Canada has begun the process of procuring millions of electronic passports and plans to start issuing them in 2012. Canada’s ePassport will contain a “proximity contactless chip” that can only be read if it’s held within 10 centimetres of a reader and the machine-readable zone on page two has been…
The Fiji Immigration Department approved 857 applications for dual citizenship between July 2009 and July this year. The dual citizenship status was granted under the Citizenship Decree which came into effect in April 2009. Government says many of those that have been granted dual citizenship have invested in property, farming…
There is continuing disagreement in the UK Coalition Government between the more pro-immigration Liberal Democrat Government Ministers and Conservative Party Government Ministers. The Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable has said that the interim immigration cap is doing “huge damage” to business. Mr Cable is concerned that some companies may…
UK Immigration Minister Damian Green spoke recently at the Royal Commonwealth Society in London about immigration. The Immigration Minister said that the Government wishes to “maximize” the benefits of immigration. This means that the unsustainable levels of net migration seen in recent years must be brought down. He added that…
According to a New Zealand consulate general official, NZ is currently experiencing good growth in tourist numbers from India. The rise in Indian tourists is expected to be between 10 to 15 per cent by 2011. India is currently the tenth largest source market for NZ. As a direct effect…
Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is currently on a visit to various Countries in the World. Immigration Minister Kenney will be visiting Paris, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Hong Kong, Beijing and Manila. The Immigration Minister will be trying to reduce immigration fraud. There have been concerns about marriages of convenience and…
UK Border Agency has published new versions of application forms yesterday, and a new version of the Tier 1 (General) policy guidance. New versions of the following application forms were published: * Tier 1 (General) form * Tier 1 (Post-study Work) form * Tier 2 form * Tier 4 (General)…
Visa applications from foreign students to study in Australian universities have dropped by 15,500, almost 12%, over the past 12 months, according to figures just released by the Department of Immigration. As negotiations continue over whether the Labor or conservative parties will assume government following elections on 21 August, the…
The Czech government announced on Saturday that it would be closing its embassy in Costa Rica, as well as four other countries, Congo, Venezuela, Kenya and Yemen. The closing is part of the Foreign Ministry’s budget saving plan. The Czech general consulate also said it would be closing its consulate…
Tourists will no longer get their visas on arrival in Sri Lanka September 30 onwards except Maldivians and Singaporeans. On Friday, Department of Immigration and Emigration of Sri Lanka announced that it was withdrawing the visa-on-arrival facility for tourists from 79 countries including India, UK, USA, China, Japan and host…