Immigration newsletter 27 June 2007

A proposed amendment to the United Kingdom's Borders Bill is intended "to keep children safe from harm." Liam Byrne announced that the Code of Practice "will provide a robust and transparent basis" to help keep children safe who are caught up in Border & Immigration Agency (BIA) actions. Official policy currently allows force to be used on children if it 'can be argued' that the "safety of the child or others would have been endangered had restraint not been used." It also permits taking migrant children from their schools in order to detain them with their families.

A major international staffing company has published a report that points toward Eastern Europe as the "best source" of skilled migrants for companies in the United Kingdom. The report surveyed many business interests to evaluate their experiences with the skills shortage "crisis" in the UK. Many businesses are planning incentives, such as increased training and wages, as well as hiring non-traditional employees and adopting more family-friendly employment policies to cope with the current shortages.

The British government will review current restrictions on migrant workers from the new European Union Member States, Bulgaria and Romania. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is being formed alongside the Migration Impacts Forum (MIF) to assess the effect of migration into the UK since the 2004, EU-25 expansion. 

The MAC is pinpointing skills shortages in the UK economy that immigration could help relieve. They are also looking into the possibility of making it easier for Bulgarians and Romanians to work in the UK. 

Business executives from Spain, with encouragement from the government, are traveling to Senegal to recruit migrant workers directly. Several hundred job contracts for Senegalese workers were signed by businesses in cooperation with the Spanish government, who is issuing the associated visas and residency permits. 

The effort is the beginning of a strategy to turn illegal African migration into legal immigration by recruiting and cooperating from within African countries before migrants attempt an illegal journey to Europe. Spain is setting up vocational schools and opening new embassies as part of the effort.

Holland will reduce the processing time for family members to join highly skilled immigrants in the Netherlands The waiting time should be cut from "several months" to two weeks. Persons who qualify for a Dutch highly skilled visa do not need a work permit, but they need to meet salary requirements for the visa. Some immigrants employed in educational or research institutes as a PhD student, or are post-doctorate students or university teachers over 30 years of age, may be exempted from the salary requirement. If the proposal passes, it will be easier for them to bring immediate family members into the Netherlands.

From 01 July, all European Union citizens can obtain Tourist and Business Short Stay Visas (subclass 676) for Australia without paying an application charge. Qualified individuals may stay in Australia for up to three months at a time. Persons from countries allowed to apply electronically (the e676 visa) may avoid the application fees.

The United States is looking at the Australian program as a possible model. The U.S. has a more restrictive Visa Waiver Program, which is available only to nationals from countries that have directly negotiated agreements with the U.S. Increased restrictions upon visa waiver agreements are being considered as part of U.S. immigration reform. 

A report by the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) concludes that immigrants increase the total economic output of the United States. Immigrants are "more innovative per capita" than their native counterparts, start up 40% more businesses and contribute over $30 billion in increased income annually. 

The CEA notes that immigrant tax revenue can help to fund programs such as Medicare and Social Security, which are having difficulty coping with the increased demnands of an aging American population. Immigrants also have a modest positive influence on public budgets through the higher taxes per capita that they tend to pay.

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