Canada Immigration News

Australia's Immigration Department will spend an extra $100 million on IT over the next five years, and the figure could rise even further as the department considers whether it needs to spend more on technology in the wake of the Palmer Report into unlawful detention.

Sally Santiago could never have imagined that her arranged marriage to a Filipino husband would leave her bruised and beaten. She says that Citizenship and Immigration Canada forced her to continue to financially support the man who battered her.

Santiago is a 42-year-old Vancouver receptionist. Eight years ago, through relatives, she met and married Erwin Mabolo on a visit to her native land.

Although it was originally expected that many Americans would move to Canada after US President George Bush was re-elected, that has not happened.

Many Americans visited the Canadian government's immigration website in large numbers immediately after Bush defeated John Kerry in the presidential race. But official figures show the number of Americans actually applying to reside in Canada actually dropped in the six months following the election.

The Canadian government issued a warning to gay travelers following the refusal of some governments, including the US, to recognize Canadian same-sex marriages and in the aftermath of the executions of two gay men in Iran.

Canada this month became one of only four countries to legalize same-sex marriage. The Netherlands, Belgium and Spain are the other three.

HIV-positive visitors to Canada are no longer required to disclose their medical status to get a temporary visa. Health advocates argued there's no reason for the federal government to collect the highly sensitive information. The move comes after a foreign businessman infected with HIV complained that a Canadian consular official demanded he provide detailed information about his medical condition. He was planning a round trip to Canada for just a few days.

A researcher at Canada's University of Prince Edward Island is trying to find out what convinces immigrants to settle on the Island, and why they choose to stay.

Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino said studies have been done before using data from Statistics Canada, but that data can't address issues particular to the Island.