Immigration newsletter 29 May 2013

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There has been a significant drop in the net level of immigration into the UK. The net immigration figure is reached by calculating the number of immigrants over a given period and then subtracting the number of people leaving the Country. In the year to September 2012, 500,000 people immigrated and 347,000 emigrated so the net immigration figure was 153,000, 89,000 lower than the previous year. Educationalists say that the reduction has been caused by a fall in the number of students coming to the UK which they say is damaging to the economy.

The US Senate’s Judiciary Committee has voted in favour of a comprehensive immigration reform law.  The Committee supported the proposed immigration reforms after Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy withdrew a proposed amendment that would have allowed same-sex partners the same immigration rights as heterosexual spouses. Some Republican Senators would not have supported the bill with Leahy’s amendment.  

If the law is passed, it will create a pathway to citizenship for many of the eleven million illegal immigrants in the US and significantly increase the number of work-related permanent resident visas available to skilled migrants. It will also increase the number of H-1B temporary skilled work visas.

Michael Easson, an immigration advisor to the Australian government, has said that claims by government ministers that there is widespread abuse of the ‘457 visa’ are false.  Australian immigration minister Brendan O’Connor has claimed that about 10% of 457 visas are ‘rorted’ or obtained fraudulently. This would mean that over 10,000 457 visas were rorted.

Mr Easson said that there were some problems with the system but that these were within the margin of what could be expected with a major program.

New Zealand is seeking workers to help with the reconstruction of Christchurch which was destroyed by an earthquake in 2010. New Zealand is seeking British workers because the shared language makes them ‘an easy fit’ but it is also seeking skilled workers from around the world. Many Asian workers are already in New Zealand.  

The government plans to build 20,000 homes and to redevelop the city centre in the next five years. There are vacancies in most building trades. New Zealand is also seeking doctors, engineers and agricultural workers.

US Federal budget cuts have caused lengthy queues at US airports. Immigration staff have been required to work fewer hours and this has caused staff shortages. It is likely that the problem will get worse over the busy summer months.  Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress cannot agree a funding formula for the federal government and this has led to budgetary cuts throughout government. 

Passengers at Miami Airport regularly have to wait more than three hours. There are also lengthy waits at Orlando and at JFK in New York.

UK medical organisations have expressed concerns about one of the government's proposed immigration reforms. The government intends to limit the right of non-resident foreign nationals to use the UK’s free health service and will require medical professionals to check that patients are eligible for free treatment and, if not, charge them.  

Full details have not been revealed but the Royal College of General Practitioners has said that the proposals would turn doctors into 'de facto border guards’ and Dr Judith Husband of the British Dental Association has also expressed concern. She said that the government must issue medical practitioners with guidance before the system is introduced.