Australia and New Zealand Immigration News

Australia's immigration policy of luring professionals and skilled workers from poorer countries could be damaging the countries they leave behind, by attracting their doctors, nurses, nation-builders and reformers.A report released by the World Bank finds that more than 75 percent of all graduates from Tonga and Samoa, and 62 percent of all graduates from Fiji have emigrated. Most are now in Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand's new Foreign Minister Winston Peters, who is known as an opponent of immigration, says he wants to encourage more Chinese students to study English in New Zealand. Mr Peters, making his first overseas trip this week to South Korea for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, will discuss with Chinese officials the decline in the number of Chinese students in New Zealand. He says the drop is partly due to the collapse of some privately-owned English language schools.

An Australian federal Government review finds that the country's skilled migration programs are failing in regional Australia, with almost a quarter of foreign workers unemployed and low wages and poor job satisfaction common.

Australia, which is currently undergoing a massive campaign to attract more immigrants, is considering making its English language tests for skilled migrants more difficult, after finding that many immigrants cannot speak the language well enough to get jobs in the shortage sectors.

New Zealand has launched a new website that aims to attract New Zealanders who have moved abroad to move back home, by listing job opportunities, relocation information, plus information on the school system and the arts. The site was launched on 1 Nov.

"New Zealand is a great place to live, work and play. We want to remind expats that New Zealand has an incredible amount to offer," New Zealand Immigration Minister David Cunliffe said.

In June, the New Zealand Government announced that the investor age limit would be lowered 30 years from 85 to 54, the amount of investment required would double to $2 million and the money would have to be invested with the Government.

Business New Zealand, the country's largest advocacy group for enterprises, had predicted that changes to the investor category immigration rules would drive investors away. They say that their fear has now been confirmed by Labour Department statistics.