Immigration newsletter 27 Sep 2006

Call us for visa advice at our London office: +44 (0) 20 7842 0800.

The US DV-2008 (Greencard) Lottery is about to begin

The United States Diversity Visa Lottery for 2008, commonly known as the Greencard Lottery, will begin accepting submission of electronic applications at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time on Wednesday, October 4th. Interested persons are reminded to begin preparations immediately if they have not already done so.

The European Commission announced that Romania and Bulgaria will be admitted to the European Union on January 1st 2007. The EU-25 will now become the EU-27, but under strict new conditions. 

Bulgaria and Romania joining will increase the population of the EU by 30 million citizens. There will be restrictions on migration to other EU/EEA countries for up to three years. 

The new Accession States will have to report on progress in fighting crime and corruption every six months. By March 2007, they need to set up agencies to account for millions of euros in EU farm aid. Both will face food export bans due to recent outbreaks of animal diseases, while Bulgarian planes could be banned from EU airspace until the country improves its air safety standards. 

Recent controversy has arisen as the current EU-25 nations stall on final decisions regarding the access rights for working and migration for nationals of Romania and Bulgaria. 

John Reid, the UK Home Secretary announced the introduction of a "points system" to assess skills, qualifications and experience of potential workers from the new Member States, signalling that the open-door policy in the UK is now closed in favour of a "managed migration" policy.

As UK universities seek to attract foreign university students, the successful Fresh Talent scheme in Scotland will now be extended to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 2000 students who graduate annually in Scotland take advantage of the program, which allows overseas students a two-year visa extension if they complete their studies in Scotland.

U.S. universities have lost significant numbers of international students since 2002. Worldwide competition for highly skilled workers is strong, and international students are increasingly regarded as a source of highly skilled immigrants. Countries such as New Zealand, France and South Africa are attracting more foreign students by building up their own universities, with more than a 1% rise in foreign student populations over the past four years.

Australia has updated its Migration Occupations in Demand List. The MODL identifies targeted skilled occupations as being in national demand with long-term employment prospects. Skilled migration applicants with occupations appearing on the MODL are awarded an additional 15 or 20 points.