Immigration newsletter 30 May 2007

Britain's Home Office has removed four health care occupations from the Skills Shortage Occupations List. All applications for these occupations received from May 29th are now subject to the full "resident labour test." Employers wishing to employ non EEA nationals for these positions under the work permit scheme are required to document that all reasonable steps were taken to hire someone from within the European Economic Area.

The United Kingdoms agricultural sector is experiencing a severe shortage of workers, according to organizations such as the National Farmer's Union. They are petitioning the government to increase quotas under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme. SAWS is currently restricted to nationals from Bulgaria and Romania only. In addition to increasing the quota, farming interests are requesting that nationals from outside of the European Economic Area should be allowed to come under the scheme and work in the UK.

The British government has released statistics on asylum applications, including data for the first quarter of 2007. Applications are down about 10%, and at the same time deportation of failed asylum applicants is down about 4%. The percentage of applications fully resolved within six months, including the time taken to complete the appeal process, also increased between 2005 and 2006. 

The Home Office is proposing to add ten more countries to a list of nations whose nationals may be repatriated without an appeal if their application is determined to be "unfounded."

The European Commission has published a set of proposals to levy penalties against businesses in the European Union that engage in employing illegal migrants. Businesses and individuals who employ people illegally will be subject to fines, payment of back taxes, loss of business privileges, and potential jail time for criminal offenses. Businesses that hire illegal migrants are engaging in unfair competition against businesses that follow the law. The European Commission is pushing for the reforms on humanitarian and on economic grounds.

It is said that California on its own is between the sixth and tenth largest economy in the world. It has one of the highest concentrations of science and technology businesses in the world. By 2020, 39% of all jobs will require a university degree, but only 33% of the workforce are expected to have one. The government of California must develop a plan to import students and highly skilled workers in "unprecedented numbers," according to the report, to sustain its economy.

The Chief Executive of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) said this week that New Zealand's budget for 2007 means that there will be a sharp increase in the need for engineers. A number of projects that the New Zealand government is beginning will require research and development that cannot be provided by private industry alone. Immigration Minister David Cunliffe recently outlined plans to attract more immigrants with needed engineering skills.

The Australian government has increased funding for the Settlement Grants Programme (SGP) by about AUD$19 million for the 2007 to 2008 fiscal year. 231 new projects were introduced on 29 May to help new immigrants. The main focus of the projects are to assist migrants in building practical skills and to learn about and take part in Australian society. 149 community organizations and will help refugees and other migrants "become self-reliant and participate in Australia's social and economic life."

Japan has a negative population growth rate that will result in a loss of 25% of the population by 2050. The country needs many new, young people entering its labor force to keep it productive. Since there are not nearly enough births among the native population, immigration is the only immediate solution. Japan has historically been a very closed society, but it must now implement sweeping immigration changes to bring enough people into the country to keep its economy functioning.