Immigration newsletter 20 Apr 2011

The UK Prime Minister has recently given a major speech which was quite negative about UK immigration.  Again, I suggest it may be worth considering other immigration destinations such as Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Denmark.

Nick Clegg the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister  in the UK has attacked the Conservative Party Prime Minister’s immigration plans.   He says that reducing the number of immigrants to tens of thousands a year was not government policy.  Immigration policy has been an ongoing source of friction between the Liberal Democrat members of the Government and the more anti immigration Conservative Party members of the Government.   

It should be noted that under EU law the UK has to allow free movement of EU citizens and their families into the UK.  In addition the limit on the number of tier 2 visas issued will only have a relatively small affect on overall levels of immigration.  While at the same time making things more difficult for businesses.   In practice it is likely to prove difficult reducing immigration to tens of thousands a year.

The Singapore Prime Minister has said that whilst high levels of immigration have caused some problems in Singapore, that overall, immigration is good for Singapore.

Speaking recently to reporters after recording a Chinese language forum at MediaCorp the Prime Minister had the following to say:

“First, we’ll continue to do what we think is the right thing for Singapore. We have to adjust it, we have to soften it where we can, we have to take measures to take care of the consequences,” said Mr Lee.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and Nick Sherry Minister for Small Business has announced a discussion paper asking for views on the simplification of Australian visitor visas.

The Government is trying to reduce the different types of visas and visa subclasses by fifty percent by 2015.   Mr Bowen went onto say:

'The government’s proposal to simplify visitor visas follows on from our recent commitment to streamline temporary work visas.'

On 6 April 2011, the UK Government changed the rules for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), otherwise known as permanent residence or settlement in the UK. The changes are part of an overall tightening of immigration laws in the UK.

A new threshold for assessing an applicant's past criminal record. An applicant must now be clear of "unspent convictions" when they apply for ILR.

Skilled and highly skilled migrants are now required to pass the Life in the UK test to satisfy the knowledge of language and life (KOL) requirement for settlement also known as permanent residence in the UK. The Life in the UK test demonstrates knowledge of UK civics and culture.