Immigration newsletter 22 Aug 2007

Dean Morgan, the workpermit.com General Manager for the UK, was interviewed in a major BBC TV news story about the record number of people leaving the UK last year. BBC News reported that 385,000 people emigrated from the UK in the 12 months to July 2006. Perhaps surprisingly, just under half of these were people who had themselves emigrated to the UK and had been living in the UK for more than a year. The BBC TV news story was widely reported in other publications as well such as in The Guardian, The Mirror, The Age, thisislondon.co.uk, Reuters, etc as well as on the BBC's own web-site. 

Morgan said that the recent bad weather had lead to a larger number of enquiries than normal from people looking to use workpermit.com to help them emigrate. 

"Normally in July and August time its quite quiet but this year we've been inundated," he told BBC News. 

"Perception of crime is another of the main reasons for people wanting to leave," he added. 

"Also, people are worried about their children and they worry about their jobs and their future here and possibly the economy as well." 

Dean also stated that Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are the most popular emigration destinations for workpermit.com clients. 

According to the BBC, between 2004 and 2005, Australia was the most popular destination for emigrants from the UK with 71,000 emigrants, followed by Spain (58,000), France (42,000), New Zealand (30,000), the United States (25,000), and Canada (17,000). 

However, more people are emigrating to the UK than are leaving; 574,000 immigrants came to the UK during the period to July 2006. Nationals from the new European Union member states that joined in 2004 and who can work freely in the UK, as well as people who have come to the UK under schemes such as the Highly Skilled Migrant Program (HSMP) have contributed to the UK immigration figures. 

workpermit.com, formerly known as BCL Immigration Servics, has been in the immigration business for almost twenty years. We assist thousands of people each year with immigration to countries such as the UK, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 

From 01 September 2007, the Australian General Skilled Migration (GSM) stream will change. The number of visa categories will be reduced from the current fifteen to nine. Five of the categories can be applied for in-country (referred to as Onshore Visas), and four categories can be applied for from outside of Australia (Offshore Visas). 

More stringent English language skills will now be required, with the minimum score under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) being raised from 5 to 6. A bonus of 25 points will be awarded to applicants who score a minimum of 7 in all categories of the IELTS. 

A new Skilled-Graduate temporary visa (subclass 485) has been created to replace the subclass 497 visa. Graduates from approved educational institutes will be eligible to work with unrestricted rights in Australia for up to 18 months after thier graduation. 

An increased emphasis will be placed upon skilled work experience, with a points bonus for skilled work already performed in Australia. However, the bonus will only apply under the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL) for twelve or more months experience in the nominated occupation, or one that is closely related.

Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has released the 2006/2007 annual statistics for the country's migration program. 148,200 permanent visas for skilled migration and family migration were granted, plus an additional 13,017 humanitarian migration categories. Currently, total immigration into Australia is at record levels and still the economy is suffering from skills shortages in key areas. 

About 30,000 people from the Turkish community in Australia are celebrating a 40-year agreement on migration between the two countries this month, with a Turkfest scheduled in Sydney for October 20th and 21st. The agreement is estimated to be worth $800 million Australian dollars in annual economic activity.

According to an Economy Minister's report that has just been released, Germany's skills shortages have resulted in a loss of "double-digit" billions of euros per year to the German economy. The report estimates that up to 1% of the gross domestic product is lost due to skill shortages. For 2007, this could exceed ?20 billion, according to report. 

German politicians have been pushing companies to hire women and older workers, as well as foreigners already living in Germany. Businesses are not happy with the government's response to the skills shortage problem and is advocating a more open approach toward immigration.

Migration into the United Kingdom from the eight Eastern European countries that joined the European Union in 2004 (the so-called "A8" countries) is on the decline. Almost 11% fewer nationals from A8 countries entered Britain in the second quarter of this year, in comparison to the same quarter for 2006. 

The second quarter of 2007 saw a 21% reduction in Bulgarian and Romanian nationals being granted access to the UK labor market from the first quarter of 2007. This number includes those registered as self-employed and self-sufficient.

The number of foreign students staying in Japan to work after graduation has hit record levels. The improving job market and growing demand for translators and interpreters are being cited as the major factors. 

The statistics are generated from applications for a change in status from "College Student" or "Pre-college Student" to "Specialist in Humanities/International Services." A little over 9,000 applications were submitted, of which 8,272 were granted. For 2005, the total was under 6,000. 

Other Asian students represent the majority of those who found jobs after graduation, comprising about 90% of the total.