Europe Immigration News

Ireland, once an economic powerhouse of the European Union, is seeing a large increarse in emigration as a result of a downturn in their economy.

Over 3,000 people are leaving Ireland each month, the highest figure in over a hundred years. The number has more than doubled in the last two years.

A new study by Deloitte has found that Belgium processes immigration visas for skilled migrants more quickly than other EU Countries.

In an effort to deal with skills shortages Belgium has streamlined its immigration procedures to fast-track work permit applications for highly skilled non-EU migrants. Latest news

"Belgium is by no means sitting on its hands in terms of economic migration," said Matthias Lommers of Deloitte.

Unlike some European countries, people in Switzerland are not worried about immigration. The Swiss feel that foreigners are good for the economy.

In a survey conducted by the Sonntagsblick newspaper, 26 percent of Swiss nationals have no concern whatsoever about levels of immigration into Switzerland.

Slovakian immigration law has been updated to include a new directive from the European Union for a blue card scheme for non-EU workers. From 20 July 2011, the blue card has been available for non-EU nationals who wish to work and gain residence rights in Slovakia.

The blue card scheme is an initiative created by the European Commission to help attract highly skilled workers to the EU.

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, out of all OECD countries the Czech Republic has seen the largest drop in immigration levels.

In 2007, prior to the financial crisis, over 100,000 people immigrated to the Czech Republic to find work. By 2009, that figure had dropped to 40,000, a larger percentage drop than Europe's worst hit economies.

Germany is experiencing a marked decline in available workers in areas such as IT and engineering; The country is now considering immigration as a solution to this problem.

Germany has some of the strictest immigration rules in the EU. If a German firm wants to hire a non-EU worker, they must prove that they cannot find a suitable candidate from within the EU. Moreover, the non-EU workers must be paid more than 66,000 euros a year, twice the average German salary.