Temporary STOP in Federal Skilled Worker Applications
Calgary, June 28, 2012 — Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today announced the latest step in re-designing Canada’s economic immigration system.
Effective July 1st, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will place a temporary pause on new applications to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP).
“We have been making lots of changes to our economic immigration system,” said Minister Kenney. “We will take the next six months to do a lot of the heavy lifting to get us closer to a fast and flexible immigration system.”
The pause will allow CIC to make important changes to its economic immigration programs before accepting more applications. This is an important step in moving towards a faster, more flexible immigration system, while immigration levels are at a historic high.
Since the launch of Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2012, Minister Kenney has announced a series of changes to CIC’s economic immigration programs. They include:
- eliminating the backlog of old FSWP applications;
- improving the selection of FSWs;
- creating a new Federal Skilled Trades Program;
- modifying the Canadian Experience Class to help transition successful skilled temporary workers to permanent residence;
- changing business immigration programs to target more active investment in Canadian growth companies and more innovative entrepreneurs; and
- moving towards a new application management system, to develop a pool of skilled workers who arrive in Canada ready to begin employment.
“This temporary pause on new Federal Skilled Worker applications will allow us to set the program on a new course as we intend to launch revised selection criteria soon,” said Minister Kenney. “The pause has no impact on the number of workers Canada admits into the country, as CIC continues to process applications already received. Current immigration remains at historically high levels.”
Application intake is expected to resume in January 2013, when the proposed FSWPregulatory changes – which will be published in the Canada Gazette in the coming months – are expected to come into force.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allows the Minister to issue special instructions to immigration officers to enable the Government of Canada to best attain its immigration goals. Since the 2008 Action Plan for Faster Immigration, four sets of “Ministerial Instructions” have been issued relating to Economic Class applications.
Under this fifth set of Ministerial Instructions, CIC will also introduce a pause on new federal IIP applications. This pause will remain in place until further notice, allowing the Department to make progress on processing its existing inventory.
As Minister Kenney announced earlier in April, CIC will be consulting with provinces, territories and stakeholders on ways to reform the current IIP in order to maximize the economic benefit to Canada. The Department is also consulting on whether to create a new investor program on a short-term basis, to promote growth in the Canadian economy.
The temporary pause on FSWP applications does not apply to candidates with offers of arranged employment or those applying under the PhD eligibility stream. The full set of Ministerial Instructions will be available online in the Canada Gazette tomorrow.
New Canadian Rules to Crack Down on Unethical Immigration Representatives
According to an announcement by Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, new rules making it easier to investigate the professional or ethical misconduct of an immigration representative came into effect on May 25, 2012.
“Sharing information on the misconduct of an immigration representative with the regulatory body will help protect the integrity of our immigration system, and immigrants themselves, “said the Minister.
Information on immigration representatives who have contravened their professional or ethical obligations can be shared with the governing body, in a manner consistent with the Privacy Act whenever officials from CIC, CBSA or the IRB believe that is true.
Joining Minister Kenney at the announcement, Mr. Phil Mooney, Chief Executive Officer of the ICCRC supported the new rules.
“We are pleased with these initiatives as they help us fight those who prey on the unsuspecting and vulnerable” he said. “Since the government brought in Bill C-35, we now have tremendous support in our joint efforts to fight alleged criminals.”
Examples of allegations or evidence that can be shared are:
- Making false promises to an applicant;
- Providing false information about Canada’s immigration processes;
- Failing to provide services agreed to between the representative and the client; or
- counselling to obtain or submit false evidence.
“We are concerned about unscrupulous immigration representatives who prey on people wanting to immigrate to or stay in Canada,” said Minister Kenney. “We want to do everything in our power to crack down on fraud and protect the integrity of the Canadian immigration system.”
Changes in Australia Visa Regulations effective from 1st July 2012
These days, the high Australian dollar has made things that much more difficult for the Australian education and tourism industries. Luckily, the government is doing all it can to reverse visa restrictions introduced in 2009, as well as recover some of the losses and boost the country’s reputation, from clever advertising campaigns to new visa regulations.
1. All international graduates can work for up to 4 years, starting 2013
Just announced from Migration Expert, the Federal government will expand the Skilled Graduate visa scheme next year which will allow overseas students who graduate from Australian universities to be eligible for work visas lasting two to four years.
According to Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, the expansion of the Skilled Graduate visa scheme would help to enhance the competitiveness of Australia’s AUS$18 billion inbound student industry. The relaxed immigration rules would potentially grant work rights for all 220,000 overseas university students in Australia after they graduate.
The current Australian immigration system allows only graduates who have studied for select skilled occupations (trades, medicine, engineering, architecture, accounting and teaching) to work in Australia for up to 18 months. Other overseas students must leave Australia within a month of graduation.
From next year, however, all graduates will be eligible for Australian work visas regardless of their field of study. Graduates with a bachelor degree, a master’s degree or a doctorate will be allowed to stay and work in Australia for two years, three years or four years respectively, rather than the existing 18-month time limit.
Visa holders will need “competent English” and health insurance. They must also pass health, character and security requirements.
“These arrangements are not linked to skilled migration so applicants for this visa would not be required to nominate an occupation on the skilled occupation list or undertake a skills assessment,” said a spokeswoman for Minister Bowen.
But not to worry – Australia is relaxing these rules too. Read on…
2. Changes announced for Australian skilled migration programme
The biggest change to Australia’s skilled migration programme since the visa points test was first introduced 33 years ago is to be implemented from 1 July 2012.
The Australian Department of Immigration have announced that the new pass mark for the Skilled Migrant Selection Register – or simply SkillSelect – visa subclasses 189, 190 and 489 will be 60 points.
The existing general skilled migration subclasses 175, 176, 475, 487, 885 and 886 are only open for new applications until 30 June, 2012, and the pass mark is 65. As of 1 July, they will be replaced with the three new subclasses – 189, 190 and 489.
SkillSelect is an online service for managing the skilled migration programme. Through an Expression of Interest (EOI), it enables skilled workers without an employer sponsor interested in migrating to Australia to record their skills and attributes in order to be considered for a skilled visa. After filing the EOI, they will be allocated a score against a points test. SkillSelect will rank intending migrant’s scores against other EOIs.
Intending migrants could then be found and nominated for skilled visas by Australian employers or state and territory governments, or they could be invited by the Australian Government to lodge a visa application.
The pass mark is a ‘threshold mark,’ not a ‘pass.’ Obviously, the higher the rank, the better the chance at achieving an invitation for a skilled visa. But the newly adjusted pass mark will encourage a broader range of people with the skills and attributes needed in Australia to register their interest in migration.
SkillSelect ensures that the skilled migration programme is based on the economic needs of Australia. The Australian Government will be able to manage who is able to apply for skilled migration, when they are able to apply and in what numbers, on the basis of this need.
As a result, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship expects to significantly reduce the time taken to process a visa application.
This new invitation-only visa system will also help address regional skill shortages. SkillSelect allows intending migrants to indicate they are willing to live and work in regional Australia. This will be of particular benefit to employers experiencing regional skill shortages, and state and territory governments attempting to settle migrants in regional Australia.
The new policy aims to match the best and brightest migrants to available places in the migration programme, thereby giving local businesses the opportunity to choose the most appropriate employees and enable migrants to settle easily in Australia with ready jobs.
The new scheme will make it easier for foreigners to apply to work in Australia without an employer sponsoring them. Paul Arthur, director of leading migration specialists the Emigration Group, explained:
A Department of Immigration and Citizenship spokesman said the change to the pass mark was in the context of the series of reforms to the skilled migration programme undertaken by the Australian Government since 2008: “These reforms have ensured the skilled migration programme is a responsive and demand driven programme,” the spokesman said.
It’s also especially encouraging given that over 70% of large Australian companies are willing to hire foreign workers as a result of the current national skills shortage.
An Australian Institute of Management (AIM) National Salary Survey shows managers are having the most difficulty recruiting for technical and trade, sales and marketing and construction and engineering jobs.
Also taking effect on 1 July 2012, the updated Skilled Occupation List (SOL) for 2012 will feature four new occupations and four occupations will be removed.
The updated SOL is based on expert advice from the independent body, Skills Australia. The updated SOL for 2012 comprises 192 high value occupations in Australia, with four new occupations to be added and 4 occupations to be removed. The additions to the SOL include Production Manager (Mining), Metallurgist, Optometrist, Computer Network and Systems Engineer. The four occupations that are removed are: Chemist, Audiologist, Bricklayer and Wall and Floor Tiler.
3. Tourism included in occupational trainee visa
Visitoz announced the widening of the Occupational Trainee Visa to include tourism, hospitality and adventure categories.
VisitOz have been using the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s subclass 442 visa since June 2011 to allow young people from overseas to fill positions in farming, machinery and agricultural work.
The Occupational Trainee Visa now includes agritourism, farm tourism, rural resort tourism, hotels, resorts, island tourism, general hospitality tourism, rural events organisation and general adventure tourism.
Joanna Burnet from VisitOz said she was extremely pleased with the news which is win-win for travellers and employers: “This will certainly help hotels looking to recruit staff who can stay for more than six months and adventure tourism businesses who need qualified crew for their boats, for instance.”
4. Changes to Australian student visa living cost requirement from 1 July 2012
The Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship has increased the student visa living cost requirement from AUS$18,000 to AUS$18,610 per year – applicable for all visa applications lodged on or after 1 July 2012.
International students are required to demonstrate and/or declare that they have genuine access to sufficient funds to be granted a student visa. Applicants may have to demonstrate sufficient funds to cover these expenses for the first one or two years in Australia, depending on their assessment level.
Funds should be sufficient to contribute to the cost of travel, tuition, school costs of any dependents, and living costs. The financial requirements per year outlined in the tables below apply from 1 July 2012.
5. Working Holiday Visas on the increase
And in the last bit of visa news from Down Under, Backpacker Trade News is reporting that the number of young people applying for working holiday visas has increased, according to figures released by the Department of Immigration’s Working Holiday Visa report.
The number of Working Holiday (subclass 417) Visa applications granted in 2011, compared to the previous year is up 11.4 percent. While the number of second year visas granted during the same period is up 34.5 percent compared to 2010.
The biggest rise in working holiday visas came from Hong Kong, with a 54.9 percent increase, followed by Taiwan with a 43.1 percent increase on the previous year.
Norway saw the biggest drop in visa applications, with a decrease of 30.4 percent on 2010′s figures.
Destination NSW announced that 72.5 percent of the total 241,000 working tourists coming to Australia settled in New South Wales.
“New South Wales received 174,900 working holiday visitors, spending 13.1 million nights in the state and contributing AUS$751 million in expenditure,” Destination NSW chief executive officer Sandra Chipchase said.
In further news, Australian Youth Tourism Exchange (AYTE) is proposing that the Australian government change the requirements for the Working Holiday Visa. Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) managing director Felicia Mariani said, “ATEC is strongly advocating for the extension of the regional classification to the tourism industry – allowing WHV holders to extend their visa by 12 months after completing 88 days of work in a regional area, and this has benefits that go beyond attracting more young travellers.”
Sources: Australian Government Dept for Immigration and Citizenship, Australia Magazine,Backpacker Trade News
UK educators alarmed by impact of visa restrictions
For years, the United Kingdom has been a leading study abroad destination worldwide, second only to the United States in many markets. But the British government’s recent decisions that affect visas for foreign students may jeopardise the country’s appeal – and the economic impact of its international education sector – especially as other countries ramp up their international student recruitment efforts.
New UK visa regulations place a limit on (a) how many years foreign students can spend studying in the country and (b) the number of hours of paid work they can do during and after their studies. Foreign students are now also barred from bringing family with them unless they are enrolled in a postgraduate course lasting more than one year.
Non-European Union students are estimated to add £5 billion annually to the UK economy and represent a major income stream for universities. But already, the new visa regulations are having major negative impacts for some universities, with one reporting a 40% drop in applications from non-EU students since last year, according to The Guardian. The paper quotes Professor Eric Thomas, the president of Universities UK (which represents 134 UK higher education institutions) as saying:
The effect on universities and the overall UK economy is one thing; the effect on students already studying in British institutions is another. Another Guardian piece revealed how students enrolled on degrees at private UK colleges are being shut out of institutions because visa restrictions effectively forced the institutions to close.
The visa changes stem from the Conservative government’s promise to cut migration by tens of thousands by 2015 and to fight back against “bogus institutions” (i.e., diploma mills). However, they also appear to be undermining the country’s position as a top study abroad destination.
This is all in the worldwide context, too, of other countries stepping up their recruitment efforts for foreign students. Most critically for the UK, both France and Germany are making it easier for international students to study in their countries via more relaxed work and visa policies (see “What are the elements of a successful national recruitment strategy?”).
And of course, there is the reality of changing student mobility patterns, where leading study abroad countries cannot be complacent about the share they command of international students. As we reported in “A more complex marketplace taking shape for 2012,” via UNESCO:
So far, this is what we can observe in terms of the apparent effects of the new UK visa rules:
- The PIE News is reporting that “The number of student visas issued by the UK in the first quarter of 2012 fell by 62%, according to the government. The news comes a day after theOffice of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the government is failing badly to meet its target to reduce net migration.”
- There has been a dramatic increase in the number of bankruptcies in the UK education sector from 2010 to 2011. One hundred and sixty-nine private-sector UK educational institutions failed in 2011 – a 44% increase over the 117 closures that the industry saw the year before.
The British government, for its part, continues to assert that restricting student visas will not harm UK universities.
Nothing is certain in the world of international education – except that everything is uncertain and the competition to attract foreign students has never been fiercer. The UK government’s recent visa policies may be serving its political or policy goals, but at stake are the billions of pounds international students currently contribute to the UK economy each year as well as the international linkages that result from student mobility and the strength and stability of UK institutions with significant foreign student populations.
UK: government rejects student visa claims
The UK government has once again rejected claims that restricting student visas will harm UK universities, stunt cultural growth and cost the economy billions of pounds a year.
It was responding to a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday from 70 university heads, urging a review of the government’s approach to international students – namely by re-categorizing them as temporary not permanent migrants and removing them from net migration figures.
However, Immigration Minister Damian Green insisted students coming to the UK for more than a year were “not visitors” and therefore should be included in the net migration tally.
“This is an ongoing campaign and we will continue to argue the case”
“The independent Office for National Statistics is responsible for producing net migration statistics according to the internationally agreed definition of a migrant which is someone entering the country for more than a year,” he argued.
“Public confidence in statistics will not be enhanced by revising the way the net migration numbers are presented by removing students.”
Universities fear the government’s curb on student visas will alienate genuine international students, pushing them towards competitors such as the US and Australia which are working to enhance student migration. Green last week said UK student visa issuance fell 62% in the first quarter of 2012 because of the reforms.
“There is no limit on the number of genuine students who can come to the UK”
However, he claimed: “There is no limit on the number of genuine students who can come to the UK and our reforms are not stopping them. But we are determined to prevent the abuse of student visas as part of our plans to get net migration down to the tens of thousands.”
In the letter, the signatories say that “the number of individuals considering a university education abroad is growing rapidly. In this market for talent – and export income – the UK performs exceptionally well, with 9.9% of the total market share in 2009, and export earnings of £7.9 billion.”
They claim that forecast earnings from international education exports could double by 2025.
“We’re not surprised by the government’s response,” a Universities UKspokesperson told The PIE News. “This is an ongoing campaign and we will continue to argue the case. The facts speak for themselves.”
“We’re not surprised by the government’s response”
The letter has bolstered a recent wave of media attention on the issue, with The Daily Telegraph running a front page article on Wednesday and University UK’s directer, Nicola Dandridge, appearing on flagship BBC news show The Today Programme.
Signatories to the letter include Conservative minister Baroness Bottomley, writer and broadcaster Lord Bragg, former Director-General of the CBI, Sir Richard Lambert, and former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies Campbell MP.
The Trustline 