Immigration news

New rules have come into effect from 13 January2005 to encourage high net worth individuals to come, invest and livein the UK and to make sure UK rules remain competitive with othercountries. The UK government hopes that this will encourage an increasein the numbers of applications made. It will increase investment in theUK economy. The new rules will, for the first time, allow investors toutilise loaned funds for their investment in the UK.

Investors are no longer restricted to proving that they have no less than £1 million of their own money to invest in the UK.

The leader of the UK's Conservative Party Michael Howard will make a speech today outlining radical immigration policy changes the BBC reports.

If elected, the Conservatives would introduce rules for legal immigration that are similar to the Australian system. This would involve the introduction of a quota and points system for those seeking to work in the UK based on their skills. There would also be a quota for those wishing to join their families in the UK.

Passengers and crew on all airlines that regularly fly to Australiaare now being screened overseas prior to boarding, Australia'sDepartment of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs(DIMIA) reported on January 24.

This represents an extension ofthe Advance Passenger Processing system, a technology that enablesDIMIA to verify travelers' authorizations to enter Australia. It alsoallows for cross checking against other systems such as the MovementAlert List, a database of people and their travel documents that are ofconcern to the Australian immigration authorities.

New arrivals from India are making up an increasing proportion of migrants to Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reports.

According to a publication called The 2005 Year Book of Australia, released on January 20 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the proportion of permanent arrivals from India stood at 6.2 percent in 2003, compared with just 1.8 percent in 1983. In 1983 there were 41,000 Indian-born residents of Australia, while now there are 120,000, with 6,000 additional settlers every year.

An increasing proportion of permanent Australian immigration applications are made by people already in the country temporarily for study or skilled employment, according to Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).

Many people may be surprised to know that British and American nationals make up the greatest number of overstayers, according to a new report released by Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.