Immigration news

Chinese legislators are considering introducing new visa rules that would require fingerprinting of foreigners wanting to work or study in China. The draft law, which proposes to give the public security authority power to fingerprint foreigners "whenever they deem it necessary", has been submitted to legislators in Beijing.Yang Huanming, vice-minister of public security, told a bimonthly session of lawmakers discussing the possible changes that fingerprints and other biometric information were "effective measures" to expedite arrivals and departures at immigration and customs.

There has been a decline in the approval rate for US L-1 visas for Indian professionals. New data shows that the US L-1 visa denial rate is higher in India than in any other country.The National Foundation for American Policy has released data showing the number of L-1 visas issued to Indian nationals fell by 28 percent in the period 2010 to 2011. The data shows that L-1 visa approvals went from 35,896 in 2010 to 25,898 in 2011, a drop of approximately 10,000 visas. At the same time L-1 visas issued to employees from other countries rose by 15 percent.

The UK's North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) have called for a relaxation of UK immigration controls in the North East region arguing that businesses are being held back by a lack of skilled labour.

A new report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), says that Australia ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region for Countries with the most positive competitive conditions for IT firms. Only South Korea, and Taiwan do better. Positive competitive conditions; The country's quality of IT and communications infrastructure and the overall business environment.

Attracted by lucrative salaries in mining and agriculture the number of New Zealanders emigrating to Australia has hit record levels. But many New Zealanders face a difficult time once they arrive in Australia as they often underestimate the challenges they might encounter.

Canada's tourism marketing and promotion agency, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), will hold a road show to encourage Indians to travel to Canada. The road show, called 'Focus Canada – India', will be held 13 March to 15 March 2012 at Fairmont Jaipur, India. It should be noted that Indians need to apply for a Canadian visit visa before travelling to Canada.