Immigration newsletter 23 Mar 2010

As expected UK immigration will be making significant changes to the requirements for the UK Tier 1 visa and Tier 2 visa. The changes will take place on 6 and 7 April 2010. If you meet the requirements for the Tier 1 or Tier 2 visa you should seriously consider applying now before the changes in less than a month's time.

If you earn a high salary and have a Bachelors degree then you may qualify for the Tier 1 visa from 6 April 2010. Under the current rules you cannot come under Tier 1 at all with a Bachelors degree. If you have a Masters degree and not such a high salary it may be more difficult to come under Tier 1 from 6 April 2010.

The UK Government is reviewing the overseas earnings multipliers. This is important for those applying from abroad. This is used to calculate the equivalent salary in the UK for the purpose of calculating points. It is likely that changes will be introduced in future which will make it more difficult for people applying from a Country such as India to gain enough points to come under the Tier 1 visa. However, there will be no changes to the salary multipliers on 6 April.

There will also be greater flexibility for short-term transfers by multinational companies. However, it will be more difficult for those on transfers to remain on a long term basis. Tier 2 Intra Company transfer visas will no longer lead to permanent residence.

The Canadian economy is doing better than expected. There are increased job opportunities, overall trade data including oil exports are on the up. It is against this background that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced recently a consultation to identify likely future skills needs.

Canadian immigration will look at possible changes to make it easier for immigrants with the right skills to gain entry to Canada.

The Canadian Government will consult on steps to take to make sure that Canada fully recovers from the recent Worldwide economic downturn. The consultations will consider worker shortages in trades and professions. It will also look at factors that affect an immigrant’s ability to find a job in Canada.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced recently that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will publish immigration statistics on a quarterly basis on their main Canadian immigration website.

“We are demonstrating our commitment to transparency and open government by ensuring that our most requested data is up-to-date, easily accessible and posted in a timely manner,” said Immigration Minister Kenney. “This will ensure that anyone who would like this data can access it for free whenever they want it, without having to make an Access to Information request.”