Immigration news

UK Immigration Minister Damien Green announced that there will be specific minimum standards for border checks. This follow concerns last year that UK immigration officers were acting without ministerial approval and allowing people into the UK without proper passport and UK visa checks. Green said that the correct level of passport and UK visa immigration checks "for every type of passenger and all types of goods" would be detailed with guidance making clear when they could be strengthened in high-risk cases, and the circumstances wherein they could be suspended.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is pushing for the US to ease B-1/B-2 visit visa requirements for United Arab Emirates nationals to make it easier for them to visit the US. Hamad Buamim, director-general of Dubai Chamber, stated that such a move would allow the two countries to become better trading partners.

Canadian Immigration announced last week that they will provide more help to local employers seeking to recruit immigrant workers from abroad for both permanent and temporary positions.Canadian employers will now be able to access more information online about Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) programmes as part of a government commitment to make sure the best people are selected for jobs. CIC stated that the website had "been redesigned to include a new section to guide employers to the most suitable program".

Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) launched a the Professional Immigrant Networks website last month to help connect immigrants with jobs. Financed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as well as Scotiabank, the networking site will connect various groups of skilled immigrant workers with Greater Toronto Area firms.

New Zealand Immigration Minister Nathan Guy has given his support to Immigration New Zealand and their proposed plans for the department which it hopes will lead to further improvements in its operations over the next three years.It is hoped that the plans, called "Vision for 2015", will enable the immigration department to focus more on attracting and keeping high value migrants, students and travellers. In order to achieve this the department said they need to create an organisation with better service, better systems and better outcomes so that they can:

Australian Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Bowen has announced significant changes to simplify the process for the permanent employer-sponsored visa program.The changes will affect the following visas: