Articles Posted in Global Immigration Stories

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New rules to strengthen Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program were announced today by the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

Changes that were initially published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 on October 9, 2009 are now being implemented.

“The government is taking action to protect temporary foreign workers, including live-in caregivers, from potential abuse and exploitation,” said Minister Jason Kenney. “We owe it to them, their employers and all Canadians to ensure that the program is fair and equitable. After all, they are an essential element of Canada’s economic success.”
“These changes represent an important step. Temporary foreign workers help the Canadian economy by filling labour needs in sectors where Canadians or permanent residents are not readily available,” said Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. “Our government is taking action to improve the integrity of the program while ensuring that these people are afforded the necessary protections.”
Highlights of the changes, which come into effect on April 1, 2011, include:
* a more rigorous assessment of the genuineness of the job offer;
* a two-year prohibition from hiring temporary foreign workers for employers who fail to meet their commitments to workers with respect to wages, working conditions and occupation; and
* a limit on the length of time a temporary foreign worker may work in Canada before returning home.

Employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers, including live-in caregivers, will now be assessed against past compliance with program requirements before authorization can be granted. Employers found to have violated worker rights may be refused authorization to hire a foreign worker. Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program helps address temporary labour shortages by allowing employers to hire foreign workers when sufficient numbers of Canadian workers are not readily available. Without access to temporary foreign labour, many small businesses would not be able to function and would be forced into insolvency.

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From 20 August 2010, as part of a global initiative to streamline processes, the Consular departments of the British Deputy High Commissions across India, including in Mumbai, will no longer be accepting passport applications. After this date, British passport holders should submit their applications to the British High Commission in New Delhi.

The new process will also lead to a change in timelines, in line with global standards and service in the UK. Passports for renewal will aim to be returned to customers in four weeks from the receipt of the correct documentation and fee. First time passport applications are expected to take a minimum of 12 weeks in order to complete all required checks and verifications
Within this period if a British passport holder needs to travel urgently, the Consular office at the British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai and those in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Goa will be able to issue an emergency travel document, provided that the pending application is for a renewal and is not a first time application.

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n future if your UK Naturalisation and Citizenship application is refused and you wish UKBA to reconsider their decision you will need to pay a GBP100 fee. Since 6 April 2010 the UK Government has had the power to charge fees for the reconsideration of a refused application for UK naturalization or registration as a British Citizen.

From 1 September 2010 the following changes will come into place:
* You will have to pay a GBP100 fee for reconsideration of a refused UK Naturalisation or Citizenship application.

* If you do not pay the GBP100 for a reconsideration of your citizenship application you reconsideration application will be considered invalid and will be returned.

* If your application for reconsideration is unsuccessful the UK Government will keep the GBP100 fee. If your application is successful GBP80 will be kept to pay for the citizenship ceremony (if relevant). The remaining GBP20 fee paid will be refunded.

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The national and regional director for Africa of South Africa Tourism, Phumi Dhlomo said that Angolan journalists who wish to travel to South Africa for reporting activity, mainly in tourism sector, may benefit from certain facilities, such as visa concession and authorization to work in that Southern Africa country.

The official released this information to journalists, during a meeting in the South African Embassy, with the aim to let know that South Africa wants to cooperate with the Angolan mass media organs on publishing information about the country, mainly concerning tourism.

According to Phumi Dhlomo, the South African government is interested in understanding Angolan mass media, such as, news agency, radio stations, newspapers and television stations to establish partnerships and promote this country, in several areas, as well as a tourism destination.

“We are interested in knowing how well Angolan mass media know South Africa. We broadcast a lot of information in the countries where we work and Angola is one of them chosen for this purpose”, said Phumi Dhlomo. The diplomat informed that the government of his country pointed out tourism sector as priority to strengthen cooperation with Angola.

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Malaysia is to abolish the visa-on-arrival (VOA) facility effective Monday (August 16, 2010), Immigration director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman announced today. As such, all foreign nationals requiring a visa to enter the country must apply for it at the offices of Malaysian missions overseas, he said in a statement. He said the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants decided that the VOA facility granted to the nationals of several countries be abolished.

Mr. Othman added that the VOA facility is being abolished because it has been misused and this has had a negative effect on Malaysia.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had announced early this month that the VOA would no longer be issued at the country’s points of entry as there had been gross misuse of the facility.

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British Ambassador to Kuwait, Frank Baker said recently that since the beginning of the year more than 38,000 visas were issued for Kuwaiti citizens, and an estimated 20,000 tourist visas were issued in the past two months. The ambassador’s statements came during a news conference at the Visa Application Centre (VAC). “We are proud of providing good services”, the ambassador said, noting that all visas were issued within 48 hours. He welcomed all those applying to study in the UK, stressing the importance of applying for the student visa as early as possible, since processing takes 5-10 working days.

On his part, the Director of the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Kuwait, Paul Dryden said that the center was keen on issuing as many visas as possible for Kuwaiti citizens, stateless (bedoun), and also third country citizens, as long as all documents were in order. “We will make it as easy as possible,” he added. On the other hand, Ambassador Frank Baker referred to the joint security agreement signed between Kuwait and the UK yesterday, and said that both countries have maintained a close security relationship since 1961 after Kuwait’s independence. Britain had sent troops to protect Kuwait from the Iraqi threats, and in 1991, it played a major part in the war to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi seven-month occupation, and again took part in the 2003 war to liberate Iraq and the ousting of the regime of Saddam Hussain.

Security agreements between Kuwait and the UK are very clear, historic and have been stable for a long time. The MOU signed in London yesterday consists of working together in the security field, and UK playing a leading role in advising Kuwait on internal security,” he said. The ambassador affirmed that the new UK government, headed by David Cameron, had made it clear that the Gulf area is extremely important to the UK, Kuwait in particular. Therefore; working on boosting relations between the UK and the Gulf region, illustrated in additional exchanged officials visits between the two sides, is of priority.

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The Government of Canada is demonstrating its commitment to creating jobs and strengthening Canada’s knowledge economy by making a $600-million investment as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. Researchers in Quebec and across Canada will benefit from new facilities and equipment, and universities will have more opportunities to develop and attract top scientists. The investment is designed to promote research excellence while continuing to improve Canada’s long-term competitiveness.

The federal government will invest in the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI’s) Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF). The fund is designed to help Canada’s universities continue to attract and retain the world’s best researchers at a time of intense international competition for leading faculty. This funding will enable institutions to strategically set priorities and acquire new infrastructure to support these exceptional researchers and improve labs and facilities. The LOF is meant to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and not-for-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians. The funding announcement was made at McGill University in Montreal by the Honorable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), and the Honorable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources.

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The Canadian Government will be providing $300,000 of funding over four years to provide learning opportunities from ethnic groups to help them better participate in Canadian society. This was announced recently by Colin Carrie, Oshawa Member of Parliament on behalf of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. MP Colin Carrie had the following to say:
“Canada’s future depends on all of us growing together through our shared values, history and institutions.”
“Through initiatives such as the Civic Awareness Project, we are acting to ensure that this future will be built by all Canadians, including newcomers, as we continue strengthening our proud and democratic society.”
Agincourt Community Services Association will help 240 people mainly from the Chinese, Afghani and Somali communities. This will cover the following:
* Learning activities regarding the Canadian democratic process.

* The structure of government.

* The rights and responsibilities associated with Canadian citizenship.

* Leadership Training.

Gael Gilbert, Executive Director of the Agincourt Community Services Association had the following to say:
“For many new Canadians, there are significant roadblocks to full civic participation in Canada, and we aim to address that through the Civic Awareness Project.” “We are very pleased that the Government of Canada is supporting this initiative.”
Citizenship and Immigration Canada provides support to a number of programs that they feel leads to greater intercultural understanding and to a more equal society.

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Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that the Government of Canada has amended its current immigration procedures to put even greater emphasis on economic recovery and further reduce the Federal Skilled Worker application backlog. The changes, effective immediately, concern the Federal Skilled Worker program, including:
1) a change in the occupations that are currently ‘open’ under this program,
2) the creation of a limit on the number of applications which will be considered by Canadian Immigration Visa Offices, and
3) a change in the documentation required for an application under this program.

These changes do not affect any applications received at the Central Intake Office before June 26, 2010.

Under these updated instructions, an application is eligible for processing if the applicant:
• has at least one year of continuous, full-time (or equivalent) paid work experience in the past decade in a qualifying occupation, which have been identified as the most in-demand occupations in Canada at this time; or
• qualifies for Arranged Employment with a full-time permanent job offer from a Canadian employer.

Applicants who formerly qualified because they had been living in Canada with legal status as a Temporary Foreign Worker or an international student will no longer be eligible under the Federal Skilled Worker program, but may still meet the eligibility criteria of the Canadian Experience Class program.

The former list of 38 qualifying occupations has been amended to include 11 new occupations with 20 previously listed occupations having been removed.

Effective immediately, the following occupations have been added to the list:
0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
2151 Architects
3113 Dentists
3131 Pharmacists
3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
4151 Psychologists
4152 Social Workers
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades

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The number of applicants for asylum in Finland has dropped sharply. This year an estimated 2,000 fewer asylum seekers are expected in Finland than last year. Last year the number of applicants totalled 6,000. Coinciding with this year’s drop in applications, the Finnish Immigration Service is also cutting the number of reception center places. Although numbers are down, this could change depending on what kinds of crises are brewing around the world.

About ten new reception centers have been set up in the past couple of years. More recently the Finnish Immigration Service has reduced allocated places at reception centers by 700, and more cuts are expected.

A law took effect this month allowing fast-track processing for asylum applications by citizens of other European Union countries.This has already reduced the number of applicants from Bulgaria. In practice, a citizen from another EU country cannot be granted asylum in Finland.