Immigration newsletter 12 Jul 2006

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Ottawa has been ranked as the top growth city in Canada, having experienced 10 percent economic growth over the past year. Calgary trailed at a close second, with Toronto coming in third. The Federal Government is also expanding its employee base. 

The Canadian government characterizes the regions as welcoming to new immigrants. Increased diversity of the workforce is something that is generally acknowledged to increase productivity.

The paternity provision of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act of 2002 relating to children of unmarried British fathers came into effect on July 1st, 2006. Only children born on or after July 1st will have a right to British citizenship under the new law.

Britains official number of 375,000 immigrants from the ten new member states of the EU may have been understated. A BBC Newsnight survey of 500 Polish immigrants indicated that 36% of newly arrived workers have not officially registered. Based upon this survey, between 500 and 600 thousand immigrants may actually have arrived in the UK since 2004.

The Home Office has published advance notice that 'general nurses' will be removed from the Skills Shortage Occupations listing. From August 14th, 2006, affected positions are for nurses employed or engaged in the NHS at band 7 or 8 of Agenda for Change, or those employed or engaged in one or more of the new specialties listed.

The French Parliament passed a law to overhaul their immigration policies on June 30th, while an order to prevent detention and deportation of school-aged children expired on July 1st. Responding to concerns that school-age children of illegal immigrants may be deported, the French government announced an amnesty last week. It is now planned to grant residency papers to several thousand affected families.

Almost 60 European and African countries met on July 10th in Morocco for a major conference on immigration. Illegal immigration between the regions this year is more than double the figure for the whole of 2005. The EU proposes that the main response should be more financial aid to the region, along with increased border security for EU nations. 18 billion Euros in grants to Africa are planned between 2007-2013.

Australia has the highest foreign-born population of any country. Many jobs are going unfilled as the Australian economy picks up. Migrant numbers have risen by about 10 percent over the past year. 

The states have finalized agreements to streamline regulations to make it easier to bring in foreign workers to meet specific short-term skill shortages.