Immigration news

The UK's Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, has said that the UK has no intention of granting an amnesty to illegal immigrants currently in the country. She says that this would 'send out the wrong message'.

A recent study by the London School of Economics suggested that there are about 1,000,000 people living illegally in the UK though, of course, no one is really sure. They are made up of those who entered the country illegally, often by boat or through the Channel Tunnel, and those who entered the country legally with a temporary visa but failed to leave when it expired.

Ed Miliband, the leader of the UK's opposition Labour Party has promised to cut immigration to the UK in the event that he becomes Prime Minister at the next election in 2015. He has also promised to require British firms that employ non-EU workers to set up apprenticeship schemes. Over all, his proposals do not seem to introduce any major change.

Willie Walsh, the chief executive of International Airlines Group, has said that the UK's visa regime is damaging trade and tourism with China.

Mr Walsh told The Guardian newspaper 'The government talks a good talk about wanting to do business in China but, if they're going to translate that into real opportunity, they're going to have to look more closely at the visa issue'.

A report into the conditions of migrant workers helping Qatar prepare for the football World Cup in 2022 has found that they are being treated like slaves. Some have had their passports taken away by their employers, and others have not been paid. 44 workers from Nepal died in the hostile working conditions of the Qatari summer between June 4th and August 8th 2013. Some 30 Nepalis have entered the Nepali embassy in the Qatari capital Doha seeking refuge.

One of the opposition parties in Canada's federal parliament has called for Russian politicians who backed a recent law that bans 'homosexual propaganda' to be barred from visiting Canada.

The New Democrat Party has opened a petition and called on members of the public to sign it. The proposal could make it impossible for President Putin to visit Canada.

Paul Dewar, the NDC's 'Critic for Foreign Affairs' told Canadian journalists 'When it comes to this issue you need to put actions behind your words. What we've seen in Russia is something that is truly reprehensible.' Other NDC MPs supported the proposal.

The Indian offices of Global Visas closed without warning on 20th September 2013. Global Visas had two offices in India; one in Delhi and the other in Mumbai.

Local sources report that the offices have not been open since. There is no information about the closures of their Indian offices on the Global Visas website. Global Visas was founded by Liam Clifford a former UK immigration officer.