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The Immigration Minister of Australia, Philip Ruddock, recently announced that priority visa processing arrangements for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) workers would be suspended.
The Government introduced the priority processing arrangements for ICT workers on 1 February 2001 to help address the urgent and growing shortages that were affecting Australian business at that time.
The UK's new scheme to give permits to highly skilled people withoutrequiring 'sponsorship' by an employer, the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP),has so far attracted 338 successful applicants (up to 13 June 2002)
The HSMP assesses applicants on a based points system, with credit given forqualifications, work experience, professional achievement, and earning ability. Successfulapplicants can take up positions with any employer - or start their ownbusiness.
The final regulations were announced today. These include major changes tothe skilled worker, business, and refugee class immigrant applications.
You should take it that all applications submitted from now on will beconsidered under the new regulations. This is despite the fact that the newregulations do not come into effect officially until 28 June 2002.
Please see below details of the latest changes by category.
More temporary overseas workers will be able to come to the UK to meet labourdemands and boost the economy, under plans announced on 29th May 2002 bythe Home Office.
The Government is consulting on expanding two existing foreign workersschemes - the Working Holidaymakers Scheme (WHS) and the Seasonal AgriculturalWorkers Scheme (SAWS) to meet recruitment difficulties and demand for short termand seasonal workers. It also wants to make the WHS more inclusive of all of theCommonwealth.
Publishing the consultation papers, Home Office Minister, Lord Rooker, said:
The Agreement between the European Community and its Member States and theSwiss Confedeartion on the Free Movement of Persons, will enter into force on 1May 2002. In general terms the Agreement confers on Swiss nationals and theirfamily members the same rights as those enjoyed by EEA nationals and theirfamily members
"The Home Office has announced that as from 1st June 2002 Swissnationals and their family will have a right of residence in the United Kingdomif they are working, self employed, providing or receiving services, studying orself sufficient.
On 21st May 2002, the British Overseas Territories Act will come intoforce. It grants the right of citizenship to all inhabitants of Britain'soverseas territories and formally abolishes the term 'colony'.
It allow those people who were British Dependent citizens to live, train andwork in Britain, or anywhere else in the European Union.
Many of the inhabitants had full British citizenship before 1981, when theConservative government took the right away from all dependent territories inorder to stop residents of Hong Kong moving to Britain prior to being handedover to China.