Immigration newsletter 05 Oct 2005

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The U.S. State Department has announced that registration for the 2007 Diversity Visa Lottery, also know as the Green Card Lottery, will begin at noon local time on October 5, 2005. Persons seeking to enter the lottery program must register online through the designated Internet website during the registration period. The website for registering for the 2007 DV Lottery, www.dvlottery.state.gov, will be available from noon October 5, 2005 through noon December 4, 2005. Find out if you qualify for the U.S. Green Card Lottery right away by going to the Do I Qualify page.

Six new schemes aimed at helping refugees fully integrate into UK society were launched October 3 in Leicester, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton and London by Immigration Minister Andy Burnham. The Time Together Project, run by the national charity TimeBank, will pair volunteer mentors with refugees, for five hours a month, to help them achieve their goals in education and employment and to integrate with the communities in which they live. They aim is to assist 2550 refugees across the lifetime of the projects.

Increased immigration gave Canada the second highest rate of population growth among G8 countries over a 10-year period, according to Statistics Canada. The country's population jumped by 2.98 million people between 1994 and 2004, second only to the U.S., the agency reported yesterday. But, while U.S. growth was driven mainly by natural increases and a high fertility rate, the bulk of Canada's increase resulted from immigration.

Micheal Martin, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, expects about 2,000 people to come to Ireland under the system each year. The Employee Permits Bill, published in June, is expected to have passed through the Oireachtas by the end of the year, allowing for the introduction of the new "Green Card" system planned for skilled workers.

Australia's skilled migrant recruitment campaign has begun in the United Kingdom. The international skills expo is being held at Australia House on the Strand in London.