Immigration news

Migrants will soon be able to apply for 'Express Entry,' for Canada under a new scheme which will be launched in January 2015.

Citizenship and immigration minister Chris Alexander has urged employers to make sure they are ready for the new Express Entry scheme. Meetings are currently being held across the country with stakeholders and business leaders, to ensure the transition to the new scheme runs smoothly when it is launched in the new year. More meetings are set to take place within the coming months.

US immigration from Southeast Asia and the Middle East has 'skyrocketed' in the past few years, according to a recent report.

The number of Saudis emigrating to the US has doubled between 2010 and 2013, with almost 90,000 migrants arriving in the US during this period.

There has also been a large increase in immigration from Iraq and Pakistan.

The UK and France have teamed up in a new plan to tackle the problem of illegal immigrants trying to enter the UK via Calais.

The measures were announced by Home Secretary Theresa May, and French Minister of the Interior, Bernard Cazeneuve, as part of an overall plan to increase security at the port of Calais. This includes the installation of higher fencing; additional security in the car park area of the port; and the introduction of new technology which can detect people hiding in lorries. It will cost the UK government around £12million over the next three years.

The Canadian government has launched a new initiative to speed up the visit visa application process for citizens from India and Brazil, in order to try and encourage tourists to visit from these two countries.

As part of this pilot program, applicants will no longer have to visit immigration centres but can apply online, reducing the turnaround time to complete the visa application process.

This new program is intended to cut some of the red tape which normally holds up visa applications, and for which the Canadian government has been criticised in the past.

The number of applicants for New Zealand investor visas is set to rise, at least partly due to the US running out of EB-5 investor visas.

The US has run out of investor visas which are available to applicants who are able to invest $500,000 or $1million into the US economy. (US$500,000 is sufficient in certain areas designated as areas of high unemployment or rural areas.)

Visas have run out due to an unprecedented number of applications, predominantly from Chinese nationals, which have exceeded the maximum quota for the fiscal year.

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced changes to tourist visas which will refund the cost of up to 25,000 visas to Chinese tourists, in order to try and attract more Chinese visitors to the UK.

The announcement was made at an economic summit in London, which was also attended by Chinese vice premier Ma Kai, as Osborne announced 'The more Chinese tourists, the merrier.'