Immigration newsletter 25 Jul 2007

The UK's National Shortages Occupation List was modified to add the category of Chartered Quantity Surveyors as of July 23rd. Occupations on this list do not require a Resident Labor Test. This means that an employer does not need to show that a job cannot be filled by citizens of Britain, the EU, or the European Economic Area. Chartered Quantity Surveyors generally work within the construction industry to control and manage costs on a construction project.

In response to a series of diplomatic expulsions in the United Kingdom and Russia over the past two weeks, Britain has halted reform under negotiation with Russia to speed up Russian visa applications for diplomats and to fast-track visas for tourists and businessmen. Visa applications, especially for applications from government officials, may undergo increased scrutiny. 

The British embassy also said that the visa process would only change for applications submitted for members of the Russian government - not for ordinary Russians. Russia has responded by expelling four UK diplomats, so far, and will also review visa applications for UK officials.

On July 11th, it was announced that three migration deals between Russia and Uzbekistan have been signed. A readmission agreement will simplify the deportation of illegal migrants back to their home countries. Another agreement will result increased cooperation in combating illegal immigration through a legal framework of prevention. 

The third agreement is on migrant labor and the protection of migrant's rights. It is designed to 'streamline' the labor markets in Russia and Uzbekistan and sets out employer's rights and obligations regarding migrant workers. Uzbekistan is the third largest source of migrant labor for Russia. 

Sweden is engaged in efforts to alleviate labor shortages and combat rising wage levels. The country has proposed opening its borders to more skilled foreign workers. This is also seen as a way to pay for increased social costs for the rising percentage of retirement-age citizens in Swedens population. 

Sweden is looking at proposals to reduce the number of asylum seekers from Iraq, after having accepted more than 18,000 Iraqi refugees in the past two years. Sweden has accepted the most Iraqi refugees of any European nation, and more than twice as many as the United States since 2003. The proposals, if accepted, will be implemented sometime during the spring of 2008.

Despite ongoing skills shortages in key industries, New Zealand has been forced to lower its target for the New Zealand Residence Programme for the coming year. 45,000 to 50,000 migrants will be planned for now, down from last years' target of 47,000 to 52,000. Continuing inflation in the economy is being named as the primary reason for the need to lower the immigration targets. 

At the same time, the government is trying to attract as many highly skilled migrants as possible to fill a wide range of jobs. The Skilled/Business stream is expected to account for 60% of available visas this year, with the Family Sponsored stream and the Humanitarian stream using the remainder.

Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews gave a speech at a luncheon on July 18th in which he outlined Australia's immigration system and the government's plans to combat problems arising from an ageing population and skills shortages. He also described some of the many changes over the last ten years to the nation's immigration system that have placed increased emphasis on bringing skilled migrants from overseas. 

He also made a pitch for the need for a citizenship test, which is currently under consideration in the Parliament.