Immigration newsletter 26 January 2011

Official Australian government statistics show that the largest source of immigrants to the Australian state came from the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

19.5 percent of immigrants to Western Australia came from the United Kingdom in 2009-10, with New Zealand accounting for 11.9 percent and South Africa at 11.5 percent.

Australia has seen a sharp drop in student immigration from India, says the Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese. He said that this is due to tougher student immigration requirements by the Australian government. He did not feel the reduction in student immigration is due to bad publicity following attacks on Indian students.

If you wish to bring in skilled professional level workers with at least a bachelors degree to the United States, you should consider applying as soon as possible. As of 21 January 2011, there were only 2,200 H-1B visas left.

On a recent trip to New Zealand, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he wants to continue to see a large flow of New Zealand immigrants to the UK. He said the recent immigration cap should have little affect on many Kiwi applicants.

New Zealand officials have voiced concerns over new UK immigration restrictions and their affect on New Zealanders wishing to live and work in Britain.

The United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Italy topped the charts for non-EU immigration in 2008, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

Each of the four Countries allowed in 100,000 immigrants in the latest year for which data is available 2008. These were the only Countries in the EU that took in more than 100,000 immigrants each.

The EU Commission is pushing forward with a directive to implement a skilled immigration "blue card" which would allow migrants from non-EU countries to live and work in the European Union on a temporary basis.

The blue card would grant a work and residence permit to non-EU citizens and would allow them to move to another member state after certain conditions are met. EU blue card holders would also be able to bring family members with them.

A new study says that Germany needs to reduce skilled labour gaps by increasing immigration and hiring more women.

The number of potential workers in Germany is expected to fall by 6.5 million to 38 million, resulting in severe skills shortages and serious consequences for the German economy.

Ireland, formerly one of the star economies of the EU, is now facing an emigration crisis of historic proportions, according to a new report.

The study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that 60,000 Irish people emigrated abroad in the 12 months leading up to April of 2010. Another 40,000 are expected to emigrate in the next 12 months.

A Russian diplomat in Canada has voiced his concerns about Canada's strict visa regime for Russian citizens.

"We believe that it should be the procedure of all countries to make the movement of people easier but to our surprise, Canada has made it tougher," said Andrey Varlamov, consul for the Russian Embassy in Ottawa.

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