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A change in Australian tax law now exempts most visa holders working in Australia from having to declare their income from outside of Australia. Work permit holders will have to declare all income generated from work within Australia, but their foreign income no longer needs to appear on their Australian tax forms.

The Council of Australian Governments is considering revision to visa laws to allow guest workers to enter the country. The Federal Immigration Department is considering extending the 457 visa subclass to allow semi-skilled workers entry into Australia to perform jobs such as driving trucks and working on farms. The new skills category is being detailed in the new Standard Classification of Occupations, which is in its preliminary drafts.

The UK national identity card timetable is in serious question. Intended to be a high-tech document with details of the person's employment, residency, citizenship and rights to benefits, serious legislative debate has only just started on how it is to be launched and managed. A private sector contractor for the project has yet to be selected which will cause further delays.

UK ministers last week scrapped discussion regarding amnesty for illegal immigrants in Britain. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne issued a statement that policy will now be a "fair but tough" enforcement of existing rules, to be implemented "within a fortnight" (approximately mid-August).

Multi-lingual employees are in increasing demand in the United States. With the largest immigrant population in the world, businesses in the United States have a practical need for multiple languages in their workforce to remain competitive.

The U.S. Department of Labor released June economic and jobs data. The news is mixed, but generally does not change significantly from the past several months. Not as many jobs were added as expected. Workers may be in a stronger position to negotiate higher wages with an unemployment rate of 4.6%. Hourly wages rose at their fastest rate in five years, but have not entirely been keeping up with inflation.

The quarterly economic outlook for Canada is stable and strong, with growth slowing as expected. The employment-to-population ratio reached a record high in May 2006, and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since the mid-1970s. Growth is projected to slow down slightly for 2007 and 2008. The summary is that Canada is experiencing a generally well-managed economy, with wage growth exceeding inflation by better than a two to one ratio.

Latest immigration news

Australian law exempts overseas income from taxes for visa holders

Effective 01 July, 2006, workers in Australia from outside the country will not have to declare their income on their Australian tax forms. Work permit holders will have to pay taxes on all income generated while working in Australia, but their foreign income will no longer be a factor. more »

EU to invest in development of Africa to slow immigration

In the past months there has been a surge of illegal immigrants attempting to leave Africa and enter the EU. While the problem has been on-going for several years, as the EEA begins to heat up and free travel between EU countries becomes easier, an increase in migrants has been noticed. A recent meeting of 57 European and African nations in Morocco discussed possible responses. more »

German IT industry association sees lack of skilled workers

Bitkom, an association lobbying on behalf of the German IT industry, wants to see an actively managed immigration program that focuses on well-educated, young people, its President Willi Berchtold declared. more »

UK national identity card timetable in question

Last week, Britains Home Office found itself in the uncomfortable position of explaining that they do not have a specific timetable they can commit to with the national identity card. more »

Australia debates visa changes to allow semi-skilled workers

The Council of Australian Governments has taken up the controversial issue of making more changes to visa and immigration laws to allow semi-skilled workers and guest workers to enter the country. more »

Multi-lingual employees in high demand in the US

The U.S. job market is increasingly in need of employees who can speak several languages, which can give a competitive edge to immigrants seeking work permits in America. more »

Quarterly economic outlook for Canada: stable, growth slowing

The Bank of Canada released its update report for the economic outlook for the second quarter of 2006 this week. Over all, economic growth remains steady with gains against international markets. more »

Mixed news for US jobs and economic data

The U.S. Department of Labor released its analysis for jobs growth in the United States and unemployment for June. more »

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