Indoz Overseas Blog

IMMIGRATION officials are preparing a 50-year migration plan to ensure that intakes consider a range of long-term issues such as climate change, water needs and national security.

The Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Andrew Metcalfe, said the department was conducting a review of the nation’s migration needs to ensure a more rounded and visionary approach.

”In terms of the future, we are trying to lift ourselves away from year-to-year decisions to a 50-year vision,” he told the Australian and New Zealand School of Government conference in Canberra.

”We are trying to move away from an immigration department that is responsive to one that can help the government achieve long-term objectives … A long-term planning framework … is something whose time has come.”

Mr Metcalfe said a well-planned skilled migration program could contribute to Australia’s long-term economic, demographic and environmental goals.

”We want to ensure our skilled migration programs are responding to longer-term skill needs which cannot be addressed through domestic training and skills development,” he said.

”The question then is how we can best address shorter-term labour market requirements … It will be important that the skilled migrants we choose are not only young and healthy but also have a high level of education, language proficiency and other skills. This will ensure that skilled migration contributes both to labour force growth and to the productivity of our labour force.”

Mr Metcalfe said the review will include an examination of the points system used to select skilled migrants, known as the Migration Occupations in Demand List.

”The MODL is not as flexible as we would like to address a rapidly changing and uncertain global environment. In my view, one of themes of this century will be the increased mobility of people around the globe, and we need to manage this adroitly.”

SKILLED workers will soon be in short supply even if overall unemployment continues to rise, a report says.

The Clarius skills index report for the June quarter shows that while skilled job seekers are still struggling to find work, unemployment among the qualified is falling.

Information technology, engineering and accounting professionals are expected to be in short supply within the coming year as firms struggle to find suitably qualified candidates.

About 37,000 qualified candidates were unsuccessful at getting a job in the June quarter, compared with 14,000 previously.

But a closer look at the figures, based on official employment data, showed 124,800 professionals were unemployed in the three months to June 30, compared with 133,700 in the first three months of 2009.

The March quarter’s skilled unemployment tally was the worst since 2001.

Clarius Group executive manager Kym Quick says demand for skilled workers is actually increasing despite the difficult economic environment.

“Even though unemployment numbers are climbing, that’s not necessarily translating to the skilled workforce,” she told AAP on Sunday.

Australia has shed 77,000 manufacturing jobs during the past year, but Ms Quick said the story was different in the skilled labour market.

“Predominantly, the skills shortage we have come out of suggests there was a dramatic undersupply going back to 18 months ago and … we’re seeing an evening out of that.”

Of the 19 skilled employment categories, seven of them either had an undersupply of labour or an evenly-matched balance with labour demand.

Chefs and hairdressers were in short supply because of the low pay and unsustainable hours, Ms Quick said.

She predicted IT, engineering and accounting professionals would be in short supply during the next six to 12 months as an economic recovery encouraged firms to restart stalled projects.

On July 1 2009, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship will be increasing visa application fees by as much as 20%.

For example:

For further details about this, or any other aspect of immigration law, please contact a Indoz Overseas advisor today.

The UK is considering reforming its existing visitor visa scheme in order to entice more Chinese and other visitors to its shores.

Currently Chinese and certain other overseas visitors to Europe are required to obtain separate visas for add on trips to the UK. Tour operators and the wider tourism industry however have argued that the requirements to obtain an additional visa and the rising costs and procedures involved in processing a UK visa have acted as a ‘disincentive to include short visits to the UK in tours majoring on continental Europe. The Foreign Office is therefore examining the feasibility of the UK entering the Schengen visa system, a single visa covering 15 European countries, including the UK’s key tourism competitors, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

With particular reference to Chinese tourists, UK Consul-General in Shanghai, Ms Carma Elliot advised:

“Most Chinese tourists want to go on a continental tour. We cannot currently capture that. But we are busily exploring the options…whether we could offer visas as part of a wider European tour.”

Lobbying for change, Visit Britain stated that in 2007, whilst France attracted some 750,000 Chinese tourists, the UK saw just 150,000. If the UK were to join the Schengen system however, a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese tourists would be expected, bringing with them valuable tourist dollars.

UK Trade and Investment Director for China, Mr Alastair Morgan said:

“We think there’s a lot of future potential for tourism from China. But at the moment we have far more business visitors. We would like the UK to be performing better…”

If you are interested in UK Visas, contact Indoz Overseas.

Sweden is adjusting its immigration policy to allow both high and low skilled workers from outside the EU easier access to the Swedish labour market.

The new policy, which is due to be implemented in December, will place no limit on the amount of workers coming from a single country and will increase the period for which a work permit is valid from one to two years.

According to Tobias Billstrom, Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, the changes will constitute one of the most profound reforms to immigration policy in several decades. It comes at a time when Sweden is facing severe labour shortages and has a significant need for doctors, nurses, electricians, engineers, IT professionals and welders.

Indian nationals are by far the biggest non-EU migrant group living and working in Sweden and Billstrom chose to announce the changes during a seminar held at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

He went on to say that “once the new rules are in place, an employer who is not able to meet labour needs through recruitment in Sweden or in the European Union will be able to recruit labour from any other country.”

Foreign workers will be able to bring their families with them to Sweden and, after four years of living and working there, would have the right to apply for permanent residence.

On 27 November 2008 the United Kingdom launched Tier 2 and Tier 5 of its “five-tier” points based immigration system. Tier 1, the entry route for highly skilled migrants was implemented earlier this year.

Tier 2 covers employer-sponsored immigration and replaces the UK Work Permit scheme. It also covers long-term appointments for ministers of religion, admissions for professional sportspeople, and intra-company transfers.

People applying under Tier 2 as general skilled workers will receive points based on their employer’s sponsorship, their skill level, and other factors. People applying under Tier 2 as ministers of religion and sportspeople will face similar requirements as well as criteria specific to their category.

Tier 5 covers temporary employment for sportsmen, performers, charity workers, religious workers, government-authorized exchange workers, and international agreement workers. Like Tier 2, sponsorship by an employer, government, or other relevant organization is required.

With the addition of Tiers 2 and 5, the new five-tier points based system is 60 percent operational. Tier 4 for foreign students is expected to start sometime in the first quarter of 2009.

Tier 3, for unskilled workers, has been suspended indefinitely in favor of workers from within the European Union. However, employers who depend on these workers feel that the EU cannot provide enough workers to fill labour shortages, so there is still a possibility that Tier 3 will see the light of day eventually.

Jason Kenney, Canadian Minister of Citizenship, and Multiculturalism has confirmed that Canada will maintain its positive stance on immigration by setting a target of 240 000 to 265 000 new permanent residents for 2009.

‘Whilst countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia are talking about taking fewer immigrants, our planned numbers for 2009 are on a par with last year and are among the highest for this country over the past 15 years,’ Minister Kenney said. ‘The numbers reflect a continued commitment to an immigration program that balances Canada’s economic, humanitarian and family reunification goals.’

Of the planned intake, some 60% will be accepted in the economic category. The remainder will be in the family and humanitarian categories.

The minister also announced the introduction of an ‘Action Plan for Faster Immigration’ aimed at those applicants qualified in 38 high-demand occupations in fields such as finance, health, mineral extraction and various skilled trades.

Under this plan, sklled worker applications from people on the high-demand list, those already having an offer of employment or those living legally in Canada for one year as an international student or as a temporary foreign worker will have their applications fast-tracked. All other federal skilled worker applications will not be processed and the application fee will be fully refunded.

The plan is retroactive to 27 February 2008, the date set by the Federal Budget, and should see an end to the increasing backlog in applications and eventually a decreased backlog.

‘We expect new federal skilled worker applicants, including those with arranged employment, to receive a decision within six to 12 months compared with up to six years under the old system,’ said Minister Kenney. ‘All other economic class applications, including applicants chosen by Quebec, provincial nominees, the Canadian Experience Class, and live-in caregivers, will continue to be given priority.’

Jason Kenney went on to say that ‘the eligibility criteria apply only to new federal skilled worker applicants and will not affect Canada’s family reunification or refugee protection goals. Applicants who aren’t eligible for the federal skilled worker category may qualify under another category, such as the Provincial Nominee Program, or as temporary foreign workers, which could then put them on a path to permanent residency through the new Canadian Experience Class. There are many ways to immigrate to Canada.

‘The recent steps this Government has taken to improve our immigration system will help ensure that Canada remains competitive internationally and responsive to labour market needs domestically.’