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Australia has announced changes to its independent skilled migration points test which will go into effect on 1 July 2011. The new immigration points system will put increased emphasis on work experience and high level educational qualifications.Points will continue to be awarded for study in Australia, regional study, community languages, partner skills, and for completing an approved Professional Year. However, points will no longer be awarded for a particular occupation, but an applicant must still nominate an occupation on Australia’s Skilled Occupation List (SOL).

The news points test will only apply to the following visas:
* Subclass 885 Skilled Independent
* Subclass 886 Skilled Sponsored
* Subclass 487 Skilled Regional Sponsored
* Subclass 175 Skilled Independent
* Subclass 176 Skilled Sponsored
* Subclass 475 Skilled Regional Sponsored
One significant change to the points test is that people aged 46 to 49 will now be able to apply, although no points can be earned under age for applicants from 45 to 49 years of age. The age related points will be as follows:
* Age 25-32: 30 Points
* Age 18-24 and 33-39: 25 Points
* Age 40-44: 15 Points
* Age 45-49: 0 Points
Moreover, points can be earned for English language proficiency above Competent English, which is a minimum score of 6 on each of the four components of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Points earned for higher levels of English language proficiency are as follows:
* Superior English (a score of at least 8 in each of the fourcomponents of the IELTS): 20 Points
* Proficient English (a score of at least 7 in each of the fourcomponents of the IELTS): 10 Points
The pass mark for the points test will change as well and is expected to be set at 65 points.

“These changes to the points test are an important next step in the series of reforms to the skilled migration program announced by the Government in February this year,” said Immigration Minister Chris Bowen. He added, the reforms set the foundations for a skilled migration program that will be responsive to our economic needs and continue to serve Australias interests in the medium to long term.

A review of the current points test found it had resulted in applications from people in only a small number of occupations and a growing backlog of people waiting for a skilled immigration visa. Bowen said, The existing points test has not always led to outcomes consistent with the objectives of the skilled migration program. For example, the current test puts an overseas student with a short term vocational qualification and one year’s work experience in Australia ahead of a Harvard educated environmental engineer with three years’ relevant work experience. The new points test should ensure that Australia admits the “best and brightest people” from the pool of applicants.

The new points test will only affect skilled independent immigration and not employer-sponsored immigration. Anyone lodging an application after 1 July 2011 will come under the new points test. If you meet the requirements for skilled immigration to Australia it may be best to apply now and come under the current immigration scheme. You may not qualify under the new immigration scheme from 1 July 2011.

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Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday Cambodia and Thailand would sign an agreement next week allowing nationals from each country to cross the border without having to obtain a visa.

He said the agreement would be signed during the two-day Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit in Phnom Penh, which begins November 16. “At the ACMECS meeting we have planned to sign this exemption for ordinary passport holders,” he said.

Thani Thongpakdi, deputy spokesman for the Thai foreign ministry, said he hoped the agreement would be signed “as soon as possible”. “Thai nationals and Cambodian nationals [currently] need to get visas [to cross],” he said. “This agreement is about exempting that.”
He said procedures for crossing the border remain in place, stating that nationals must still pass through designated border gates. Koy Kuong said yesterday Cambodia has signed similar pacts with ASEAN members Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the Thai newspaper The Nation yesterday quoted Thawatchai Samutsakorn – commander of the Thai troops stationed near the Preah Vihear temple – as saying that he would push for the Preah Vihear border gate to be reopened before the New Year so that tourists could visit the temple from the Thai side.

But Koy Kuong said the gate would only be opened when Thai troops withdrew from the temple. “Samdech [Hun Sen] stated clearly that if Thailand made the situation normal again, the border gate can open anytime,” he said. “It was closed when Thailand sent troops to invade Cambodia.”
Relations between Thailand and Cambodia soured in July 2008 when the temple was listed as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Both countries claim a 4.6-square-kilometer zone adjacent to the temple. Thai parliamentarians are set to meet next month to discuss agreements made between the two countries to undertake joint demarcation and demining projects and to redeploy troops in the area.

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Immigration New Zealand head Nigel Bickel says sponsors will need to meet more specific eligibility criteria and be willing to take real responsibility for ensuring people they sponsor don’t become a burden to New Zealand taxpayers.

More specific rules for people sponsoring family and friends to visit or live in New Zealand come into effect from the end of this month. The changes are about ensuring that New Zealand citizens and residents who sponsor friends and family to come here are fully aware of their obligations.

From 29 November, sponsors will be required to sign an undertaking that they will be responsible for all aspects of ‘maintenance, accommodation and repatriation’ (or deportation if required) of the sponsored person – rather than being able to choose just one aspect. This includes responsibility for all ‘third party’ costs, such as health costs. More specific criteria for sponsors are also being introduced.

For temporary entry visas, this broader obligation will be in place for the whole time the sponsored person is in New Zealand. For resident visas, the obligation will be in place for a specific period.

Another change allows organizations (companies, charitable trusts and societies) and government agencies to sponsor individuals in some circumstances. These new categories of sponsors will be eligible to support visitor visas and also work-to-residence and residence-from–work visas under the ‘talent’ category (arts, culture and sports). The new sponsorship rules are part of changes related to the Immigration Act 2009, which come into effect from 29 November this year.

“The Act creates a new, strengthened framework for sponsorship that better protects sponsored individuals and New Zealand taxpayers by ensuring sponsorship requirements and obligations are applied consistently across different categories,” Mr Bickle says.

The new Act does not make any changes to the categories under which people apply to come to New Zealand to visit, study, work or live. Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs Chief Executive Dr Colin Tukuitonga says it is important for sponsors to understand the new rules.

“Many Pacific families sponsor relatives to come to New Zealand. The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs will be working alongside Immigration New Zealand to help our Pacific communities understand the minimum criteria to be a sponsor and the associated obligations,” Dr Tukuitonga says.

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The country’s President Tarja Halonen announced during her visit to the Russian city that Finland will open a visa centre in March 2011in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. It is a part of Halonen’s four-day state visit to Russia.

Speaking with republican President Rustam Minnikhanov, Halonen said that the visa center will be opened in order to “make relations between people easier, more comfortable and closer“. -Nothing can replace communication between people, she stressed.

The Finnish President also told journalists that Finland will do whatever it can to help introduce visa-free traveling between Russia and the EU, but admitted that this is a very complicated process.

Russian tourists have for several years been the largest group of foreign travelers to Finland. In 2010, Finland will grant nearly one million visas to Russian businessmen and tourists, more than any other EU country. Furthermore, over 80 per cent of the visas will be multiple entry visas.

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The European Parliament passed a proposal Thursday to grant visa-free privileges to Taiwanese nationals entering the 28 European countries, following the inclusion of Taiwan in visa-waiver programs for the United Kingdom and for Ireland.

The proposal still needs to clear the Council of the European Union before it can be implemented, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said later that day. The visa-waiver program will cover the Schengen Area, which comprises the territories of 25 European countries, including 22 EU member states and three-non EU states — Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. The visa-waiver program is also applicable to three non-Schengen EU member states

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Zambian Ambassador to Ethiopia Albert Muchanga has noted with concern the increasing number of Zambians being denied entry in Ethiopia due to lack of VISAs. Mr. Muchanga has since appealed to all Zambians travelling to Ethiopia to ensure that they obtain VISA documentation before departing Zambia.

He said Zambians travelling on official business to Ethiopia can submit required documents to the Zambian Embassy in Addis Ababa a week prior to departure while those on personal trips can obtain VISAs from the Ethiopian Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Ambassador advised Zambians travelling to Ethiopia to strictly adhere to the Ethiopian Immigration rules to avoid being deported.

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The South African embassy in Nigeria has introduced N120, 000 as caution visa fees for visa applicants travelling to South Africa for the first time or applicants that the embassy suspect will not come back.

The caution fee would be returned to visa applicant when he or she returns to Nigeria from South Africa, but the embassy holds back the money if the applicant absconds. Spokesman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ozo Nwobu said the foreign ministry is aware of the new development, but it will be discussed at the bi-national commission joint meeting, but the status quo is reciprocal, all South African first timers to Nigerian must drop N120,000 at the Nigeria embassy in South Africa before they are issued visa.

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The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday announced the extension deadline for expiration of the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) to the Harmonised ECOWAS Electronic (Smart) Passport, otherwise called e-passport from December 31, 2010 to April 30, 2011.

The Minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, who made this known during the presentation of his ministry’s scorecard for 2010, in Abuja, said the December 31 deadline earlier announced was not feasible because a lot of complaints had been received by the ministry from most Nigerians abroad who were yet to obtain the e-passport.

He disclosed that in order to protect and meet the expected high demand for the e-passport from Nigerians in diaspora, the Nigerian Immigration Service had procured 15 mobile enrolment and 135 officers had been selected and trained for passport intervention programme in the six continents of the world.

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Canadian passport holders will have to obtain visas prior to entering the UAE from January 2, 2011, the UAE Embassy in Ottawa announced on Tuesday.

The Canadian diplomatic missions in the UAE have posted the new visa regulations for Canadian nationals on their websites.

According to the website of the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Canadian nationals who plan to travel to the UAE for tourism and business purposes after this date should contact the UAE Embassy in their country for details. It said all diplomatic and special passport holders must also obtain their visa before traveling to the UAE.

It said that the information on entry and exit requirements has been confirmed with the authorities of the UAE. However, these requirements are subject to change at any time. It is the traveler responsibility to check with the embassy of the UAE for up-to-date information. It is the sole prerogative of each country or region to determine who is allowed to enter. All countries or regions have special requirements for persons intending to reside for extended periods (usually more than 90 days) or who plan to work, study, or engage in non-tourist activities. Violations of entry and exit requirements may result in serious penalties.

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In view of Mr. President Barack Obama visit to South Asian giant ‘India’, here are some updates on Indo-US bilateral relationship. The basic purpose of Mr. Obama’s visit is to strengthen the bilateral relationship.U.S. President Barack Obama began his maiden visit to India on last Saturday by promising to remove restrictions on sensitive high-tech exports, a nagging irritant in the evolution of bilateral ties, even as he declared deals worth $15 billion that would support some 54,000 American jobs and seek to answer critics back home. This step will considered to be greatest achievement of Mr. Obama after the recent debacle in US Polls.

The United States is the world’s largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). India is among the fastest growing investors in the United States. As the U.S.-India economic relationship deepens, investment from India contributes to the growth and vibrancy of the American economy and in the creation of jobs in the United States. Over the last decade, investment capital from India grew at an annualized rate of 53% reaching an estimated $4.4 billion in 2009. This growing flow of capital from India reflects the increased integration of the two economies and has brought many benefits to the United States, increasing U.S. exports and supporting tens of thousands of jobs in the last six years alone.

An increasing number of Indian-owned firms contribute to U.S. jobs, exports, and growth:
• Goods exports to India reached approximately $17 billion in 2009, in part due to increased FDI from India.

• Indian companies have aided the turnaround of struggling U.S. firms, saving jobs and improving company performance. They have also made important new investments, stimulating innovation and production in the American economy.

Just a few examples include:
* The Essar Group invested over $1.6 billion in the declining Minnesota Steel Industries and now employs over 7,200 people in almost a dozen states.

* The Tata Group has invested more than $3 billion in the U.S. and now employs nearly 19,000 throughout the country.

* Jubliant Organsys Total Capital invested $246 million in the U.S. and now employs nearly 900 employees throughout the country.

* Wockhardt, a pharmaceutical company, acquired Morton Grove for $37 million. The deal preserved the jobs of all 200 original Morton Grove employees.

* Crompton Greaves, an entity of the Indian conglomerate Avantha Group, has invested and partnered on a $20 million project to launch a Center for Intelligent Power with the University of Albany. The deal will create 100 high-tech jobs in upstate New York.

Indian FDI in the U.S. is on the rise:
• Indian investment capital is spread throughout the United States; it has reached states on both coasts and in the American Midwest. Geographically diversified investment by Indian firms has helped to support employment, particularly in towns reliant on industry and manufacturing that faced difficulties during the recent economic downturn.

• According to a report by Ernst & Young and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the largest share of investment capital from India has been allocated to industries associated with the knowledge economy. This capital is helping the U.S. increase employment in high value-added industries, such as IT and pharmaceuticals.

• FDI from India is expected to continue to grow in the future. There is strong interest from Indian investors in the power, steel, and extractive industries. The pharmaceuticals and health care industries are also expected to receive major investments. This inflow of capital will expand the U.S. economy across a wide variety of fields, creating jobs and keeping the U.S. competitive in global markets.