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2010 has been a rocky year for immigration around the world. Aftershocks from the global financial crisis of 2008 can still be felt as evidenced by many countries responding to the economic downturn by bringing in more restrictive immigration policies. However, there is evidence that as the economies of many countries improve and unemployment rates fall, skilled immigration will once again play a key role in filling labour gaps.
United Kingdom
One of the biggest stories this year is the UK Government's interim immigration cap that was put into force in June. The temporary cap, designed to prevent a surge in applications ahead of a planned permanent cap to be introduced in April 2011, was pushed through without any Parliamentary vote. Since this summer, a monthly cap of 600 applications for Tier 1 General has been in place, with the quota being reached very early in each month. There has been much criticism of the cap, mainly from the business sector, immigrant groups, and from within the Government itself.
A legal challenge was lodged with the UK High Court by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the English Community Care Association. The UK High Court found that the interim immigration cap was unlawful because the Home Secretary did not put the measure to a vote before Parliament. However, the UK Government quickly put through a Statement of Changes that apparently means that the interim immigration limit is now lawful. It's possible that a future legal challenge will mean that the interim limit is again considered to be unlawful.
Of more concern is the announcement of the permanent cap to be introduced in April of 2011. This cap will limit the number of highly skilled visas from 13,000 per year to 1,000 per year and introduce a new 'exceptional talent' visa which will replace the Tier 1 (General) visa. It is certain that immigrating to the UK under the highly skilled immigration route will be become much more difficult -- if not impossible -- for most people.
In addition to the changes to Tier 1, Tier 2 visas will also become more difficult to obtain. Starting in April 2011, Tier 2 general visas will require applicants to have a degree-level qualification. In addition, while Intra-company transfers under the Tier 2 regime will not be subject to any caps, applicants must earn more that GBP 40,000 per year if they wish to stay in the UK for longer than 12 months.
Stricter requirements for permanent residence, otherwise known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) were also announced in 2010. The Home Secretary said that she wishes to cut the ties between temporary immigration and permanent settlement. As a result, it is possible many people will no longer be eligible to apply for ILR in the future. One bit of good news is that the plan by the previous Government to create a category of "probationary citizenship" instead of indefinite leave to remain has been axed.
The UK has also significantly raised immigration fees. A full list of updated immigration fees is located here.
Canada
The United Kingdom is not the only country that is tightening the reigns on immigration. Canada has reduced the number of jobs in its in-demand occupation list; Most skilled worker applicants will more than likely require a job offer. On the bright side, Canada has devoted resources to reducing a large backlog in applications which have historically resulted in multi-year waiting times for applicants.
Australia
Like Canada, Australia also announced a reduction in jobs on their Skilled Occupation List (SOL); As before applicants for permanent residence under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) programme must have relevant experience in the particular skilled occupation. This year Australia also announced changes to the GSM to take effect next summer which will make it more difficult for tradespeople and people in other occupations to score enough points under Australia's GSM points based system.
Australia has also been responding to criticism of changes to its immigration system from the business and education sectors. Australia will make student immigration and temporary business immigration easier. This will further help Australia's economy which is now experiencing an upturn.
The United States
There was a time when H-1B visas were snatched up on the first day that they became available for a particular fiscal year. This year is certainly in keeping with the times; Thousands of H-1B visas were still available many months after the gates were open, showing that employers are simply not hiring highly skilled workers in large numbers in the US.
Conclusion
The global financial crisis of 2008 took an enormous toll on economies world-wide which resulted in many Countries bringing in more restrictive immigration policies.
Governments around the world are concentrating more on employment-based immigration to deal with gaps in the labor market. It is increasingly the case that the employer or both the employer and employee need to apply for the visa.
Over the last few years economies around the world have been recovering. This is particularly true for countries such as Australia. As markets recover and demand for skilled workers increase, this will lead to increases in levels of immigration.
We at workpermit.com wish all of our subscribers a prosperous and successful 2011.
