Immigration newsletter 15 Jun 2011

Today we have more UK immigration stories than normal. The UK continues to make immigration more difficult.  As before we suggest you consider alternatives such as immigration to Australia, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, etc.

The UK has announced a number of proposals aimed at cutting the ties between many immigration routes and eventual settlement (properly known as indefinite leave to remain) in the UK.

"Migrants coming to the UK to work on temporary visas will no longer be able to apply for settlement, under proposals announced by the government today," the UK Border Agency said in a statement recently.

The UK Government has launched a consultation on proposals to tighten immigration law concerning the Tier 2 and Tier 5 temporary worker route, and the overseas domestic worker route. The Government consultation will also consider proposals to break the link between temporary employment-based immigration and settlement.

According to an article in Engineering and Technology Magazine (E&T), the science and engineering industry in the UK is concerned that the recent tightening of British immigration laws will make it more difficult for the sector to recruit skilled workers.

The UK recently imposed a number of new restrictions on skilled immigration, including the scrapping of the Tier 1 (General) Visa. The new Tier 1 "Exceptional Talent" visa which is the only independent skilled immigration visa left is almost impossible to obtain. On top of all this the UK has had a cap on skilled immigration for about the last twelve months.

The UK Government has announced that it expects to reduce the level of student immigration into the country by almost a quarter million over the next five years, due to stricter visa rules.

A Home Office report said that the new student visa rules should lead to total net student migration from outside the European Union being reduced by 230,000 between 2011 and 2015.

Immigration to the UK from eastern and central Europe is on the rise. Under EU law nationals of European Union Countries can work freely in the UK. The UK Government is therefore unable to control levels of immigration from these Countries.

A new study released by the Brookings Institute finds that highly skilled migrants in the United States have started to outnumber lower skilled immigrants.

According to the report, The Geography of Immigrant Skills: one in seven US residents are immigrants, and constitute about one in six workers.

Michigan state governor Rick Snyder has a new initiative to attract foreign investors and entrepreneurs to help boost the US state's ailing economy.

"He has long been interested in this topic and sees the value foreign nationals can play in the new economy," said Amy Cell, senior vice-president of talent enhancement at the Michigan Economic Development Corp.