they could be covered by insurance. "We're working closely with the Commonwealth and state authorities, they have various schemes available. I think they are organizing meetings next week with the students and they will be dealing with them on a one-by-one basis," he said.


As far as the staff’s payments are concerned, the employees would be paid as they are covered by the government’s safety net scheme. Mr. Parbery said, “The administrator had also received inquiries from parties showing interest in buying the collapsed colleges. We actually have got some people that have on the twelfth hour come to the company and want to talk to us. We will have some initial discussions with those parties."

The students, on the other hand, were shocked and shaken by the sudden actions of the company that owned their colleges. Many students talked to the media and told their wailing stories. Vanun Mathun and Prachi Bhanot told the local newspapers that they have each paid the college $7,000 for a summer semester after being pressured by the college managers in the last month. They had no idea whether they would get any money back.

Taking actions on the same, The Australian Education Union (AEU) has called for tougher industry regulations for private training centres. The President of AEU, Angelo Gavrielatos said a new set of tough national standards were needed to reduce the risk of students and teachers being left in limbo in the future. He said, "There is a growing number of private colleges collapsing and it's the students who pay the price. There is no doubt many of these problems are due to the unchecked privatization of this sector”. He called for minimum teaching qualifications for staff, a requirement for providers to demonstrate their financial viability and a proven track record in providing education. The government of Australia, keeping in mind the education standards and the comfort of International students would introduce stricter registration measures for private education providers next year.
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The Global Survey Index Favours New Zealand for Immigration

As reported by a local newspaper New Zealand is one of the most desired choices of people who wish to immigrate outside their home countries. A global survey by Gallup Shows, the adult population of New Zealand would balloon to more than 11 million if it were to take in all adults who wish to settle there, making it the third most desired place for immigration.

Calculating on the basis of Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI), New Zealand came third. The PNMI is calculated on the number of adults wishing to leave a country permanently subtracted from the estimated number who wish to immigrate to the country, as a proportion of the total population. A higher positive PNMI value means the larger the potential for net population gain proportional to the country's population size. New Zealand posts the third-highest positive PNMI across 135 countries surveyed, with a net migration index value of 175 per cent, behind Singapore's 260 per cent. Canada registered fourth on 170 per cent and Australia had 145 per cent.

Appreciating the research project on immigrants, Paul Spoonley, Professor and Head of the Research Project from Massey University said that the results were interesting and somehow not surprising keeping in mind the global sentiments. He said, "Economic migrants see countries like Singapore as a centre for opportunities, but lifestyle migrants will choose New Zealand for the quality of life, education and peace that it offers. New Zealanders are perceived overseas to be friendly and welcoming, and in the wake of a global terrorism threat, the fact that we rank highly on the peace scale makes it even more attractive to be living here."

As per the Global Peace Index which lists about 140 countries in terms of a variety of factors based on domestic peacefulness and international relations, New Zealand was ranked as the world’s most peaceful country this year. At the bottom end of the Gallup scale, the Democratic Republic of Congo scored minus 60 percent, meaning more than half of its people want to leave the country permanently than settle in it. The poll interviewed about 260,000 people aged 15 and older in 135 countries. The survey found that around 700 million people, or 16 per cent of the world's population, wanted to migrate permanently if they had the chance. Stating to which, the report quoted, “This translates to more than the entire adult population of North and South America combined.” With 165 million saying they would like to move to America permanently if they could, the United States was the most desired destination overall in terms of absolute numbers.

Other destinations include Britain, Canada and France (around 45 million each), Spain (35 million) and Saudi Arabia (30 million). On the other hand, a study released by the Department of Labour, New Zealand states that increasing immigration numbers will boost the economy, reduce production costs, increase goods and services competitiveness and benefit exporters, domestic investment and consumer spending.

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by varsha negi

www.angadinfo.com

Skilled Immigrants input from Asia is critical to the future of New Zealand

Skilled Immigrants input from Asia is critical to the future of New Zealand
New Zealand needs a lot of skilled labour force to make further progress. The input of Asians in the skilled labour market is very significant and needs to be further analysed. Addressing to the issue of the requirement of more skilled labour in New Zealand, Chinese MP Raymond Huo who has been voted down in parliament on the same issue a number of times, says he will be continuing his fight to have an Asian Advisory Board on Auckland's new Super City Council through a private member's bill. He said, “The Asian population is projected to hit 400,000 in Auckland within seven years, and the council will not be representative of the people if it did not have an input from this community.
Speaking on the issue as defined by the Chinese MP, Prime Minister John Key has ruled out the possibility of having Maori seats on the new council, but Mr. Huo said he wasn't seeking an Asian seat, although the Asian population will be growing at a much faster rate than Maori because of immigration. The Prime Minister of New Zealand stated, "We are not seeking an Asian seat, simply a statutory link to the governing body that will advise on issues that affect the Asian community." He also said that Auckland is the “seventh largest cities” with people of Chinese, Indians and many other foreign origins outside their own countries in percentage terms and would continue to grow and seek more immigrants because of the current immigration policy. The present Asian population in Auckland is third only to European and Maori, and is projected to grow by 51 per cent up to 2016, compared with 46 per cent for the rest of New Zealand, stated the Prime Minister.
Arguing to that Mr. Huo said, "Ethnic minorities have also always been under-represented on Auckland's councils, with only 4 per cent being Asian, 4 per cent Pacific, 9 per cent Maori while 84 per cent are European. We need a more balanced representation if Auckland is truly to become a Super City." Contradicting the move by the Asian representative, Auckland University’s Professor of Asian Studies Mr. Manying Ip says the progress to get Asian representation was "sensible" and something "policymakers cannot ignore" because Asians made up 13 per cent of the Auckland population.
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Notification for Closure of Ludhiana and Amritsar Branch Offices

In order to fill in demands for increasing Franchise offers from various business groups, Angad Info is now planning to lease out it’s Franchise offices in all major cities of India, especially Punjab. To make the infrastructure and facilities better in our branch offices located in those cities we now plan to impart the best of our services by accepting franchise offers of those who are already equipped with supportable amenities. As we now have a large clientele approaching from these cities we are taking these measures keeping the convenience and benefit of people who trust us in mind. Our franchise office would open in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and many other parts of Punjab. Keeping that in mind, we are now bound to close the existing branch offices in Ludhiana and Amritsar.

We apologise for the inconvenience it could cause to our existing clients from Ludhiana and Amritsar for the time being, but we would be back with our new and well equipped franchisee offices as soon as possible. Last working day at Ludhiana and Amritsar branch offices of Angad Info Overseas Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. would be 7th of November 2009. For any query or information regarding any issue, please contact our head office on +91-172-4349999 via fax +91-172-4656469 or via email on- info@angadinfo.com or in person at our main Head Office’s address.

Legatum Index Lists Australia one of the best places to live

Australia is now listed as one of the luxurious and best places around the globe to live. Living in Australia has now come up towards the top of an index of the world’s most prosperous countries. According to the new Legatum Institute’s Index Australia has been ranked as the sixth most prosperous country of the world. The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index is also the world's only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing of mankind. The Index finds that the most prosperous nations in the world are not necessarily those that have only a high GDP, but are those that also have happy, healthy, and free citizens. Now in its third year, the Index builds on the previous versions with expanded data and refined analysis and assesses 104 nations covering 90 percent of the world’s population. The measurements for the index were based on various factors.

The index provided by the institute ranks each nation based on wealth and happiness factors and surprisingly Finland came top followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. However excluding the European nations, Australia was ranked as the best place in the world to settle down in terms of happiness and wealth. The index also looked at 104 countries in total which analysed and speculated them against 70 variables including quality of life and material wealth.

The survey results also stated that the rankings given are not necessarily based on the economic wealth of the state but are based on those that have happy, healthy and free citizens. The results also indicate that immigrating to Australia is very popular among many foreign nationals including UK. Considering the top 10 variables in mind including personal freedom, health, safety and security, education, economic fundamentals and democratic institutions, immigrating to Australia was ranked in the top. People wishing to be wealthy and happy are also advised to move to Canada, as according to the ranking index, Canada is placed right after Australia in seventh place overall. The results are also a good way to offer some light on what constitutes success and prosperity of a country making it a worthy place to live.
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by varsha negi
www.angadinfo.com

Australia would not tolerate Attacks on Foreign Students

Australia has been condemning attacks on students since a while but recently they sent a clear message to every person living in Australia that violence of any kind with foreign students will not be tolerated. Australian High Commissioner in India, on Tuesday made a statement outlining the fact that Indian students studying in Australia would be ensured safety and racist violence against them would not be tolerated.

As the media reported the merciless racist attacks on Mr. Sukhraj Singh, an Indian student in Canberra along with many other such cases the higher authorities of Australia remain in question. The statement was made by the Australian High Commissioner in India after the sentencing of the guilty person in Sukhraj’s case, who was detained, has now been sentenced to four and a half years in prison without the possibility of a parole. The high commissioner said that it was a demonstration that Australia is adopting “zero tolerance” approach to violence against students. The statement continued, “There is no place in the Australian society for racism or racist violence and the perpetrators of any such acts will face the full force of the law.” On the other hand, the case judge, Pamela Jenkins who sentenced the accused also condemned the attacks. Judge Jenkins said the assault was among a number of racist attacks that had provoked international and local community outrage and should be condemned. “Short of becoming prisoners in their own homes, there is little potential victims can do to prevent such attacks,” she said.

The widespread outrage reflects previous statements from the Australian government and the Australian immigration department insisting that living in Australia is safe for overseas students. Australia can not afford to ruin its image as an unsafe foreign study destination as the Indian student industry in Australia contributes a huge amount to Australian economy each year as it also remains one of the most popular destinations for students coming from India. Other than India many students from China, UK and the US who choose to study in Australia eventually end up immigrating to Australia or start working in Australia once they finish with their courses.

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by varsha negi

http://www.angadinfo.com/

Farming Sector undergoing a shortfall of Skilled Workforce in UK

Agriculture is the new buzzword in the job industry. With the Growth of population and urbanisation all around the world, we are diverting our minds from the most important ingredient of life; Food. Every individual eventually is working to bring food for their families, along with other necessities for a comfortable life. Agriculture industry is going to grow in the next coming few years. Many countries like UK, Canada are now realising the same. The farming sector of UK is experiencing a deficit for certain jobs in growing agriculture industry. The shortfall in job market has been a cause of concern for many. There is also a growing alarm that skill shortages would hinder the UK’s ability to produce enough food as about 60,000 new employees are needed in next ten years to make up for the shortfall. The only vision for this as adopted by UK is that more and more people could enter and take up the jobs in the sector on work visas.

What is seen as a small problem right now could become a major problem in later stages. As UK’s ageing work force is on the verge of retirement is mainly the prime problem which threatens the farming and food production industries. The agriculture job sector does not allure many British workers as they consider it as unattractive and as a result the shortfall in the farming sector would need to be filled by people from abroad who desire to work and live in UK.

Lantra, the farming sector skills council revealed their findings to MP last week on the issue. Their findings reveal that 41 percent of the people working in agriculture are over 50 years of age out of which the average age of the farmers was 55 and half of them did not have any successors to run their farms after they retire. However, in farming industry 31 percent of the vacancies are hard to fill as there are skill shortages in UK as compared to 21 percent shortages in any other industry. Obviously there are going to be provisions and measures to help UK recruit skilled workforce in the industry. Immigrants on work visas to UK are likely to play an important part in helping the country’s agricultural industry to flourish and provide the food that is needed to feed the UK’s growing population.

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by varsha negi

www.angadinfo.com

Australian Immigration and Population Growth

The economy of Australia has grown exceptionally when the skilled immigrants flew in bringing with them wealth of knowledge and new skills. The fiscal growth underwent economic boom following a balanced rate of Immigration. Australia not only praises immigration in helping the same but also encourages it. Since the inflow of immigrants has increased since last few years, Ken Henry, Australia’s federal treasury secretary, revealed that the statistics indicate that Australian population would grow to 35 million by 2050. The population increase of extra 13 million people is expected to be as a result of growth in immigration industry to Australia. Metropolitan cities like Sydney and Melbourne are expected to have a population of about 7 million people by that same year.

Speaking on the same, Prime Minister of Australia Mr. Kevin Rudd mentioned that he is in favour of indirect or direct immigration to Australia out of which major population growth could take place. He said, “I actually believe in a big Australia. I make no apology for that. I actually think its good news that our population is growing. I think it is good for us, it's good for our national security long-term, and it’s good in terms of what we can sustain as a nation."


As it is widely known that Australia has minted money and grew as a strong economic nation because of its popularity among people who want to take a skilled immigration abroad. Much of Australia’s financial status is because of those skilled immigrants who come to live and work in Australia and students on student visas each year. Ken Henry however expressed concern because of the growth of immigrant population and the popularity of skilled immigration to Australia. He said that the country would have to make changes in the immigration policy after weighing each and every aspect to ensure that the clean and balanced environment of Australia could handle the influx of so many people. Like many developing countries go through several twists and turns and adverse effects of a large population, Australia would have to ensure that Australian population growth would “test the limits of sustainability: economic, social and environmental". The Treasury Secretary further said, “With the right decisions, one can envisage a period of unprecedented prosperity. I expect the country’s economic boom to last with the help of immigration into Australia “for decades”.

Critics however analysed that one of the major problems of a large population growth would the quality of life would deteriorate and people would suffer. What allures the migration population now would be a question of hesitation for them. The bottom line adopted by majority of the Ministers under the immigration panel is to ensure that the people living in Australia would get one of the world’s best life styles and experiences and they should keep checks and balances while thinking of immigration of population.
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by varsha negi
www.angadinfo.com

UK Immigration and Population Growth

If change continues at the current rate of growth, UK’s population will grow by 10 million in just 25 years. Some recent figures from The Office for National Statistics (ONS) mentions that the population will rise from the current level of 61m to 71.6m by 2033. Two third of the population rise, out of the total is likely to be because of growth in immigration rate in UK. The projected increase in UK is defined on the basis of fastest population growth over a century. The claims of expected population growth is greatly challenged by some as suspecting the UK immigration trend as witnessed in the country over the last few years may not continue. Statisticians said at least 70 per cent of the population rise over the next 20 years will be attributable directly to immigration. The government receives statistics in advance so that they plan strategies for necessary spending therefore the projections of population growth with immigrants of National population size are drawn every two years.


As well as the continued increase in UK immigration the projections claim: - The number of over 65’s will rise by 32% by 2033 to 15.6m. In 25 years time there will be a ratio of 2.8 persons of working age to every person of pension-claiming age - this is a fall from the current 3.2 people. The statistics provided by ONS states that a total of 180,000 new immigrants will immigrate to the UK every year and the trend would continue for next 25 years which will have a direct impact on the local population and added growth as the immigrant population could also double following the birth of children in their families.

Pointing out the issue, the UK immigration minister Phil Woolas mentioned that the projected number was 10,000 lower a year than previously projected by the ONS showing the new points-based system to UK immigration was working. He said, “Today's projections show that population growth is starting to slow down, the impacts of the radical reforms we have made to the immigration system over the last two years are working”.

DIAC Introduces Emendations in Health Examination Report

There are going to be new provisions for the required health examination reports for a visa application for Australia. Following emendations to the same, on November 9, 2009, The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) will change the requirement for a health examination report. Based on the new provisions, DIAC will suspend the arrangements that allow some of the visa applicants to re-use the old or previous health examination reports.
To obtain a Temporary visa, applicants currently can reuse the previous health reports. But under the new provision, there are going to be upgraded system for permanent health clearance. Currently, the system allows applicants to fill out a Form 26 for medical examination but the new rules would require that the applicants obtain a full permanent health clearance. The changes are going to be made by DIAC as the department received a number of complaints in regard to the “upgrade” process. As many applicants and immigration agents have complained that where "upgrades" have been requested, they have resulted in processing delays, and in some cases clients have been forced to complete new medical examinations anyway. Some of the arrangements however have been reversed by DIAC, and some that appear to be working quite well have been retained are:
ü Temporary health examination reports which were locally cleared and remain valid can still be re-use for a further temporary visa application.
ü The rules surrounding re-use of health clearances also remain the same (e.g. a 457 visa applicant who completed full permanent medicals "upfront" and received a permanent health clearance can "re-use" this clearance for their permanent visa application if it is still valid).
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by varsha negi
www.angadinfo.com

Skilled Shortage List UK Reviewed by Migration Advisory Committee, Suggests Additions

U.K. has announced some new additions to the shortage occupation list. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has announced that since UK is in need of more immigrant labour in some specific category, there are still some occupations that lag behind. MAC recommended that teachers in special schools and skilled meat boners and trimmers should also be included in the skilled shortage occupation list. Mac has advised British government to sensibly fill the skill shortages by allowing people to immigrate under prescribed categories. Based on the recommendations, the above said occupations will be added to the shortage occupation list which implies that employers will be able to directly recruit skilled labour to these job categories without needing to carry out a resident labour market test. However, with the slump in the economy MAC has also recommended that some occupations in engineering category and construction jobs and ship and hover officer jobs should be removed from the list.

Skilled Chefs however still remain on the recommended list. MAC has also suggested measures to accelerate the efforts to train the local residents in the chef category to fill the need from within as next year the list is going to be reviewed again. Some other occupations that the MAC also recommended adding to the list are:
specialised jobs in the electricity transmission and distribution industry;
some medical specialists, including higher-level speciality paediatrics trainees; and
Aircraft technicians and fitters.
A latest report by MAC includes its second partial review of its recommended shortage occupation list. For the report, the MAC reviewed all healthcare and engineering occupations, chefs, teachers (further/higher, secondary, primary, and special needs education teaching professionals), town planners, managers in construction, quantity surveyors, ship and hovercraft officers, veterinary surgeons, sheep shearers, work riders, ballet dancers, skilled fish filterers, meat boners and trimmers.
MAC first reviewed its first recommendations in 2008 and all the occupations in the shortage occupation lists have been reviewed once or more till this date. Speaking on the same, Professor David Metcalf CBE, who chairs the MAC, said, “The points-based system, including the shortage occupation list, has to operate for the benefit of UK workers, especially given the current economic climate. The Migration Advisory Committee's latest recommendations take account of the impact of the worldwide recession on the UK. We have looked at the evidence and made recommendations that balance the needs of the UK workforce against those of employers. It is important to note that some shortages of skilled labour will still exist in a recession. This can be where there is a long-term structural shortage of skilled workers, where workers provide key public services, or in areas such as culture where the UK needs to maintain global leadership”. The government of UK however still has to issue a response to the recommendations made which is likely to follow in coming weeks.
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by varsha negi
www.angadinfo.com

Bogus Australian Student Visa Applications under Scrutiny

Australian authorities have now started noticing the trend among many student visa applicants of fraudulently immigrating to Australia by acquiring student visas. Many agents around the globe along with corrupt employers have now started abusing student visa to smuggle people to Australia deceptively. According to the leading recruitment firm IDP Education Australia, “Unscrupulous landlords, employers and migration and education agents are using Australian student visas to smuggle people into the country”.
“There is a ‘chain of exploitation’ abusing the system through which people can move to Australia to study, in order to make money from vulnerable students”, said Tony Pollack, chief executive of IDP. He also mentioned that many authorities have caught people on student visas working part-time or studying in a fraudulent college. The applicants are usually conned with misrepresentative advice from many study visa agents. Tony Pollack further claimed that the problem affected hundreds of students and created a “deep resentment” among the student population who had been exploited.
Surprisingly, a research by the Australian authorities itself found that many immigration agents are themselves sponsoring the prospective fraud students by showing their bank accounts to apply for the visa as it is a must that for a student visa, a student must have about $12,000 in their account. The agents enrol bogus students in unregistered or fake colleges owned by deceitful landlords or the agents themselves. The colleges also mark the fake students’ attendance and misrepresent them as attending classes while they clearly are working outside. Pollack has said that the offenders enrolling bogus students for Australian Visas would be tracked down and will be punished.

A local newspaper of Australia, Brisbane Times, further quoted, “Indian students will face greater screening as the Government cracks down on visa fraud and scrutinizes the ability of students to finance life in Australia. Students from target countries will face more stringent interviews and curbed access to visa applications online. Addressing the issue, Senator Chris Evans said, “The message is clear. Genuine international students remain welcome in Australia but we will not tolerate fraud in the student visa program.'' There are now going to be many rigorous measures taken by the Australian student visa council to combat the problem of fraud and false applications. Applicants deemed at risk of cheating the system will also be hauled in for interviews to determine their legitimate intention to study.
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by varsha negi

www.angadinfo.com

Australia Unveils New Citizenship Test

A new citizenship test has been unveiled by the Australian Government for applicants wishing to apply for an Australian visa. The new test would be taken by Australian visa holders who wish to apply for citizenship has been launched from today, October 20th. Migrants who want to become Australian citizens will have to be able to correctly identify the country’s prime minister and national flower, according to the new draft citizenship test. Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said, “The aim of the test is to get that balance between diversity and integration correct in future". The prospective citizen will have to give a correct answer to 12 out of 20 questions - drawn from a total of about 200. The new citizenship test is expected to be introduced later this year.

According to Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), the new test is much simpler and fairer than the previous test. Some of the questions have been changed and even removed keeping in mind that all the questions should be given equal weight in terms of marks. The test would challenge the applicant’s knowledge of Australian history and existing norms. It is specially designed to test Australian visa holders and prospective citizens about their knowledge of general Australian civics and the privileges and responsibilities of becoming an Australian citizen. The questions would cover some of the political subjects like government, laws and democratic beliefs. A few example of the multi choice questions published on the DIAC website include:
1. Which of these is a responsibility of Australian citizens aged 18 years or over?a) To attend local council meetingsb) To vote in electionsc) To have a current Australian passport2. What is the name of the legal document that sets out the rules for the government of Australia?a) The Australian Federationb) The Australian Commonwealthc) The Australian Constitution
All the test questions are taken from the revised citizenship resource book called the Australian citizenship: Our Common Bond. To apply for a citizenship, applicants can check the revised book to prepare for the test. Speaking about the test Senator Evans said, "The new test is not a general knowledge quiz about Australia. We want people applying for citizenship to understand the values of Australian society, our democratic beliefs, our rights and our system of law and what it means to be an Australian citizen. All prospective citizens should understand those concepts so all of the questions in the new citizenship test focus on the commitments that new citizens make in the pledge.''

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By varsha negi

www.angadinfo.com

European Council Approve Blue Card Scheme

In order to cope up with the problems of aging population and shortages of highly skilled workforce, the European Parliament adopted a measure to help deal with them by going ahead with the much awaited ‘Blue Card’ scheme. Impressed with the results of many countries which gladly accept skilled labor from around the world, Europe now also wants skilled workforce to help alleviate shortages in its labor market. The much awaited Blue Card system is now set to function for European Immigration and work permit. Compared to the stats of skilled workforce around the world, it has been noted that as compared to US with a 3.2 percent of skilled workforce, Europe only has a total of 1.7 percent of working population as skilled labor. It has also been noted that the success of the United States Green Card has played an immense role in influencing the European Union’s decision to go ahead with the ‘Blue Card’ scheme to attract top talents. Apart from USA, the success of Canada and Australia has also played a role for the council’s decision making. Both nations are also pursuing skilled foreign workers with open arms by utilizing a points based schemes to attract overseas help. The point based system is based upon many factors such as education, experience and age.

The European Union’s Blue Card Scheme does not have any points based system but the scheme sure has provided details of some requirements for applicants. The Blue Card Scheme requires the pursuing foreign workers to have a valid job offer. They should have also earned a university degree from educational institutions with duration of at least three years or they are required to have at least five years experience in the relevant work sector. In addition, blue card holders will also have access to many social services like Pension Scheme, health care etc. The Blue Card holders will also be allowed to move to another member states after 18 months incase they get another job there. Also, after six months, family reunification would be allowed if the spouse has the ability to work as well.

Researches have shown that Europe will have a shortfall of 20 million workers by 2030 if the current demographic trend continues. Therefore, the goal of the scheme is to better harmonize the 27 different immigration policies. Some nations like UK, Ireland, and Denmark would be exempted from the Blue Card Scheme and Member nations will have a maximum of two years to implement the Blue Card.

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written by varsha negi

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Indian Student Market tops the Chart in Pursuing Foreign Education

Indian students on international campuses over the last few years have emerged as the biggest group world over, even lagging the number of Chinese students behind. As reported by the annual publications of Open Doors by the Institute of International Education (IIE), in association with the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, India remained the leading country of origin of foreign students in America for the seventh consecutive time in financial year 2008 increasing by 13% to 94,563 students overall.

Overall, more than 2 lac Indian students studied overseas last year. The attraction of foreign campuses is due to enormous reasons and not just because of infrastructure problems at home institutions- such as poor organisation structure, not enough seats for professional courses, improper competition or the reservation system. Studying overseas is considered as a huge opportunity for global careers and Indian students turn out to be the most skilled professionals among the lot. Indian families enroot their children since the beginning to the benefits of education and they go a long way to avail them with good education. Many families are willing to do investments in their children’s future by availing themselves of loans to send their younger ones abroad for further education. To top it all, Indian banks seem to have developed a great interest in providing loans for few years of educations abroad to aspiring students.

Indian students are being considered as huge market surpluses by many overseas universities which mainly depend on offshore students as they generate large revenues for them. For instance, in 2007-08 educational institutions in Australia earned around A$13.7 billion, purely from international students out of which about 97,000 students came from India.

The Australian ‘education’ dream however now seem to fade away with the new buzz across the country about racial attacks on Indian students and on the other hand the impacts of recession on the global market. Inspite of all, many students are still pursuing Australia as it was once considered as a hottest campus for education. According to the latest figures as provided by the US Embassy, a dramatic decline of 25% in the numbers of F1 student visas issued in India for the financial year of 2009 (Oct- 208 to Sep 2009) as this year only 25,860 visas were issued against 34,510 issued in FY 2008.

Many experts still believe that inspite of the downturn and decrease in number of students going abroad, the numbers of students seeking admission abroad will continue to rise. Speaking on the same, Ms. Shevanti Narayan- country co-ordinator, educational advising services, United States India Educational Foundation- said, “Worldwide economic recession is bound to have an impact n the number of students applying to the USA. However, interest in US higher education continues. Large numbers of students still throng the US university fairs that we organise and we continue to meet students at our centres all over the country seeking guidance on the application procedures. The benefits of US higher education can not be undermined an Indian student equipped with US education comes out with a truly global edge.”

People still see US as a preferred destination for education abroad simply because of its multi-ethnic population as many students are getting paranoid with racial attacks. Ms. Narayan further added that US continues to be a popular destination for Indian students. The quality, choice, value and flexibility are some of the factors that make Indian students choose US over any other country. The US educational experience encourages one to be innovative, creative and think independently. The long term career prospects of a student are enhanced as the method of teaching is designed to apply theoretical knowledge. The American approach to education is recognised as among the best and most innovative in the world.

Australia on the other hand is going to suffer setbacks while attracting the same amount of foreign students as following the recent attacks on Indian students the Australian government has now taken precautionary measures to filter genuine students out of the lot. Michael A. Opie, Manager International Students (International office- Charles Darwin University) was quoted saying, “I was told by all agents that the number of applications are down for Australia and that they expect it to take atleast 6 months to recover. I think the steps taken by the Australian government will help but now that many Indian students are being interviewed before a visa is granted I suspect that this will mean that fewer visas are refused for diploma level studied. This will also reduce the number of students coming to Australia. Prospective students are also aware that there are likely to be changes in migration rules in the near future and this is also causing some hesitation about applying to study in Australia.”

Following the uproar on systematic rules and regulations for student visas, UK Border Agency has also streamlined the system for applying for a visa under Tier 4 system which was amended recently on October 1st. Speaking on the same, Ms. Sally Goggin, Head Education, British Council India and Sri Lanka says, “We are still seeing an increase in the number of students going to the UK. Education is so important to Indian families that they will put this ahead of many other things and continue to invest in their children’s future. I think education is seen as even more important in a time of economic slowdown as it becomes a key routine to ensuring a secure career. The new visa regulations have been introduced over the past few months and students and agents are slowly getting used to these and the process is therefore coming easier now that the transition from the old to the new system has taken place. Based on what we are hearing from UK institutions and the UK border agency numbers have increased this year”. This year a rough estimate has shown that in 2008 there were over 30,000 Indian students in UK and over 15% increase has taken this year.

Canada also does not lag behind. Canada is expecting a hike in the number of students from India. Indian students are weighing advantages as they are allowed to work part time and even gain a permanent residency after they finish with their studies. Studying in Canada is also seen as an advantage for a fast track global job market. Ms. Maria Mathai, Director, Canadian Education Centre, India said, “The cost of studying and living in Canada has remained stable at about Rs. 4-4.5 lac per year. Besides there has been significant interest and a positive vibe generated by the launch of the Canadian experience class visa which is a policy is favourable to international students. Most institutions in Canada have seen an increase in enrolments and some have had record number of applications. This year we are quite optimistic and expert to continue to demonstrate an increased percentage in overall numbers of Canada.”

Apart from that, countries like France, New Zealand and Germany have also opened doors for Indian students on job market front. France now allows its students to stay back for 6 more months to look for jobs after they finish with their studies. New Zealand, under the skilled immigration category allows skilled students to stay back and gain a permanent residency status. The demand for student visas among Indian nationals is going to rise within coming months.
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by varsha negi
http://www.angadinfo.com/

Australia Still Considered Safest Study Destination

A new report based on a survey would be released very soon by the Australian International Education Conference, Sydney, which states that studying in Australia is one of the safest places for Indian students to pursue their further education abroad. The survey was carried out by IDP Education, a student recruitment firm, interviewing about 1130 Indian graduates and students wishing to study abroad. 26 percent of the sample students ranked studying in Australia as the safest options among provided. Australia was also ranked top in terms of government policies in place to protect international students, immigration laws and ease of application for an Australian visa, with 19 per cent of the votes from Indian students. The US came second in this category, followed closely by the UK, Canada and New Zealand.

Inspite of the news flashing across the globe about ‘racial attacks on Indian students’ many Indian students still believe that Australia is the safest destination to study abroad. Pursuing higher education in Australia is quite popular among Indian students who have dreams of fetching a top-quality education, while gaining valuable language and cultural knowledge. The government of Australia has been working hard to keep a check on such racial attacks and ensure safety to foreign students coming from India to study in Australia. Speaking on the same, a spokesperson for IDP Education said, "these results are very encouraging in the light of recent challenges to Australia's reputation as a quality, safe and good value provider of education to Indian students.” Chris Evans, the Australian immigration Minister also welcomed the results of the survey as he laid out new plans to attract new students for visa applications.

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written by Varsha Negi

www.angadinfo.com

Canadian Economy and Immigration

We have been reading about the Canadian Economy and the resistance it showed to the economic crisis. Throughout the past few months, news has been flashing on internet about the speedy recovery Canada has been making with the downturns of recession. Compared to the economies of many countries around the world, the economy of Canada is less affected by recession and it still remains the perfect place to do business with its stable banking system and its much easier now to start a business in Canada as the economy moves out of the recession. The immigrant population is also one of the biggest key to the success of the growth of the country.

‘Bank of Canada’ also declared recently that the recession was over after surveying the status of many Canadian banks. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Canada also grew in June for the first time in 11 months, reported Statistics Canada (StatsCan). StatsCan recently reported that in August, the private sector created more than 27,000 jobs, an unexpected growth in the job market. Canada’s major banks are reporting profits in the third quarter of 2009, another sign that the economy is recovering. In addition, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the federal housing agency, said that the housing market is expected to rebound over the last few months of 2009.

Some analysts have been picturing it as a positive sign believing that Canada is not only recovering from the economic slump which has affected most nations, but they also believe that Canada’s economy is expected to grow. “The upturn in June GDP, the swift snapback in housing amid rebounding consumer confidence, and a stabilizing U.S. economy all suggest that Canada’s recession is indeed ending,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, a leading financial services provider.

New Immigrants in Canada have boosted the housing market. In last eight years, the inflow of immigrants in Canada is responsible for most of the housing sales in the Greater Toronto Area. As reported by Scotia bank, a major Canadian financial institution, found that newcomers are making a faster transition from renting homes to owning homes than they did in the past. “Given Canada’s aging population and low fertility rates, longer term household formation and housing needs will be largely determined by immigration,” Adrienne Warren, the author of the report, said. Inspite of that, the skills and experiences of the immigrant is becoming increasingly valuable to the Canadian economy.

Addressing to the same, Mr. Gordon Nixon and Dominic D’Alessandro of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council said, “Immigrants bring skills, including language and cultural abilities, knowledge and networks that can help us to reach out to emerging economic giants such as China and India, as well as emerging markets at home – particularly at a time when the U.S. economy remains weak and we need to be looking to expand our trade and cultural relationships even more”.

Due to the following, many employers and institutions in Canada are now taking various majors to ensure that the new immigrants fully adjust to the country’s labour market. Various new initiatives have been introduced for the immigrants like providing them with mentorship programs, language instruction services, increasing their networking requirements etc.
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written by Varsha Negi
www.angadinfo.com