Immigration newsletter 20 Oct 2010

The temporary immigration cap has already affected applications for the Tier 1 and Tier 2 visa categories. Many employers do not have certificates of sponsorship available to employ more overseas workers under the Tier 2 visa category; Therefore the temporary immigration cap has had a serious affect on the ability of employers to employ people from abroad.

Recently under the Tier 1 (General) category it has been announced that all visas have been used up under the October 2010 monthly immigration limit. No Tier 1 (General) visas will be issued until 1 November 2010.

The European Union Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee (CLC) is backing a single permit directive which will allow citizens of non-EU countries to obtain a work and residence permit through a "one-stop shop". The CLC directive is in keeping with the European Union's proposed single permit blue card immigration scheme for the European Union.

Non-EU citizens living and working in a European country under this directive will be allowed to travel freely between member states and will give them equal rights to EU nationals in many areas. The equality measures cover pay, working hours, social security, etc.

A High Court challenge is likely to cause problems for the UK's plans to implement a cap on immigration into the country.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and a number of businesses that depend on skilled immigration to deal with skill shortages have brought a judicial review of the government's temporary cap on immigration. The cap was imposed on 28 June 2010.

According to a new study by the Conference Board of Canada (CBC), immigrants can help boost innovation in Canada, which is currently lagging behind other developed nations.

"Immigrants tend to be motivated individuals willing to take risks in search of greater opportunities, which should predispose them to be innovative," said Diana MacKay, Director, Education and Health. "At every level we examined—individual, organizational, national and global—immigrants were associated with increased innovation in Canada."

The German government hopes to make it easier for foreign-born workers' to have their overseas qualifications recognised in Germany. This would also benefit Germany as more overseas workers will be available to fill critical shortages in the German labour market.

Approximately 300,000 foreign-born residents in Germany cannot practice their professions because their qualifications are not recognized, Education Minister Annette Schavan told the German Financial Times.