Immigration newsletter 22 Sep 2010

There is continuing disagreement in the UK Coalition Government between the more pro-immigration Liberal Democrat Government Ministers and Conservative Party Government Ministers. The Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable has said that the interim immigration cap is doing "huge damage" to business. 

Mr Cable is concerned that some companies may move jobs abroad because of the difficulty in obtaining Tier 2 visas and highly skilled Tier 1 visas for workers from overseas.Mr Cable says that he still wants a permanent cap from April 2011. However, he wants it to be more “flexible”.

The Danish Immigration Service has changed the length of time that a Green Card can be issued from the previous three-years to 18 months.
A person living and working in Denmark under a Green Card residence permit can apply for an extension of up to two and a half years before the expiration of the first 18-month period. A follow up extension can be granted for up to four years.

The Danish Green Card is a points based system that scores applicants on criteria such as age, education, and work experience.Denmark hopes that this selection criteria will attract immigrants who are needed by the Danish economy.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney visited Beijing recently one of the stops during his visit to Asia. He mentioned that China was “…the number one source country for immigrants to Canada…”

The Immigration minister mentioned that while Canadian Immigration wished to encourage immigration of genuine Chinese students, visitors and immigrants the Canadian Government also wanted to reduce levels of immigration fraud.

The number of students from China applying for student visas to study at Australian universities for the following summer has dropped dramatically. Changes to Australian skilled immigration are thought to be the cause of the decline in student visa applications.

Chinese student visa applications to Australian universities have dropped by 40 percent for the next summer session. Technical and Further Education colleges have seen a decline of 80 percent in Chinese student visa applications.