Immigration news

Elderly and disabled immigrants are suffering hardships because of restrictions on citizenship applications by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to some US agencies that aid immigrants.

The advocates say applications for citizenship are being delayed by procedural changes that include the ending of an outreach program, more background checks, and increased rejection of medical certificates that allow some applicants to avoid interviews in English and the citizenship exam.

Australia's Federal Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone on 25 Sept. described Australia's immigration program as strong and generous, during a speech marking the start of Refugee Week in Adelaide. Senator Vanstone said the week celebrates the important contribution of courage and innovation provided by immigrants and refugees.

"We've got a fabulous refugee and humanitarian program. It's supported by both sides of Parliament but we all agree we're the third biggest taker of people for resettlement in the world and that's something to celebrate."

New Zealand must start a debate about the long-term economic benefits of attracting more immigrants rather than focusing on how foreigners could fix the short-term labour crunch, Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce says.

Political debate tends to revolve around how people from different cultures would fit in, president Simon Arnold said, whereas business isdriven by the economic cycle, which had led to calls for the door to be opened to ease the labour shortage.

"The long-term strategic issue is what is happening to the nature of our population."

A special flight to Romania has been organized by three European Union countries to send illegal immigrants home. This is the first operation of its kind.

Organised by Spain, the flight left Madrid with 75 immigrants on board before stopping in France and Italy to pick up another 50.

The programme was approved when interior ministers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain met in July.

Spain says it is planning another flight next month. That flight will be to repatriate illegal immigrants from Ecuador and Colombia.

The US Department of State has announced that registration for the 2007 Green Card Lottery, or Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, will begin at noon on October 5, 2005.

The 2007 Green Card Lottery makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The Immigration Lottery makes permanent residence visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements.

You can check your eligibility at any time by going to the US Green Card Lottery Do I Qualify page.

The number of new immigrants to New Zealand, or New Zealanders returning home in the year ending August fell 66 per cent compared to the previous year, Statistics New Zealand said today.

For the year ending in August, there were 78,900 permanent long term (PLT) arrivals. This figure is a decrease of 3,600 or 4 percent compared to the previous August year.

PLT departures, meanwhile, rose 9,100 or 14 percent to 72,300.

This led to a net migration gain of 6,600 in the August year, 66 percent lower than the 19,300 people in the previous August year.