Australia has increased demand for IT professionals

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.

Additionally, the report, entitled, "The Means to Compete: Benchmarking IT industry Competitiveness", also ranks Australia 5th in the world in terms of the overall competitiveness of its IT industry; The US is in 1st place followed by Japan, South Korea, and the UK.

Australia also performed extremely well in terms of Advanced IT and communications infrastructure as it was ranked fourth in the world, preceded only by US, Canada, and Switzerland and ranked first in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia's highly regarded IT infrastructure is thanks to extensive PC ownership, high broadband penetration at 33%, topped only by the Netherlands and South Korea, and substantial spending on IT. The report also stated that Australia's mobile phone penetration is also high at 94.5%.

Australia's IT industry is experiencing an increased demand for IT professionals as Australia's IT industry braces itself for a serious skills shortage; Thousands of new IT positions need to be filled. Also, due to the skills shortages affecting the industry salaries have been driven up, creating a number of highly paid IT job opportunities.

Many Australian employers are now looking oversees to recruit and then employ skilled IT professionals.

Global Visa Support is offering various programs in Australia. Please visit our Australia page for more information: http://globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

London most popular immigration destination for foreign professionals

According to new research half of all foreign professionals would consider immigrating to London if they ever looked to work overseas. Next on the list of popular destination cities was New York at 28 percent, Singapore at 16 percent, Paris at 15 percent and Sydney at 10 percent. Dubai, Tokyo, and Shanghai were also in the top destination Cities for foreign professionals.

160,000 job-seekers in a range of sectors from banking to telecommunications participated in the survey. The survey findings revealed that London with its banking, legal and creative industries is still a major attraction to workers from all over the world.

According to the statistics, the majority of the professionals immigrating to London are foreign workers from countries facing economic difficulties - particularly from Portugal, Ireland and Greece. Additionally, nearly half of survey participants also cited the higher standard of living in the UK as the main reason to move to and work in London.

"Jobseekers have become more flexible on where they'll work, and with English as their first language they have a advantage," said Mike Booker of totaljobs.com, which conducted the survey.

Interestingly the report also found that 63 percent of UK professionals would be happy to work abroad, up from 47 percent from two years ago; Many are looking for higher living standards abroad.

Global Visa Support offers various UK programs, please see our UK page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html

Changes to New Zealand Immigration Skills Shortage List

Agricultural science jobs have now been added to New Zealand's Long Term Skills Shortage List; At the same time a number of teaching occupations have been removed.

New Zealand's Department of Labour regularly reviews the Essential Skills in Demand Lists in order to remain responsive to the needs of New Zealand employers and the economy. The lists include the Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL), the Immediate Skill Shortage List and the Canterbury Skill Shortage List. The Canterbury Skill Shortage List was recently created in response to the rebuilding requirements following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the Canterbury region in February 2011.

"Regular reviews of the lists are important to ensure that the Department's policy is flexible and responsive as the economy continues to experience volatility and fluctuations to the labour market," Vasantha Krishnan, general manager of the Labour and Immigration Research Centre explained.

The following occupations were added to the LTSSL:

• Agricultural Scientist (Farm Systems Scientist)
• Social Professional nec (Applied Social Scientist)
• Life Scientist nec (Animal Scientist or Bioinformatics)
• Biotechnologist (Genetics Scientist), and
• Environmental Research Scientist (Water Quality Analyst).

The occupations removed from the LTSSL were:

• Secondary School Teacher, and
• Early Childhood (Pre-primary School Teacher).

The LTSSL identifies occupations that have an ongoing shortage of skilled workers throughout New Zealand. Immigrants who gain employment in one of these occupations may be granted a work visa.

To emigrate to New Zealand under the Skilled Migrant Category you should firstly make sure that you gain at least one hundred points under the points test. You can claim 50-60 points for an existing job or a job offer in New Zealand that requires specialist, technical, or management expertise. You can also score points for various points scoring criteria such as age, experience, employability, qualifications, etc. If you think that you will score at least one hundred points it may be worth submitting an Expression of Interest under the New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category.

Global Visa Support  offers various New Zealand programmes, please visit our New Zealand page: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/nz.html

Report reveals UK immigration numbers expected to fall in 2012

A recent report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, an independent think-tank, predicted that the number of migrants coming to the UK from outside the EU will fall by about 10 per cent in 2012. The continuing financial crisis, in addition to the government's attempts to reduce the number of immigrants coming into the UK, is expected to lead to the decrease in immigrant numbers.
Although UK immigration numbers were lower in 2011 than in 2010, the numbers far exceed the government's original goal of reducing immigration to "tens of thousands", according to the report.

The report also gave a critical assessment of the government's approach to immigration numbers, stating that UK immigration's strategy to lower immigrant numbers is likely to harm any prospect of economic recovery. UK immigration policies identified as having a negative effect on the economy include attempts to reduce foreign student numbers. It is now more difficult to obtain a Tier 4 student visa. Fewer Students are now allowed to work in the UK. In addition, in April 2012 the Tier 1 Post-study work visa ends, which allows students to work in the UK for 2 years after their course ends. All these factors make the UK less attractive to overseas students and results in a reduction in Tier 4 visa student applicants.

Global Visa Support offers various UK programs, please visit our UK page: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html for more information.

US universities report increase in enrollment of foreign students on F-1 student visas

The number of international students on F-1 student visas enrolled in post-graduate business schools in the US has been rapidly increasing. According to a recent BusinessWeek article, the average international student enrollment in the top 20 full-time US MBA programs "is now 33.4 percent, up from 30.2 percent at the height of the economic crisis, when visa and financing issues prevented many international applicants from enrolling."
A recent report conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council, shows that 46 percent of programs in 2011 reported growth in applications from foreign students wishing to come to study on F-1 student visas. Prospective students from Asian-Pacific countries sent the highest number of applications. It is interesting to note that there are also more women from countries like China, Vietnam and Taiwan that are pursuing post-graduate business degrees.

According to Businessweek, part of the reason for the increase in international students is because there is a higher approval rate for F-1 student visas, in part due to US Secretary Hillary Clinton's push to get more international students to study in the US.

"Because of the excellence and diversity of our colleges and universities, more students worldwide are choosing to study in the United States," said Ann Stock, Assistant Secretary of State. "Young people who study abroad gain the global skills necessary to create solutions to 21st Century challenges. In turn, international students globalize our campuses and communities."
Global Visa Support has several programs in USA, please see our USA page for more details: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/usa.html

Canadian immigration announces faster permanent residency for foreign caregivers

Canadian immigration has now shortened the procedures needed for foreign live-in caregivers to obtain permanent resident status and has also announced several changes which they say will protect the caregivers from abusive employers. Canadian Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney stated the changes were the Canadian government's response to reports of abuse to foreign caregivers by their employers.

"Too many live-in caregivers have completed their work obligations but must continue living in the home of their employer, waiting for their application for permanent residence to be reviewed," said Kenney. "This is understandably frustrating. That's why we have started issuing open work permits to live-in caregivers as soon as they have completed their obligations and submitted an application for permanent residence."

Under the new procedures, a foreign caregiver can apply for permanent residence after 3,900 work hours, rather than after two years of work as a caregiver in Canada as required under the old system, ensuring overtime is appropriately recognized. The Live-in Caregiver Program allows Canadian families to hire workers from abroad to provide care to a child, an elderly person or an adult with disabilities when there is a demonstrated shortage of Canadians and permanent residents to fill available positions.

"The change I have announced today will help caregivers settle into their new life in Canada while they wait for their permanent resident applications to be processed," Kenney added. "And with the significant improvements being made to our global case processing system, my department's officers will be better able to manage the file load between Canada and missions abroad and improve the efficiency of that processing."

In 2010, Canadian immigration admitted a record number of permanent residents through the Live-in Caregiver Class—nearly 14,000 in all— This is similar to the number of live-in caregivers who entered the country as temporary foreign workers in 2007.

The changes announced by Canadian immigration include:

• the elimination of the need for a second medical examination when the caregiver applies for permanent residence;
• increasing the amount of time a caregiver has to complete the required 3,900 hours for permanent residence from three years to four;
• the adoption of a standardized employment contract that ensures both parties agree to the salary, hours of work, vacation time, overtime, holidays, sick leave, and the terms of termination and resignation;
• defining the costs the employer is obliged to pay, including the caregiver's travel expenses in coming to Canada, medical insurance, workplace safety insurance and third-party representative fees;
• emergency processing of work permits and employer authorizations to hire live-in caregivers who have been abused and need to leave their employment immediately; and
• an assessment of the genuineness of the job offer, as well as confirming the employer has sufficient financial resources to pay the wages of the caregiver and whether the accommodations being provided are adequate.

Global Visa Support offers several Canadian programs. Please visit our website for more information: http://globalvisasupport.com/canada.html

Canadian Immigration to increase Federal Skilled Worker Program quota

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) have announced they plan to accept even more immigrants under the Federal Skilled Worker program in 2012.
In its report to the Parliament of Canada, CIC has indicated that in 2010 they admitted over 280,000 immigrants, an increase of over 11.3 percent over the previous year, and the highest number of immigrants in the last 50 years. Around 67 percent of those admitted were economic immigrants with 40 percent of these being Federal Skilled workers.

In 2012, Canadian immigration plans to accept 55,000–57,000 Federal Skilled Workers, which is up from 47,000–47,400 in 2011. The Canadian government stressed that these additional numbers will help meet market demand, as well as reduce the backlog of applicants for the skilled worker immigration program from previous years.

The Federal Skilled Worker Program is Canada's most popular immigration route for immigrants to obtain permanent residency. Under this program, potential candidates are awarded points for their ability to adapt and contribute to Canada's economic development. In order to be eligible you must either:

• have a job offer with an eligible employer;
• have been legally residing in Canada for at least one year as a temporary foreign worker or an international student; or

• be a skilled worker with at least one year of experience in one or more eligible Canadian skilled occupations within the last ten years.

In a recent speech, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney expressed his optimism about the program and about Canadian immigration, "The government's number one priority remains the economy. We recognize the importance of immigration to our labour market and we value the contributions of skilled immigrants who add to our international competitiveness."

Canadian immigration completed an extensive review of the Federal Skilled Worker Program in 2010, which seemed to suggest that the program was working well and was leading to the selection of immigrants who perform well economically. The report also found that 89 percent of Federal Skilled Workers were employed or self-employed three years after landing in Canada. This would appear to suggest a strong continuing need for skilled immigrants in Canada.

"CIC will continue to ramp up efforts to modernize our immigration system to make it more nimble and responsive to labour market needs," said Kenney.

Global Visa Support will be happy to assist you with your application for Canada.