Immigration newsletter 27 February 2008

From February 29th, the United Kingdom is replacing the rules for highly skilled migrants with existing HSMP visas who need to extend their leave to remain. Immigrants must now qualify under the new Tier 1 category for General Highly Skilled Migrants.

People will need to score enough points under the Tier 1 system without the MBA provision previously available under HSMP. However, the English language requirements are waived for extension applications.

The number of highly skilled migrants coming into the United Kingdom continues to exceed the number leaving the country, according to a new study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The study also found that highly skilled migrants coming in are significantly better educated than their UK-born counterparts.

38.4% of foreign-born adults in Britain have degrees in higher education, compared to 20.1% of the native-born population. Even with the large influx of highly skilled migrants, the UK is experiencing the largest exodus of highly skilled citizens of all OECD countries.

The government of the United Kingdom is proposing changes to rules for migrants who wish to naturalize as British citizens. The controversial proposals are being called a "path to citizenship," which, if passed into law, would become a three-stage naturalization process.

Among the provisions are a new probationary period, stronger English language requirements, and a "tax" that prospective citizens must contribute into a fund to help communities deal with the impact of increased immigration. Even tougher measures would deny or delay citizenship for migrants who commit offenses, especially those that result in prison sentences. Migrants who engage in community volunteer work would be eligible to graduate to British citizenship more quickly.

A recent European Commission report on the topic of encouraging employment growth in the European Union cites immigration as an important factor in continuing to encourage global competitiveness for Europe. Countries such as Spain, Denmark, and Ireland consider immigration to be an important element in meeting their labor market needs.

Some member states, such as the Netherlands, Cyprus, and Lithuania, are planning to develop programs to encourage highly skilled migration into those countries. The need to define a common immigration policy for the EU, such as the recently proposed Blue Card, is also seen as important. The European Commission is expected to push further for a common policy in 2008.

Australia will begin to collect biometric data as part of their immigration processes, including visa applications. The collected biometrics will include facial images and fingerprint scans. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has said that biometric data has helped them in several cases, including the discovery of illegal foreign fishermen attempting to use multiple identities at the Northern Immigration Detention Centre in Darwin.

In another case, biometrics helped to identify a Ukrainian backpacker who turned up in a Brisbane hospital with amnesia. Immigration Minister Chris Evans said that better identity management and the use of biometrics are fundamental in securing Australia's borders. He also stated that use of biometric data would decrease processing time for "genuine travelers."

The federal government of Canada has been funding a number of programs designed to help immigrants settle, adapt, and integrate into Canadian society, including the Immigrant Settlement and Adaption Program (ISAP). The ISAP provides orientation, referral and counseling services in addition to helping migrants connect with volunteers who can help them in areas such as establishing contacts in their field of work.

Canada is one of the most welcoming countries in the world for immigrants. A major element of Canada's immigration strategy lies in the skilled migration program, which helps the nation to ease skills shortages and keeps Canada globally competitive.

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