Articles Posted in Global Immigration

Greek Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister George Nikitiades, who visited Russia recently, stated that the General Consulate of Russia to Greece announced a 52% increase of Russian tourists in Greece. Nikitiades also discussed with touristic agents, who seem to be optimistic and believe that the touristic action of Russians to Greece will increase next year too.

The Minister Mr. Nikitiades felicitated Greece’s ambassador to Moscow, Mr. Spinellis and the General Consul, Mr. Plotas. He also approved the incentive of the Russian President, Dimitri Medvedef, for visa abolition. He underlined that Greece and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Droutsas, supports this action.

Kuwait’s Labour Ministry has submitted three proposals to the government to help put an end to the controversial sponsorship system.

The proposals are based on studies and recommendations prepared by the ministry, the Arab Labour Organisation and the International Labour Organisation, a source from the ministry has said.

“The ministry took into consideration the specifics of the Kuwaiti labour market as well as the recommendations of international organisations on labour and human rights,” the unnamed source told Kuwaiti daily Al Anbaa on Thursday.

The number of American students studying in Zimbabwe increased by 200 percent in 2009-10 to a total of 27. During the same period, the number of Zimbabwean students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education decreased by 8.7 percent from 1,269 to 1,159, most likely due to economic challenges in Zimbabwe making it difficult for families to pay for fees and tuitions. Open Doors 2010, the annual report on international academic mobility published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the U.S. Department of State, released these statistics on Monday to mark the beginning of International Education Week.

The number of Zimbabwean students in the U.S. peaked in 2002-03 at 2,186. Today, Zimbabwe is among the top 10 sending countries in Africa, ranking seventh after Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, and Ethiopia. In 2009, the US Embassy in Harare issued 400 new F-1 student visas.

U.S. Embassy Educational Advisor Rebecca Zeigler Mano attributes the decline to the economic crisis and political instability in Zimbabwe, as well as teacher strikes, inconsistent examination results, election related violence and hyperinflation during the 2007-08 academic years. Parents who previously could fund part or all of their children’s US education through Reserve Bank educational forex allowances and local salaries, could no longer do so during those years. Despite the decline last year, the number of Zimbabweans studying in the U.S. remains high in large part due to the U.S. Embassy educational advising services in Harare and in Bulawayo, as well as a big increase over the last 5 years in the number of Zimbabweans receiving scholarships to study in the US.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry proposes the closing of 7 diplomatic missions abroad, Minister Nikolay Mladenov announced. For the very first time, Mladenov mentioned the names of the countries, in which the Bulgarian embassies will be proposed for closing to the Bulgarian Council of Ministers. They are: Sudan, Angola, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Thailand, Mexico and Tunisia.

In order for the closing process to go smoothly enough, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry considers temporarily sending additional diplomats in the neighboring countries of those mentioned. The choice is based on a scrutinizing financial analysis and on the necessity to optimize the system, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

“The closings should not be read as a negative evaluation about the mutual relations between Bulgaria and those nations.”, Minister Mladenov affirmed. “Some 15 employees will return”, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Vesela Cherneva, clarified.

From 31 July 2009, migrants who applied for a Certificate of Approval between 2005 and 2009 have been able to apply for their fee to be repaid. They were required to show that paying the fee caused them real financial hardship at the time of payment. The advertised repayment scheme came to an end on 31 July 2010.

Since 31 July, the UK Border Agency has accepted some adhoc applications for a repayment of the COA fee. The Agency accepted such applications in the interests of ensuring that all those who may have suffered real financial hardship as a result of the COA fee had an adequate opportunity to apply for a repayment. From 1 December, however, the UK Border Agency will no longer accept such applications.

Those wishing to make an ad hoc application for repayment of the COA fee before the repayment scheme finally ends should use the Repayment of Certificate of Approval fee request form COAFR by visiting following link:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100503160445/http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/partners-other-family/coa-refund-form

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday his government would do everything possible to prevent a planned immigration cap from depriving U.K. companies of skilled workers from overseas. In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry on Monday, Mr. Cameron signaled the government was rethinking how the cap on non-European Union migrants might work. “As we control our borders and bring immigration to a manageable level, we will not impede you from attracting the best talent from around the world,” Mr. Cameron said.

However, a spokeswoman for the prime minister said the government had always said it wanted its new immigration cap to ensure businesses could attract skilled workers. Business Secretary Vince Cable, who has been critical of the immigration cap, said “there’s no change” in policy and that the government had always said it would create a flexible system. “There’s a common view that we have to have a cap on non-European Union immigration.

The government has said it will announce the new cap-and how it will operate-next spring. Businesses have been pressing for the system to be flexibly designed to ensure businesses don’t face obstacles in filling key posts. In a speech that focused on shifting the government’s message from austerity measures to growth and job creation, Mr. Cameron on Monday outlined initiatives to boost enterprise. These included a £200 million ($313.6 million) investment in technology and innovation hubs, and the government’s national infrastructure plan.

The Immigration Act 2009 comes into effect from 29 November 2010. Until then the Immigration Act 1987 applies. The key changes factsheet is a good place to start. It gives an overview of what’s happening, and gives an introduction to the other factsheets, which include:

* New terminology and concepts – outlines, for example, how we will no longer use the word ‘permit’ and instead use the word ‘visa’, and that the terms ‘residence permits’, ‘residence visas’ and ‘returning resident’s visas will be replaced by ‘resident visas’ and ‘permanent resident visas’ – but there is no change to existing categories for people wishing to settle in New Zealand.

* Residence – explains how people granted residence in New Zealand will be granted ‘resident visas’ with ‘travel conditions’, or ‘permanent resident visas’, and what these things mean.

Singaporeans who are successful in their application for a passport will have the option of collecting their passports from selected Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) outlets from October 15, 2010 onwards. Eligible passport applicants will be informed through the passport collection notification card or by email if they apply for a passport through APPLES, the online passport application system. Those who wish to enjoy the service offered by SingPost can select the preferred venue for collection via the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) e-Appointment system which is available through the ICA website at www.ica.gov.sg.

The ICA has collaborated with SingPost to bring greater convenience to Singaporeans without compromising on security. In addition to the option of applying for passports at SingPost since 2008, Singaporeans may now also collect passports from selected SingPost outlets. SingPost was chosen to offer this service to Singaporeans after a rigorous tender process. ICA is also satisfied SingPost has put together a robust and stringent process to ensure the secure delivery, custody and collection of the Singapore passport at its outlets.

Singaporeans who are eligible for this service will be able to enjoy the convenience of collecting their passports from SingPost’s wide network of outlets strategically located across the island. There will be a service fee payable to SingPost for the successful collection of each ICA document at designated SingPost outlets. There are 20 designated SingPost outlets selected to offer this service to ICA customers. As an added advantage, some SingPost outlets have extended operating hours up till 8pm and are open on weekends and public holidays.

UK is getting lot more protests from various quarters. In a rare intervention, eight British Nobel Laureates, including Russian-born Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov who share this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics, have warned that the Government’s plans to put an annual cap on immigration from outside the European Union would deprive Britain of international scientific talent and “isolate” it from the “increasingly globalized world of research”.

Sir Harry Kroto, who got the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996, cited the case of Prashant Jain, an Indian material scientist from the Florida State University, who was offered a fellowship by Cambridge University. But he was refused a visa because he was not able to secure enough points under the points-based immigration system to be eligible for a work permit. He is a researcher who is very clearly going places. It’s an amazing loss to the country. He will probably now stay here in the U.S. when he was quite keen to work in the U.K.. It is a very good example of the problems that immigration (policy) is causing in science. Dr. Jain (28) said he was very keen to work at Cambridge which he described as a “wonderful place” but said he now saw his future in America.

In a joint letter the Nobel Laureates said that Britain’s reputation as a global center of research excellence would be damaged if a rigid cap on immigration made it difficult for universities to recruit the best talent from abroad.

The UAE’s Ministry of Labor announced plans to use online filing system to speed up the application process for work permits across the country.

In the existing system, a representative from the company must go to the ministry’s physical location to apply for a work permit, a process that unnecessarily consumes time. The new system, on the other hand, will enable applicants to submit all documents electronically. Moreover, companies will be able to process the work permits through a software that they can buy, or use at selected service centers.

Humaid bin Deemas, the executive director for Labour Affairs at the ministry, said we want to make sure that procedures will not form obstacles for any future changes in the criteria for the work permit and this move will work towards that end. It will also enable the ministry to concentrate more on formulating policies rather than spending time on mere procedures.