Topical:
Sri Lankan migrants hoping to reach Australia have told journalists that they hope to take advantage of a diplomatic rift between Australia and Indonesia to make the crossing from Indonesia to Australia.
The rift opened after it was revealed on 19th November 2013 that the Australian government had tapped the phone of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2009. President Yudhoyono has demanded an apology from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Switzerland will hold a referendum on 9th February 2014 on whether to impose quotas on the number of immigrants it will accept from European Union countries.
The Swiss government is recommending that the people reject the proposal but the right wing, anti-immigration Swiss People's Party (SVP) is recommending a 'yes' vote.
The Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter told a press conference that a 'yes' vote would be likely to lead Switzerland to breach bilateral treaties with the EU allowing free movement of workers between Switzerland.
If you have money to spare and want to live in the European Union, there are now quite a few options open to you. The UK has had its Tier 1 (Investor) visa since 2008. Latvia launched its Immigrant Investor Visa in 2008. Portugal launched the so-called 'Golden Visa' in 2012. Now, Cyprus, Spain and Greece have joined them. All these countries issue temporary resident visas to people who invest in property or other investments within their country.
The YouGov polling organisation has carried out polling in the UK recently which shows that the UK's population has complex views on immigration. On the whole, people in the UK approve of economic immigration but disapprove of family-based immigration.
UK people are overwhelmingly in favour of encouraging wealthy investors to settle in the UK. They also approve of allowing international students to come to study in UK universities. There is also a sizeable majority in favour of allowing highly skilled workers to come and work in the UK.
On Tuesday 26th November 2013, the Scottish National Party revealed its white paper Scotland's Future; Your Guide to an Independent Future which contains a detailed programme of policies that would be introduced by the first SNP government of an independent Scotland.
SNP leader Alex Salmond said that Scotland would introduce 'a points-based immigration system targeted at particular Scottish needs'.
Australia's Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator Michaelia Cash, has announced that employers recruiting for 'highly skilled occupations' will be exempted from the Labour Market Testing requirement and so will not need to advertise jobs in Australia before offering them to temporary foreign workers. This appears to be a policy U-turn on a commitment to scrap the Labour Market Testing (LMT) requirement altogether.