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A private United Kingdom business association polled 500 UK employers about their experiences with immigrant workers. A majority of the businesses said they need immigrant workers for specific skill requirements, with approximately 1 in 6 citing cost savings. Immigrant workers outperform indigenous workers across a wide range of measurements, including productivity, education and skills, work ethic, reliability and sick time taken.

A surge in applications for the Australian 457 visa has resulted in a processing backlog. Inadequate staffing and lack of resources are being blamed for the delays. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has requested to a parliamentary inquiry this week that more resources be allocated towards dealing with this problem. Electronic applications are currently taking up to two months up from two weeks and manually processed applications are taking a minimum of three months, up from about four weeks.

The High Commission in London has assured Indian medical professionals working in Britain that the Indian government will actively work with the UK Home Office and Foreign Office to try and help those affected by last years immigration rules' changes. HSMP Forum Ltd., an Indian special interest group, filed a case in the London High Court protesting the changes, claiming that medical professionals from India working in the UK have suffered due to the changes. The High Court ruled that the government did not act illegally. An appeal was filed last week.

The British Commission on Integration and Social Cohesion suggested in a preliminary report this month that spouses of immigrants be required to pass an English language test for entry into the UK. However, cuts in translation services are also likely to be recommended when the final report is presented in June. 

Universal free tuition for English language training programs was cut in January, and an effort is being made to reinstate the program. If the decision is not reversed, from August only certain people will qualify for free tuition.