Immigration news

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is requesting that health insurance become mandatory for all Australian visa applicants. The request was made by vice president of the Victorian branch of the AMA, Stephen Parnis, following recent figures released by the AMA that shows the number of immigrants treated in the Victoria's public hospitals have tripled in the last six years.

This week San Francisco will host the first-ever national US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Chinese-language public engagement forum where US immigration officials will answer questions about the US naturalization process. The event, which will also be held in Mandarin and Cantonese, is being held in the hope that it will encourage more Chinese immigrants to become US citizens.

Canada's province of Saskatchewan is looking to fill nearly 300 skilled worker positions with Irish workers. Local businesses have been pushing the Canadian Government for more overseas workers to deal with skills shortages.Next month the government of Saskatchewan and employers throughout the province will begin the labour recruitment process in Ireland. Premier Brad Wall and Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris will attend the trip to Dublin and Cork.

UK immigration has revised the guidance notes for all Tier 1 visa categories today. The changes include revised policy guidance for all Tier 1 visa categories to include a paragraph about the circumstances under which UK Border Agency officials will contact applicants about missing or incorrect documents.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that Self Check, a free online service which is part of the E-Verify system and allows workers to check their own employment eligibility status, is now available in all 50 states. Along with all 50 states, it is also available in Washington, D.C., and the US territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

UK immigration has announced new rules that UK immigration says will reduce abuse of the student visa route. UK Immigration Minister Damian Green announced the complete list of changes today.We have already reported on the forthcoming closure of the Tier 1 Post Study Work Visa route on 6 April 2012. Under this visa, students are able to work in the UK for 2 years following graduation. There will be a new Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa. However, hardly anyone will qualify for this.