Australia to Speed up Pending Visa Applications

There is good news for people who have applied for an Australian visa under skilled immigration category with a pending status. Chris Evans, the Australian Immigration Minister announced plans to speed up the visa applications that have been in queue. Australian Immigration has also established a new advisory service to help in establishing people’s immigration status as quickly as possible. The following plans of forming up a council of immigration services and status resolution were revealed yesterday by the Australian immigration Minister.

The council is purely set to provide guidance and advice on the rollout of the Community Status Resolution Service. The responsibility of the council is set to take over the duties of Detention Advisory Group and will meet initially on 21st of this month to decide the major immigration issues that will be dealt immediately.

Speaking on the same, Evans stated that the council will help Australian immigration officials to process Australian visa applications quickly. He said, “the council will provide independent advice on policies, services and programmes to achieve timely, fair and effective resolution of immigration status for people seeking asylum or other migration outcomes in Australia." He further added that, “the government's focus is on resolving the immigration status of people quickly and fairly while ensuring they are treated humanely and with dignity and respect.” The provision of a quick decision on applications to live in Australia is essential for Australia since many cases are pending and Australia still requires a lot of skilled immigrants in its work forces.
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written by Varsha Negi
WWW.ANGADINFO.COM

Adelaide’s Reducing Skilled Immigrant Population

Although after so much of skilled immigration to South Australia, the positions under skilled immigration programmes are still lying vacant in Adelaide. It has been observed that people who are taking immigration under state sponsorship to Adelaide are first arriving in Adelaide on those visas and then they are relocating to other metropolitan places like Melbourne or Sydney. In order to grow in line with forecasted labour demands, South Australia depends heavily on immigrant workers but Business analysts have raised concerns that not enough are settling in the state after arriving in Australia on their work visas. Many people are obtaining their work permits or skilled immigration for Australia under regional categories as they are easier to obtain. After acquiring a permit, people are leaving for bigger and better states to look out for more opportunities.

A recent study by PKF Australia and Access Economics, states that 18,500 people were settled in South Australia in 2008, 16,000 of those were from overseas and on an Australian visa. This correlates to roughly 86.5% of the newly settled citizens coming from overseas. Many of these immigrants have moved out of Adelaide to bigger and better cities leaving Adelaide’s population of skilled workers less than sufficient to fill up the vacant positions. The South Australian business leaders or employers are concerned that Australian immigration is seeing a trend of migrants that arrive in Adelaide but after a short period of time, they choose to move to other larger Australian cities, such as Melbourne or Sydney. This trend has left South Australia lacking of the necessary skilled professionals.

Speaking about the same, the National Chairman of Enterprise Advisers, Mr. Chris Allen said, “Skilled migrants are a necessary and important contribution to Australia's economy and growth. Because highly skilled migrants in Australia earn a relatively high income in relation to the size they represent, in the overall workforce, they spend more of their income, and spending, creates demand for more workers." He further quoted that "Put in Lehman’s terms more immigration to Adelaide equals more customers, and also more jobs."

Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan said SA was an attractive starting point for international migrants but many were unable to get a job and were forced to move interstate for work and to secure permanent residency. Mr Vaughan emphasised the need for employers to take on qualified graduates from overseas. "The future of this state will be based on skilled migrants from other cultures who are going to settle in SA looking for job opportunities, careers, advancement and reward," he said. "If we don't provide those things that precious commodity will go elsewhere."

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written by Varsha Negi

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Conservative Party ‘Promises’ to Increase UK Skilled Immigration in 2010

What would look like a famous party ‘stunt’ is even more intriguing than that. To get maximum number of votes in upcoming UK elections (2010), the Conservative Party mentioned in its election plans that if they are the winning party in 2010 elections, they would be increasing the intake of skilled UK migration to attract many high potential immigrants to live and work in the UK. Speaking on the same Mr. Damian Green, the shadow minister stated, "We want to attract more than our fair share of the brightest and the best” at the party’s annual conference in Manchester about UK Immigration. In other words, the conservatives would launch a drive to get more highly qualified migrants to come to the UK, as quoted by the shadow minister Damian Green.

Mr. Green further explained that the party also wants to achieve a similar system for UK immigration in comparison to the Australian immigration system. In Australia, there is a pre-provided list of the most demanded skilled occupations of which the country is in dire needs and also the country allows immigrants to migrate to Australia based on those professions. Apart from that Australia also has appropriate measures to attract the most highly skilled professional from other countries. The same strategy would be introduced to the UK Visa systems by the Conservative party.

The minister further argued that in order to maintain its position as a global trading nation, UK would need to attract more skilled and qualified professionals and entrepreneurs to work in the country as compared to their rival economies like Japan or USA. He stated that the UK was “really lucky as a country” that the influx of immigrants moving to this country with UK visas from Eastern Europe over the past few years have been “hard working and respectable." However, he also said, “it was important that British people feel that their community services are not being threatened by increasing UK immigration and that newcomers can settle well into their new communities”. He said Britain was a global trading nation and it was vital for future prosperity to attract more entrepreneurs and highly qualified graduates to the UK.
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written by Varsha Negi
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Australia Second Best Place to Live as Reports UNDP

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Report Rankings, Australia is the second best place to live in the whole world as it offers a quality lifestyle. Norway is ranked as the first best place with excellent quality of life. The ranking for best life by UNDP, Human Development Report, was done keeping basic factors in mind like -life expectancy, education and wealth as these factors affect the basic life experienced by the people of a country. By the present UNDP report, Australia is the second best country to offer a great quality of life and such ranking would encourage the new aspirants to immigrate to Australia even more. The present ranking is purely based on the country’s strong performance and is hence indexed in top listing.
Based on the data over the past year, the average life expectancy in Australia has increased by three to four months besides the average income of people rose by 4 percent. These figures are set aside keeping in mind the impact of recession on people living in Australia and it illustrates the fact that Australians have survived the economic slump and dealt with it quite nicely. The report suggests that countries that offer a high quality of life attract more migrants, with thousands of people moving to Australia each year on work visas and working holiday visas. It states, ''most migration, internal and international, reap gains in the form of higher incomes, better access to education and health, and improved prospects for their children.'' Along with that, Canada was ranked 4th and USA stood as the 13th country which offered best quality of life. The report was based on the data taken from 182 countries overall. Niger, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone scored worst in terms of human development and the poorest performing region was sub-Saharan Africa, where states are afflicted by war and HIV/AIDS.
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written by Varsha Negi

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Canada to Emerge as a Strong Economy by 2010

As reported by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), world market expects to see a surprise growth of Canadian economy which would outperform other countries in the developed nations. The economic growth of Canadian economy is however expected to be limited until 2011 as the recession is expected to end by then and it is forecasted that the economy of other countries would also reach its full swing. The fact however could be attributed to the increase in stimulus spending of $40 Billion. The report also continued to mention that Canada was not hit as hard as other developed nations due to recession. Canada’s performance during the recession times is due to the country’s resilience of the market sectors like housing etc and its strength in the banking system.
By the end of September, The Bank of Canada and the organization for economic Co-operation and Development declared that they have witnessed signs of recovery in the Canadian economy as well as some other economies of the world. As reported by CIBC, it is expected that Canada’s economy would grow at a rate of two percent in 2010, which is stronger than the growth rate which is expected of the US Economy and European Countries as well.
Speaking on the same, the CIBC Chief Economist, Avery Shenfeld stressed that ‘the injection of stimulus dollars’ into the world's economies have had a lot to do with this forecasted turn around and subsequent growth. "On some dimensions, Canada stands out from its peers, largely because the financial shock to the household, government and banking sectors was less dramatic than in the U.S. or some parts of Europe," notes Mr. Shenfeld. "But as we saw last year, no country is an island, and after a decent finish to 2009, Canada could be waiting another year for truly robust growth."
It is quite noticeable as some countries completely shut down immigration, with the boom in the economy Canada is bound to meet the immigration standard requirements for the smooth running of economy. As Canadian financial system would flourish, more and more opportunities will open up for its local residents and people who dream to immigrate to Canada on various criteria. Many occupations are going to add in the Federal Skilled Worker programme for immigration to Canada.
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written by Varsha Negi
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More jobs lie vacant in Australia

According to the latest ANZ jobs survey, the job advertisements in local newspapers and on internet peaked by 4.4% in September, the fastest rate since November 2007. The job advertisements on internet and on papers were 8.7% higher than July. Compared to all, the rate was over all lower than this year.

The survey figures revealed that the number of job ads in major metropolitan newspapers jumped 3.7%, following a 5.5% rise in August, to a weekly average of 8,929. Meanwhile, internet job ads climbed 4.5% in a second consecutive month of growth to a weekly average of 127,141.

Addressing to the same, ANZ acting chief economist Warren Hogan said in a statement, "These data provide the best evidence we have received to date that the labour market (and the economy more generally) is entering an early recovery phase following this downturn. Further he added, "Australian economic activity has been remarkably resilient in recent months, particularly in some of our largest employing industries such as retail trade, health services, government and construction."

The employment requirement data also sheds some insight on the present job scenario in Australia. The data raises speculation as the Reserve Bank of Australia was to raise interest rates at a policy meeting, with Hogan since the figures also give hope for unemployment figures. Speaking on which he said, "Today's numbers confirm our expectation that the pace of decline in employment will not be as severe as envisaged six months ago”. "We expect the Australian unemployment rate to peak at around 7.25% in mid-2010."


Meanwhile, the latest Olivier Job Index found the number of jobs advertised in Australia rose 3.58% in August. Full-time work was up 3.4% and part-time work up 5.3% in the last month, the report found. With the new jobs opening up in the market at a higher speed, the Australian govt is encouraged to support skilled immigration. The regional areas of Australia still need to be developed while the metropolitan areas like Melbourne and Sydney witnesses’ higher unemployment ratio. As more and more jobs lie vacant, Australia would need people from around the globe who could fill in the spots.

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UK Visa Application Centre Witness a Huge Rush Following the Implementation of New Rules

Many parts of Northern India witnessed a huge rush of student visa applications following the implementation of study visa rules changing for UK. The UK visa application centre in Chandigarh, India, was overrun with people earlier this week. The crowd had to be dispersed with the help of local police forces as the UK visa application centre in Jalandhar was over crowded. All the applicants were hoping to obtain their visas before the changes to the UK visa regulations that were to be introduced on 1st October 2009.

The UK border agency applied certain changes for applications to the student visa category. The new tighter restrictions affect those applying for visas under Tier 4 of the UK points based system. It also largely impact people who are hoping to gain a student visa to allow them to study in the UK. Before October 1st, there were not such strict requirements for an applicant to apply for a student visa in terms of ‘declaration of finances’. The tighter restrictions require student visa applicants submitted from outside the UK to show they have funds for fees and maintenance in their banks for a 28 day period within a month of making their application. However, those who applied before 01 October only had to show they had the funds on the day they applied.

The visa application centres witnessed a huge rush in Punjab and Haryana region.
Many of those seeking visas in the rush failed as the counter at the Visa Facilitation Services centre closed early due to a large crowd of people who had come from all over the region. As reported by a visa seeker about desperation among the applicants, "there is no discipline here. Nobody is giving us any information. The police are also baton charging us. First police asked us to sit, then after about ten minutes, they started beating us. One boy started bleeding after being hit in the leg."
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Proficient English for a Good Job in Australia

A recent study claims that due to lack of cultural assimilation skills, Australian student visa holders are losing out on opportunities to work in Australia. The study was commissioned by the Australian government. The study reports that many young foreigners who have studied in Australia even after being highly skilled or semi skilled in professions demanded in skill shortage lists, are struggling to succeed in interviews. Students who do not speak English as their first language have problems communicating successfully in the workplace. The study was carried out by the ‘Centre for the Study of Higher Education’ found the facts about problems of communication among students who do not speak English at workplaces.

The study’s project director Sophie Arkoudis said that overseas students often saw the ability to communicate effectively in interviews and in work as irrelevant. She explained, ''The students are very fixed on completing their course. However, many students may not see learning social language skills as relevant.” The study concluded that, “the Australian employers interviewed sought well-rounded employees who not only have sufficient English language skills but also have the cross-cultural ability and the potential to adapt to working in Australia'.''

A spokesperson for Julia Gillard, the education minister, said she welcomed the study as it showed that 85% of immigrants who had moved to Australia on student visas were able to find work in Australia within six months of graduating. Communication has always been a bridging factor as well as a gap between foreigners and local people. The study was titled as “The impact of English language proficiency and workplace readiness on the employment outcomes of tertiary international students”.

The study concluded that non English speaking students experienced difficulties getting a job than those international students who spoke English. Apart from that the study gave recommendations as how international students could be helped further to get a job in Australia. The employer groups are encouraged to develop access and equity guidelines for recruiting overseas-born workers (both onshore and offshore graduates), taking into consideration fair and equitable strategies/methods for evaluating applicant’s communication skills.

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Canadian Workplaces and Job Security to Immigrants

A recent survey depicted that people who are working in Canada are happy with their jobs. According to a poll by the famous job search engine, monster.ca, commissioned by the Labour Day 46% of people who work in Canada feel that they have more job security today than they did at the same time last year. Canadian workers in public sector felt the most secure at 53% compared with 42% of private sector.

The poll also showed that 88% of people working in Canadian firms were content with their jobs. These Canadian workers were also satisfied with their current employment situation. To a surprise Canadian workers living in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were the most secure with their jobs as compared to the rest of the country.

The unemployment rate in Canada at present is about 8.6% with many signs of its emerging from recession. Inspite the recession and economic turmoil, Canada has still given opportunities to skilled migrants who applied for Canadian visas and work permits. The strategy of which is still paying off.

The results of the survey were out standing. It was also found that 33% of people thought job security with their institutions was the top perk. Besides 31% of people said that best thing was that they could keep a balance between their work and personal life in their present jobs.

The survey was conducted by the Harris-Decima polling company on behalf of Monster.ca. "Although we've seen daily reports of layoffs and plant closures, Canadians are feeling pretty good about how they make a living," said Peter Gilfillan, general manager of Monster Canada. "Anxiety levels seem to be going down, and that's really encouraging."

Apart from holding polls and surveys, Canada is now trying to attract investors and foreign skilled workers to come and live in Canada as the country is short of skilled immigrants. Canada offers a bundle of opportunities to foreign immigrants who come to Canada in a hope to start a new life.
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Canada Attracts Investors while the World Economic Forum Rank its Banks the Soundest

The World Economic Forum has ranked Canada and its banking system as the ‘soundest in the world’ once again. Canada now hopes to attract foreign investors to obtain a permanent residence while they also help its economy to flourish further. The members of the Forum also voted Canada for giving the new immigrants enough ease to start their own businesses.

As obtaining a PR in Canada is always good news among Asian immigrants, this new option would be well accepted among wealthy Asians. The South Asia Mail quoted that the Immigrant Investor Program which would allow the rich people to get a Canadian visa if they invested in the Canadian economy in anyway would be a great option for them. People could invest by starting their own businesses or already established businesses besides they could also gain a PR status in Canada.

There are many advantages for people who wish to immigrate under the immigrant investor plan. The new immigrants along with many benefits would get a five year tax ‘holiday’ with a secured and permanent residency. Well-off business people hoping to take advantage of this category of Canadian Business Immigration can either seek their Canadian visa through the Federal Investor Program or the Quebec Investor Program. For both programs visa applicants are required to hold a net worth of CA$800,000 and must make a government guaranteed investment of CA$400,000. The sum is returned to the applicant, without interest, after five years.

The report by the World Economic Forum also cited that Canada has the world's soundest banking system, closely followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia. UK, which had the top most position last year, has slipped to 44th place after El Salvador and Peru, while USA ranked 40th position in the charts. The Global Competitiveness Report by The World Economic Forum based its findings on many opinions by executives and handed banks a score between 1 and 7 ranging from low to highest respectively.

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Australian Immigration is now tougher with new Rules taking effects from Today

The sensation spread today when the immigration industry witnessed an updated report from the Minister, Chris Evans, Department of Immigration and Citizenship- Australia. The announcement stated that the Priority Processing will take effect from today, 23rd September. The document issued by the Minister for immigration and Citizenship, Chris Evans stated that there will be new ‘priority processing’ arrangements for certain Skilled Migration Visas from now on. Due to the rise in immigration fraud and genuineness of the cases, these new arrangements are designed to compensate those who suffer because of this.

Australia still suffers from skill shortages inspite of so many people immigrating to Australia every year. This brought the government in doubt and in order to address the needs of the skill shortage industry according to the Critical Skilled List the government came up with new rules and regulations. The updated priority processing directions would be commenced on 23rd September 2009.

What is more surprising is the fact that these rules would be applied to the cases in pipelines as well. The cases which are not yet finalised would also be treated with the updated priority processing directions and all the applications lodged on or after 23 September this year would be considered with the same instructions.

Now the question arises as what is priority processing and why did it take place? According to the section 51 of the Migration Act 1958, the Minister for immigration and citizenship has the powers to consider and finalise visa applications in an order of priority in which way it is considered appropriate. The ministerial directions must be followed by the departmental officers. It would be valid to the new applicants as well, along with the old applicants waiting for a decision from the same. One would wonder that why these processing are changed, then, it is purely a directive response to the needs of the Australian economy.

The directions for the priority processing would give priority to people who wish to immigrate to Australia with the required skills and qualifications, whose nominated occupations fall under the current CSL (critical skilled list). The following amendment would take effect from today, and also applies to the applications which are already been lodged and are yet not finalised with the department. The present directions would be applicable equally for onshore as well as offshore applications.

The occupations that are not included on the CSL would not be considered as priority processing unless the applicants are directly sponsored by an employer under ENS or RSMS. The applications already in process would be put on hold if they do not come under the ‘priority processing’ list as high priority cases would be processed with urgency.

The application under priority processing would take about 12 months from the lodgement date to be considered, given that they come under CSL list. The occupations that are non- high priority would not be finalised before the end of 2012. If the present applicants with their ‘nominated occupations’ in non- high priority list do not wish that their applications would be processed any further till 2012, they can simply withdraw their applications, however, only in limited circumstances their visas fees would be refunded.

The updated priority list highlighted the occupation of an Accountant in the CSL list. With the minimum eligibility criteria, it is made notable that a person applying for immigration must have a proficient IELTS test result with a minimum of 7 bands in all the four components. Applicants with the same or higher score would be considered as high priority.

The Minister has set priority processing arrangements which apply to the following visas from 23 September 2009:
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas except for:
Skilled – Recognized Graduate Subclass 476
Skilled – Designated Area – Sponsored (Residence) Subclass 883
Skilled – Regional Subclass 887.

Under the Ministerial Direction, the following processing priorities (with highest priority listed first) apply:
1. Applications from people who are employer sponsored under the ENS and the RSMS
2. Applications from people who are nominated by a State/Territory government and whose nominated occupation is listed on the Critical Skills List (CSL)
3. Applications from people who are sponsored by family and whose nominated occupation is listed on the CSL
4. Applications from people who are neither nominated nor sponsored but whose nominated occupation is listed on the CSL September 2009 1 of 6 September 2009 2 of 6
5. Applications from people who are nominated by a State/Territory government whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL
6. (i) Applications from people whose occupations are listed on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) and
(ii) Applications from people who are sponsored by family and whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL.
7. All other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received.

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written by Varsha Negi
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Recession brings Downfall in Immigration Trends, suggests a Report

A recent report by Washington based Migration Policy Institute of the BBC World Services, stated that since 2008 very less number of people are immigrating abroad which has resulted in reduction of the number of people going overseas to live. However, since the global economy is now recovering the trend of less number of people immigrating abroad is going to change with the improvement of the same. The report suggested that since 2008, there have been many changes in the pattern of immigration across the globe. Some of which are following:

Ø Some countries such as Malaysia, Australia and Russia have reduced the number of work visas they issue. However, Australia overall still encourages immigration.

Ø Almost half of the 1.4 million Eastern European workers who came to United Kingdom between May 2004 and March 2009 from European Union accession countries had returned by the end of 2008. Some former Eastern-Bloc Countries have managed to cope quite well with the economic downturn. The good news is that more and more people are optimistic about the UK economy. There has been a significant increase in UK share prices recently.

Inspite of this, some countries such as Australia and Canada has constant level or even higher numbers of immigrant population. As a matter of fact over all levels of immigration are still going up. By 2050, it is projected that 230 million people would be foreign born. In a comparison, it was 75 million in 1965. In a longer perspective the immigration industry would witness a significant growth as the numbers of immigrant wishing to go abroad would gradually increase.

The report however looked at immigration trend throughout the globe. As per the Chinese figures, within the country 140 million left rural areas to look for better prospects in urban and more industrial cities. However, due to recession, millions returned back to countryside and very fewer then returned back to the cities.

The situation in China however is not typical and limited to the country only. The overall trend is visible across the globe. For example, the number of Mexicans moving to the United States has fallen sharply - down 40% since 2006. The drop is even greater in the case of Romanians and Bulgarians moving to Spain. Their numbers have fallen by 60%. But, it is estimated that with the improvement of economy, the rate of immigration, internationally, is ever going to increase. The possibilities of new scopes and opportunities would attract people from across the world to venture out in search of better openings.

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Australia suspends 200 student visa agents for suspected behaviour

To keep a check on genuine student visa agents Australia suspended about 200 agents working in and outside India after the government of Australia received reports of fraudulent applications and low rate of visa approval cases. In order to re-gain the access to the online student visas system, the Australian government has asked the agents to ‘show cause’ and ‘justify’ their behaviour because they are simply meant for helping students with their application procedure to obtain a student visa which allows them a right to live and study in Australia.
The stir by the Australian Government Department is welcomed by the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI). Welcoming the decision, The Association President stated, ‘We have been lobbying with the Australian Government to take action against the fraudulent agents in India, as well as to keep a check on the conduct of onshore agents in Australia and also their sub-agents in India.’
The Association President stated, “In addition to this recent crack-down, the AAERI is hoping the government will begin making more thorough checks to make sure international students have the means, in terms of financial capacity, to live in Australia and study at their chosen course”. Inspite of that, there are concerns over a lack of student visa checks to ensure if genuine students are living and studying in Australia through legal means.
In addition to that, The Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans has announced that Australia would ensure the quality of students willing to study in Australia. The authorities would make sure that the student coming to Australia does not have fraud documents and have the financial capacity to live and study in Australia. To address the issue he said, “These measures will reinforce Australia's standing as a high quality education destination for all genuine students". The preventive measures would include upgraded interviews with the students and restricted online access to the Australian e-visa system to only genuine agents.
The Senator further said that the overall student compliance rates remain high. But he acknowledged that there are elements of concern within what is a very large caseload requiring targeted measures such as terminating or suspending agents because of evidence of fraud or poor approval rates to protect the interests of all genuine students. "The Australian Government takes allegations of fraud in the student visa program very seriously", he added.
Apart from that the Australian government is continuing to work with its state counterparts to inspect the universities, colleges and schools to make sure that Australia provides high quality education to every student remaining a top notch education destination.
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Canada should Invite more International Students to boost the Economy- suggests a Report

As per the statistics is concerned about the number of Indian students immigrating abroad on student visas, USA tops the chart with about 80,000 students in a year on an average with Australia coming second with about 40,000 students and then UK with 25,000 students a year. Canada however lags behind with about 4000 Indian students per year. A recent report suggested that to overcome the trend, Canada should invite more international students to study in Canada.

While many foreign universities are encouraging more and more Indian students to come and study in their premises, Canadian universities however takes on a very small portion of international students than other foreign universities abroad. Quoting that professor Mr. R.M. Touhey who published a study on this subject titled, “A New Direction for the Canada – India Relationship” analysed that Canada is lagging behind in taking sufficient number of international students than other developed countries. In the study he also revealed that the international student industry is worth approximately $300 billion dollars.

In his report, Prof. Touhey explained that Canada needs to take a notice of what Australian economy has accomplished by inviting more and more Indian students to study in Australia. The nation dramatically increased the number of Indian students in schools from 800 students in 1994 to 40,000 in 2008. All their advertising efforts and the “Brand Australia” campaign directed by the Australian Indian Council remain a success.

Further Prof. Touhey elaborated that the increasing number of Indian students in Canada would benefit the Canadian economy in enormous ways. Apart from just economic profit, the country could also promote in short term and long term political benefits. As Canada has been looking for making up deals with India in nuclear industry therefore politically speaking it would be a benefit to Canadian people.

The report outlines three such areas that should be emphasized to develop an underdeveloped and under-articulated relationship:
Canada must strengthen its meagre public diplomacy/advocacy efforts in India. A Canada-India Council that will work to enhance the flow of knowledge and people between Canada and India needs to be created. Such an organization would facilitate advocacy and Track Two efforts with other interested organizations.

Post-secondary linkages with Indian students, universities and colleges must be strengthened. To achieve this goal, the federal government should consider the following: Closer coordination with the provinces and higher-education sector actors engaged in India alongside the creation of a federally-funded program to develop and enhance bilateral education dialogue and linkages. Increased levels of federal funding for international scholarships that are available for Indian students. Conducting a national mapping study to identify the main academic institutions operating in India and catalogue their successes and failures to date.
Canada and India should bolster their nascent science and technology (S&T) linkages through the following means: Increased funding for the current Canada and India S&T program. Long-term funding stability. Develop an S&T India Program led by the National Research Council to strengthen capacity building in India, particularly amongst higher education facilities.

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Australia as a Multicultural & Secure Society

Monash University, Australia, carried out a study from regional and metropolitan areas of Victoria surveying about 120 people to learn about the multiculturalism of the Australian population. The study report highlighted that the Australian citizens are fully supporting continued immigration since they are content to live in a multicultural society.

The Parliament Secretary for the multicultural affairs and settlement services Mr. Laurie Ferguson, said, “The Monash University report, ‘Perceptions of Multiculturalism and Security in Victoria’ will be used by the Australian multicultural advisory council and Australian Government in the development of new cultural diversity policies”.

As per the present newsflashes about racial attacks in Australia, about it being a state where people are being racially discriminated, the report by Monash University comes with an insight about such matters as it also highlight the multiculturalism of the state. The survey report is also good news for Australia’s economy since Australia needs a lot of skilled immigrants to fill critical skilled shortage lists.

The multicultural attitude of Australian population, in the report is defined on many factors. Being an Australian is not limited to the definition of being ‘born Australian’ but on many other factors like the behaviour of people who are living in Australia, inspite of the factor that they had come from foreign lands. Ethnic origin wasn’t considered as an important factor in determining the ‘originality’ of people living in Australia. If the immigrant population from overseas obeyed the law and order, respects the people living around them and also learns a reasonable amount of English so that they can communicate well with the population around them are considered as ‘original Australians’ only.

Apart from that the minority groups in Australia like the Islamic and Sudanese communities were being critically portrayed by the media for which the report showed concerns. Concerning that Mr. Ferguson said, “Overall the report reminds us of the need to stay vigilant to protect our democratic approach to diversity. It is essential that we continue programmes to bring opportunity to all Australians and support their active participation in community life. We must stand united and reject all forms of racial and religious verifications”.

“The Monash University report, ‘Perceptions of Multiculturalism and Security in Australia will be used by the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council and Australian government in the development of new cultural diversity policies”, quoted Mr. Ferguson.

Further the people who participated in the survey report considered Australia as a ‘fluid and dynamic’, diverse, supportive and optimistic about the country’s ongoing potential for maintaining and strengthening social harmony.

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