Europe Immigration News

It is thought that a majority of illegal immigrants in Italy are exploited in the black economy yet the government spends a significant amount of money every year in ineffective expulsion measures rather than investing in their integration, a report recently released says.

A wave of illegal immigrants attempting to reach the EU has swamped the resources of Malta, officials report. Currently over 700 illegal immigrants are detained in an overcrowded, former school that was never designed to accommodate so many.

Amid controversy, France approved a new immigration law on 30 June that toughens up restrictions on immigrants who do not have skills and qualifications targeted by the French government as important to France. The bill had already been adopted by the lower house in May, and the law has been under debate since late last fall.

The European Commission engaged in a study to determine foreign-born student perceptions of Europe as a destination for higher education. An on-going program (Erasmus Mundus) is designed to attract students from the world to European universities by offering grants, scholarships and other incentives including, in some cases, offers of citizenship to model students who complete advanced degrees.

Latvia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, is becoming an increasingly important destination for British holidaymakers and is one of the most popular places for Stag Nights. The expat community in Latvia has continued to grow. Many Brits as well as people from all round the World have decided to make Latvia their home.

Changes are needed to Italy's current immigration law because at present it is too difficult to gain entry to live and work in Italy, Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said recently. Speaking before the Italy's Lower House Constitutional Affairs Committee, Amato explained that a key element in the so-called Bossi-Fini law, requiring a foreign employee to be abroad when work and residency permits are issued, was impractical and virtually impossible to enforce.