Immigration news

Canadian immigration is aiming to recruit tens of thousands of Irish workers over the next couple of years to fill a labour shortage in a wide range of occupations, the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland said last week.Due to large infrastructural projects and booming fisheries, mining, oil and natural gas industries Canada is in dire need of foreign workers."I'm hearing numbers like between 30,000 and 40,000 in construction alone," said Canadian Ambassador Loyola Hearn.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) begin a review this week of all deportation cases, and plans to start a training program aimed at expediting deportations of convicted criminals and halting deportations of many illegal immigrants with no criminal record.A review of incoming cases by immigration agency lawyers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement "will help reduce inefficiencies that delay the removal of criminal aliens and other priority cases by preventing new low priority cases from clogging the immigration court dockets," DHS said in a statement.

There have been new developments in the UK Border Agency scandal. New documents further confirm the extent to which checks on UK visitors were relaxed; this includes allowing passengers of private jets to bypass UK visa and immigration security checks.

More than half of China's millionaires are either considering emigrating or have already taken steps to do so, according to a poll by Shanghai's Hurun Institute, which publishes an annual list of the richest people in the country. The poll cited worries among the business elite about their quality of life and financial prospects; they also hope for better educational opportunities for their children abroad.

Graduates looking to apply for the UK Tier 1 Post Study Work visa will want to apply as soon as they are able to; this visa category will be abolished in April 2012.In March 2011, UK immigration announced they will close the Tier 1 Post-study work visa, which allows students 2 years to work in the UK after their course ends. In most cases only graduates who have an offer of a skilled job from a sponsoring employer under Tier 2 of the points-based system will be able to stay and work in the UK.

Tens of thousands of skilled workers are needed in New Zealand to work on reconstruction projects in Christchurch following the earthquake that hit the city earlier this year.The Canterbury Employment and Skills Board (CESB) went to the UK to recruit more skilled workers and present at two job expos organised by Opportunities New Zealand in London and Manchester.