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Trans-Global Migration Services Newsletter

Date: September/October 2007

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We are delighted with our new-look website and after much re-writing and editing we have asemblance of what we want to achieve and will work constantly to bring you updated and current news on the immigration industry.

The intention of the newsletter is to give you  a snapshot of events and happenings in the world of migration. We will feature regular issues such as current eligibility factors for the various countries and updated time frames for the processing of applications.
We hope to bring you breaking news and headlines about immigration events globally and will feature detailed reports in separate stand-alone news items.

AUSTRALIA:

An exposition Live in Australia was held recently in Johannesburg which not surprisingly attracted thousands of  wannabee Aussie migrants, but this writer feels that the organizers fell short of the mark in creating a lop-sided skills recruiting drive aimed primarily at mining professionals, engineers and technical staff. For many, the expectation of having their immigration queries addressed, was limited to a few migration agents who were inundated with enquiries and long queues. Hope the organizers do a little more research for the upcoming event in March 2008…………..

The Australian government’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) announced major changes to General Skills Migration (GSM) with effect from 1 September 2007 with particular emphasis on:

• 15 sub-classes of visa categories slashed to 9
• Higher English language proficiency requirement
• Points required for sponsored categories reduced to 100 points, however points are no longer awarded for having a close family member in Australia.
• New temporary work visa for graduates.
• Permits electronic uploading of applications.
• Points no longer available for repatriating funds to Australia.
• Visa sub-classes have new identity numbers.  

Processing times for GSM visas is still estimated at around 18 /20 months.
Skills shortage in Australia continues to drive the vigorous immigration campaign particularly in the area of technical and trade skills.

CANADA:

No major changes in immigration policy and processing times still range around 30 months.
There is however a very discernible shift of attitude among Canadian employers in becoming a lot more pro-active about seeking skills from outside their borders. We  have been approached by a number of employment agencies enquiring about various skills that may be on our database and the possibility of offering positions to candidates to enter Canada on temporary work permits.
This is a welcome development and means that if you are successful in obtaining a job and a temporary work permit you could be in Canada within 6 months.

Current points pass mark required for eligibility for Skills Migration is 67 points.

NEW ZEALAND:

New Zealand continues to lead the charge to attract skills to their country through the innovative migration policy introduced in early 2004. Employers in that country are tuned into the needs of the government and industry to fill the large gaps in the skills market. They are more attuned to immigration requirements and settlement issues for newcomers to their country and are definitely seen to be very “immigrant friendly”

New Zealand places emphasis on the newcomer establishing credentials by way of skills assessment first and then securing employment and to enter the country on a temporary basis with permanent residence following when the candidate has settled.
This refreshing approach to attracting skills to New Zealand has resulted in processing times of around 3 months and permanent residence within 12 months

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