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.
________________________________________________
www.angadinfo.com

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.
___________________________________
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.
__________________________________
www.angadinfo.com

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.

_____________________________________________

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.
___________________________
www.angadinfo.com

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.
____________________________________________________
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.

______________________________________

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.

________________________________________

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.
_______________________________________
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).
____________________________________________________
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.
______________________________
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.
___________________________________

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.''

_________________________________
By varsha negi

www.angadinfo.com