Immigration news

Canada has confirmed that Santa Claus is a Canadian citizen during a special citizenship ceremony on 20 December 2010.

"We wish Mr. Claus all the best in his Christmas Eve duties again this year," said Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

"And rest assured, as a Canadian citizen living in Canada's North, he can re-enter Canada freely once his trip around the world is complete," he added.

This was good news for Santa, who successfully navigated a number of immigration systems to deliver presents to children around the world.

As the unemployment rate falls in Australia, more and more Australian businesses are finding it difficult to fill vacancies. Many new job opportunities exist as a result of continuing economic growth in Australia.

Citizens of the UK will usually have an advantage when immigrating to Australia. Good English language skills will give you more points under the points based system for an Australian visa.

PLEASE SEE UPDATE ON UK IMMIGRATION CAP BELOW

2010 has been a rocky year for immigration around the world. Aftershocks from the global financial crisis of 2008 can still be felt as evidenced by many countries responding to the economic downturn by bringing in more restrictive immigration policies. However, there is evidence that as the economies of many countries improve and unemployment rates fall, skilled immigration will once again play a key role in filling labour gaps.

United Kingdom

Under new rules signed by President Medvedev, Russia will make it easier for skilled foreign workers to maintain their registration status if they leave their place of residency for more than three workings days. The new rules are in line with longer visas and work permits introduced last summer for certain classes of foreign workers.

A dramatic boost in Canada's population was driven mostly by immigration, according to recent figures released by Statistics Canada.

The increase was the largest in 40 years; As of 1 October 2010 the total Canadian population was 34.2 million. During the third quarter of 2010, 65 percent of the 129,300 increase in Canada's population was due to immigration.

Almost all provinces and territories saw an increase in population due to immigration. The exception to this was Alberta; 60 percent of Alberta's growth was due to "natural increases".

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