Immigration news

Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is sending immigration officers to visit the New South Wales and South Australia regions during the week beginning 20 February 2012 to give businesses and immigrant workers information on skilled migration and employer-sponsored visa options.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced proposed fee increases for UK visa and nationality applications. Immigration Minister Damien Green said the new fees will come into effect from 6 April 2012; Parliamentary approval should only be a formality."It is only fair that those who use and benefit from the immigration system contribute a higher share of the cost of running it - reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer," said Green.

Many Australian universities have agreed to sign up for the new streamlined student visa processing system. The system will allow students with certificates of enrolment from participating Australian universities to be treated as low-risk applicants when applying for student visas. This means that for participating universities, the majority of their students will have their visa applications processed quickly. Also, student visa applicants applying under the proposed streamlined arrangements will generally have reduced documentation requirements.

Health care and social assistance workers are increasingly needed in Australia. The health care industry is one of Australia's largest industries and employs approximately 1.2 million people, accounting for around 11 percent of the total Australian workforce.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is set to visit Malaysian cities this month to encourage Malaysian students to emigrate to Canada to study.Canadian immigration officers will be present at all of the fairs to provide information on student visa applications for Canada. There will also be representatives from Canadian universities to answer student's questions about the University admission requirements.

UK immigration has announced new measures to make it easier for foreign students who have shown entrepreneurial flair while studying for their UK university degrees to remain in the UK following graduation.