Immigration news

Accountants looking to emigrate to Australia can apply under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Program. You will need to meet the basic requirements for GSM, pass the Australian immigration Points Test and pass a skills assessment for your particular occupation to qualify for an Australian visa.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last week that there have been five more countries added to the list of eligible nationals who can participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs in 2012. This brings the lists total to 58 countries. The list of Countries will be reviewed again one year from the date of publication.

A breakdown of communication between immigration officials led to the "lighter touch" UK immigration officers used at passport and visa checks last year, a Parliamentary inquiry consisting of MPs (UK members of parliament) has said. The report published this week by the Commons home affairs committee said that a "highly troubling" lack of supervision led to passport and visa controls being relaxed far too frequently. The relaxed immigration controls led to the dismissal of the UK border force chief, Brodie Clark.

Christchurch in Canterbury, New Zealand is facing a severe shortage of chefs, prompting Hospitality New Zealand, which represents over 2,400 hospitality businesses in New Zealand to push the government to add chefs to the Canterbury Skills Shortage list. Restaurants re-opening after the quakes are desperate for high level staff, but many chefs were forced to leave the city after the February earthquake for jobs overseas or in other New Zealand cities.

Indian immigration has announced that within the next year they will be expanding their visa on arrival facility to Goa, Kochi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports. Currently, the facility is only available in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai airports. Overseas visitors coming under the tourist visa on arrival facility do not have to apply for a visa at their local Indian Embassy or Consulate.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced this week that Russia would allow visa-free travel for fans at the 2018 World Cup. Putin discussed the visa-free arrangements with FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini."Russia has decided to let in all the fans for the 2018 World Cup if they have tickets," Putin said during the meeting with top World Cup executives. "What's more, we are even considering the option of letting fans use their tickets to travel between host cities for free."