Immigration newsletter 09 Jul 2010

UK Immigration has confirmed that the interim limit on Tier 1 (General) visas will start on 19 July 2010 (previously it was thought to be 16 July 2010). The permanent limit on Tier 1 (General) applications under the points based system will start in April 2011. If you are affected by the changes in the Tier 1 (General) points system and new Tier 1 limit you should consider applying before 19 July 2010.

The changes to the Tier 1 Visa system are as follows:
 

• The passmark for the Tier 1 visa (General) will increase from 95 to 100 points from 19 July 2010 for many applicants. This will mean that fewer people will qualify for the Tier 1 (General) visa from 19 July 2010. 
• There will be a monthly interim limit on Tier 1 (General) visas from 19 July 2010.

Canadian immigration plans to increase economic immigration in its 2010 plan. However, it is increasingly the case that you will need to have a job offer to come under the skilled worker category. Recently the number of in demand occupations that qualify under the skilled worker category has been reduced further to 29 in-demand occupations.

Immigration Minister Kenney had the following to say:

"When I met with my provincial colleagues last week, they all stressed the importance of economic immigration."

The Australian immigration visa schemes in the following categories were suspended from 8 May 2010 to 30 June 2010:

Subclass 175 – Skilled Independent;
Subclass 176 – Skilled Sponsored;
Subclass 475 – Skilled Regional Sponsored.

The suspension was lifted from 1 July 2010; You can again make applications under the above categories.

Australian immigration has substantially reduced the number of occupations that come under the skilled migration program from the previous 400 occupations to the current 183 occupations. Immigration Minister Chris Evans says that that the changes will help provide the skilled workers needed by the Australian economy. The Australian Government says that the list includes managerial, professional, technical and trade occupations.

Canadian immigration also intends to significantly increase the investment requirements for the immigrant investor program:
 

• A personal net worth of $1.6M instead of $800,000
• An investment requirement of $800,000 instead of $400,000

Canadian immigration feels that that the investment requirements are too low. The investment requirements have not changed for more than ten years. The current system attracts more applicants than are required each year under the immigration plan. This has resulted in an increase in processing times.