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British Ministers of Parliament on the Home Affairs Committee have given the new UK immigration points based system a "cautious welcome". However, they have also identified some problems with the system, in force since early last year.
It is expected that a two day strike amongst immigration and customs staff will begin on Wednesday 5 August. Unless agreement is reached before Wednesday, this is likely to cause delays for holidaymakers and immigrants wishing to gain entry to the UK.
In a recent press release, Australia's immigration minister said that while the number of foreign workers has decreased due to the slow economy, there is still a demand for overseas labor in certain sectors.
On 22 July 2009 the Border Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 went into force. Customs and Immigration officers now work together and have the power to ask questions relating to both immigration and customs matters. Many passengers will now only need to deal with one checkpoint. On 5 August 2009 4,500 HM Revenue and Customs staff will formally become part of the UK Border Agency.
There is currently a huge shortage of nurses in the US; About 116,000 unfilled registered nurse vacancies at U.S. hospitals and nearly 100,000 nurse vacancies at Nursing homes.
On 16 July 2009 the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced that the National Migrant Statistics Unit (NMSU) established in July 2006 would continue for a further three years. Each agency has agreed to contribute $1.3 million to continue funding the unit. The memorandum was signed by DIAC Secretary Andrew Metcalfe and the Australian Statistician Brian Pink.