Immigration newsletter 12 Sep 2007

The office of the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has announced plans that would require skilled workers immigrating into the United Kingdom from outside of the European Union to have good English. Workers in the "highly skilled" category already need to demonstrate a high level of English to qualify for their visas.

The government claims that ~33% of the skilled workers that entered Britain last year would not have been able to show that they could speak English. The proposed plan is that a test will now apply to the "skilled" category - and ministers have indictead that low-skilled workers will also e included. Immigrants will need to meet the equivalent of a GCSE grade A to C.

The Czech Republic has announced a "green card" work visa to be introduced during the first half of 2008. Currently, Czech employers must prove that they cannot find a an EU citizen or resident a job opening. The process currently takes several months. The new green card would allow qualified applicants to receive the card in as little as 30 days. 

Employees may work for one employer for up to two years, but may not get permanent residency with the card. The visa is targeted at workers with university degrees, specialists with vocational high school qualifications, and top management personnel. About 70,000 non-EU foreigners are currently working in the Czech Republic.

The World Bank has published a policy paper entitled "Brain Waste? Educated Immigrants in the US Labour Market." It looks at skilled employment of immigrants within the United States and how the country of origin may be a factor in the quality of the jobs obtained. Immigrants from countries that use English as a language for education and from countries that spend more money on tertiary education faired better in finding skilled employment. 

Immigrants from Latin America, the Middle East, and some Eastern European countries faired the worst in finding skilled employment after immigrating to the U.S. Immigrants from these regions relied more upon family relationships than upon employment qualifications. The paper also suggests that points-based immigration systems used in some countries, such as the UK and Australia, might not be the best method to evaluate skilled immigrants. 

Australia and China have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in an initiative to protect Chinese workers coming to Australia. Normally an Australian business pays recruitment fees, however some Chinese workers have been charged exorbitant fees by unscrupulous recruitment agencies operating in China. Chinese recruitment agents who abide by the MOU guidelines will be permitted to be listed on the Australian immigration department's website and on the Chinese Ministry of Commerce website. Violators will be removed.

New Zealand has signed off on transitional arrangements ahead of implementation of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. The move came after consultation between the Department of Labour, industry stakeholders and labor unions. The transitional arrangements will come into effect from 26 November 2007 and will be in place for two years. 

The RSE scheme allows New Zealand horticulture and viticulture employers to hire seasonal overseas labor if there are no workers available locally. Those granted a permit under the scheme can stay in New Zealand for 7 months during any 11 month period and cannot transfer to another permit. They must leave New Zealand after their stay. 

Permanent changes coming into effect will allow any visitor to work for up to six weeks for employers in areas experiencing severe labor shortages, and Working Holiday Scheme visitors may extend their stay for up to three months by taking work in the horticulture and viticulture industries.