Of all the changes, the most controversial is the abolition of the post-study work visa from April, which allowed self-financing students from India and other non-EU countries to recover some of the cost of their courses here as well as gain valuable work experience for two years.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: “We support the elimination of abuse in the visa system but are concerned that an unintended consequence of the changes to Tier 4 is that legitimate students will be put off, or prevented from studying in the UK”.

She added: “We are particularly concerned about limited provision for post-study employment in the new rules. We recognise that unrestricted access to the labour market is not possible in the current economic climate, but the new rules risk having a disproportionate impact on particular sectors, regions and professions, and reducing the global talent pool from which employers can recruit”.

Amidst reports of falling number of student applications from India, the British Council has called for an “urgent review” of the changes to the student visa system, particularly the closure of the popular post-study work visa from April this year.

The British Council, which is responsible for promoting British education overseas, presented a detailed report to the government on the likely impact the recent student visa changes will have, and compared the experiences of Australia and US in this regard.

Source:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/british-council-universities-uk-oppose-student-visa-rule-changes/articleshow/11977897.cms

• Ottawa
• Vancouver
• Montreal
• Toronto

These places are popular for their culture, traditions, diversity with many national parks and historic sites.  The westernmost province of Canada forms British Columbia.  Some part of this province touches British Columbia and forms another major region that attracts tourists from all over the world. The province of British Columbia is divided into six main regions such as:

• Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
• Thompson Okanagan
• Cariboo Coast Chilcotin
• Northern British Columbia
•  Kootenay Rockies
•  Vancouver Island

The foreign nationals can become Canadian tourists and enjoy the beauty of Canadian attractions if they have a valid Canadian Tourist Visa. The Canadian Visitor Visa allows the foreigner to come to Canada for the purpose of tourism or visiting family & friends.  The Canadian tourist visa is a temporary visa and is valid for 6months or can be extended further.

A foreigner can be granted a Canadian Tourist Visa, if the intention of the applicant for visiting Canada is genuine and with correct documentation & forms.  A foreigner can become eligible for Canada tourist visa if he/she meets the following eligibility requirements:

• The candidate must be able to show enough funds to support themselves and their family during entire Canada visit.
• The candidate should not have any intention of undertaking a job in Canada.
• The candidate should not have any criminal record.
• The candidate should pass the medical test.
• The candidate should submit an invitation letter from friends or relatives with whom they will be staying in Canada.
•  A temporary resident visa may be required for nationals of some countries.

Nearly 5 million people visit Canada every year; they are tourists, students or temporary workers.  Visitors are not allowed to work on this visa and are asked to leave the country before their visa expires.

If the spouse, partner, or children above the age of 18 are willing to visit Canada with you then they need to apply for the Canadian visitor visas separately and fulfill all the other requirements.

It is advised to contact best visa consultants so that your visitor visas can be processed in a systematic way with complete documentations. This will avoid visa rejections.

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Rejection rates for H-1B visas were as high as 17% in the last financial year while 27% of L-1B visas petitions were declined, according to US-based National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), which relied on data released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Five years ago, in the 2006-07 financial years, these numbers stood at 11% and 7%, respectively. Further, firms seeking visas also faced massive delays as clarifications, or ‘requests for evidence,’ spiked to 63% from 24% five years ago.

In 2010, application fees for H-1B visas were doubled to fund America’s security measures along its southern neighbour Mexico.

“The dramatic increase in denial rates and requests for evidence for employment petitions without any change in the law or regulations raises questions about the training, supervision and procedures of the career bureaucracy that adjudicates petitions and the US government’s commitment to maintaining a stable business climate for companies competing in the global economy,” NFAP said in its February report. Indian IT firms have complained of higher visa rejections over the past two-three years, resulting in loss of business and revenue.

“It is a concern. We have given the same data that we used to but authorities have become stricter so the rejection rates have gone up. We are making up by increasing our hiring locally,” the chief financial officer of Infosys, V Balakrishnan said.

Industry body Nasscom’s president Som Mittal said new filters have been introduced in the process by visa offices but companies have not been informed of the same. The US consulate general in Chennai did not reply to email queries for this story.

An L-1B visa is meant for workers with specialised knowledge of the company’s area of work but tech firms are largely dependent on H-1B visas meant for ‘specialty occupations’ including engineering, mathematics and social sciences among others.

Indian IT firms and multinationals such as IBM and Microsoft who have large operations in India are the biggest users of H-1B visas.

The US market accounts for over 50% of the total software exports from India and companies send thousands of employees every year to visit clients, make sales pitches and work on projects. Last year for instance, Cognizant bagged the largest number of H-1B visas followed by Infosys and Wipro. The company got almost 6,000 H-1B visas of the 60,000 that are approved every year, while Infosys got 4,000.

In response, Indian IT firms have been vocal about meaning to hire more aggressively in the US. They want to appear as job creators in the US, a market which is perceived to be turning increasingly protectionist, especially at a time when unemployment remain high in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

While Infosys plans to increase its US headcount by a thousand every year, cross-town rival Wipro has said at least 50% of its staff in a foreign location would comprise locals.

Source:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/more-techies-denied-h-1b-visa-in-fy11-with-17-rejection-rate/articleshow/11969230.cms

Officials at a Congressional hearing cited last year’s figure of 26 per cent denial to H1B visa applicants, which was the highest in recent years, and also pointed out instances where the visas were denied for flimsy reasons.

Elton Gallegly, chair of the Immigration Policy and Enforcement Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, said figures obtained from US Citizenship and Immigration Services show a rise in denial in certain categories of visas between the years of 2008 and 2010.

Gallegly said many in the business community are concerned that their petitions for foreign workers are being denied and they are being required to answer excessive requests for additional evidence, known as RFEs.

“But why did denial and free rates go up? And it very well could be because of the statutory changes that were implemented and major decisions that were issued,” he said.

Ranking member, Zoe Lofgren said latest figures show there has been a sizable increase in denial rates for key businesses visas and in some categories, the denial on RFE rates has increased by 300 to 500 per cent during the Obama administration.

The Congresswomen said that in many cases the denial was not justified.

“I had a recent case in which the USCIS denied an employment-based petition because the adjudicator determined that the company only had USD 15,000 in annual revenues and, therefore, couldn’t possibly pay the worker. It turned out, however, that the adjudicator had failed to note that the figures were listed in thousands. It was actually USD 15 million in revenue,” she said.

Lofgren also cited instances when an applicant was denied visa due to a bureaucratic mistake.

“If you take a look at the H-1B denial rates… in the year 2004, the denial rate was 11 per cent on H-1Bs. In the year 2011 it’s 17. When you take a look at the request for evidence rates, in 2004 it was 4 per cent. In 2011, it was 26 per cent. I mean, that’s a big jump,” she said.

“In the L-1B request for evidence rates it was two per cent in 2004; 63 per cent in 2011. So you’re really ramping up the evidentiary standards in the inquiry. Certainly we don’t want fraud, but there is a price to pay as well if it’s a legitimate effort and it’s delayed unduly,” the Congresswoman said.

While H-1B visa is to allow American employers to temporarily employ high skilled foreign workers, L1 visa is another non-immigrant visa, that allows foreign employees of a US firm to relocate to its US headquarters temporarily after having worked abroad for the company.

Source:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/us-lawmakers-question-sharp-rise-in-denial-of-h1b-l1-visas/articleshow/11924475.cms

Singapore is considered as one of the most successful commercial & business centers of the world.   With world’s greatest commercial & business center, Singapore is recognized as a gateway for all international organizations.  Lifestyle of Singapore is excellent. Singapore offers good living conditions, great food, outstanding infrastructure with low taxation rates & friendly investment environment. Singapore is one of the best places in the world for migrants to come & settle in the country.

The British Council, which is responsible for promoting British education overseas, presented a detailed report to the government on the likely impact the recent student visa changes will have, and compared the experiences of Australia and US in this regard.

Indians are among the highest number of international students coming to the UK every year, and many apply for the post-study work visa to recover some of the funds spent to study here, but the closure of the post-study work visa is seen as a major deterrent.

There are already reports of a decline of nearly 30 per cent in applications from the Indian sub-continent.

International students are estimated to contribute over 14 billion pounds annually to the UK economy.

This week, Immigration minister Damian Green announced that new rules will come into force within weeks to cut abuse of the student visa route and ensure that only the brightest and the best students can stay and work in the UK.

A British Council spokesperson told today that it “absolutely supports” the David Cameron government’s aim to attract genuine students to the UK, and prevent ‘bogus’ students from entering and taking places ahead of genuine students.

In a report titled ‘Impact of Visa Changes on Student Mobility and Outlook for the UK’, the British Council said: “Students from certain countries who mainly study postgraduate courses in the UK – such as India, Pakistan and others — will be affected by the removal of the post-study work visa… The sooner this situation is addressed, the more contained the damage of bad publicity overseas will be.”

Jo Beall, director of education and society at the British Council, told Times Higher Education (THE), an authoritative publication focused on the higher education sector, that an “urgent review” was required to prevent damage to the British economy and the possible closure of university departments.

They had previously reported that British universities had been “hit by a downturn in demand from Indian students”, and added that “a number of institutions” had seen declines of between 20 and 30 per cent in applicant numbers from the Indian subcontinent.

The British Council report said: “Students from certain countries who mainly study postgraduate courses in the UK – such as India, Pakistan and others — will be affected by the removal of the post-study work visa.”

It added: “This will also affect full-time postgraduate courses. Subjects allied to engineering and biotechnology will be among the ones most susceptible to a plunge in the demand. Their vitality in the mid-term will be put to the test.”

All recent immigration changes, the report said, had “managed to single out the UK” as the country with the toughest immigration regime when compared to its competitors.

Source:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/review-student-visa-rules-british-council/articleshow/11914862.cms

India today said it in the final stages of revising its visa agreement with Pakistan to facilitate movement of people, particularly businessmen of both the countries.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who is leading an over 120 people-strong business delegation to Pakistan, said that he had discussed the issue of visa liberalisation with the Home Minister.

India and Pakistan will completely revise the existing bilateral visa agreement that was signed in 1974 to facilitate travel by bonafide businessmen from both the countries.

“Visa agreement of 1974 will be revised and signed. I have discussed this matter with the Home Minister. Commerce, Home and External Affairs secretaries are in the final stages of deliberations,” Sharma told reporters here.

The Joint Working Group (JWG) that has been set up by the two countries to revise a Bilateral Visa Agreement in 1974 has finalized a draft and both sides have agreed to that.

“Once the agreement has been made, necessary approvals have to be taken from the respective governments.This is for all people. Special dispensations would be made for businessmen…for business people we are making an arrangement which we have with our other partners,” he said.

On the time period for signing the final agreement, he said: “we are keen to do at the earliest”.

He said that apex chambers will endorse the name of the people and they would be given visas.

“We have nominated FICCI and CII and Pakistan will also nominate two chambers for the same,” he added.

He also said that India and Pakistan may soon relax banking norms.

An understanding has been reached between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on granting permission for opening two branches of banks on a reciprocal basis, he added.

Further, the joint working groups on power and petroleum products would meet in March to discuss.

Source:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/india-pak-in-final-stages-of-revising-visa-agreement-anand-sharma/articleshow/11902703.cms

One can migrate to Hong Kong for the purpose of work, study and visit or for any other reason. Some foreign nationals do not need a visa to enter Hong Kong. It depends on the nationality of the individual. People from India will require a visa to enter Hong Kong.

Hong Kong offers a quota based system called as Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) under which the skilled and talented people from India & from all over the world can come and stay in the country.  The QMAS program is specially designed to attract highly talented workers from various sectors to develop the competitiveness of Hong Kong in the international market.  QMAS is entirely a point based system which can be cleared in two ways:

• General Points Based System
• Achievement Based Points  System

The total points allotted for both the above mentioned categories are 165 points. If the clients want to pass the test under the first category then he/she need to score at least 80 points out of 160, whereas  under the second category the candidate is granted all 165 points if /she satisfy  the conditions.

Points under General Points Based Test are allotted based on the specifications such as: Age, Education, Work Experience, and Language Skills & Family Background. Achievement Based Points Test is for candidates with Extraordinary Talent or who has won state / national / international awards or for those who have made a significant contribution to their field.

Anyhow, in order to clear either of the above mentioned tests the applicant must fulfill the following eligibility requirements for Hong Kong Immigration:

• Age should be above 18 years
• Should have no criminal background
• Should be able to speak, read & write English or Chinese
• Should have a first class degree from a known university

All skilled and talented people from India can migrate to Hong Kong under QMAS Program.  A job in Hong Kong will definitely boost your career and you can gain international work experience.  Hong Kong offers many employment opportunities to Indians.  So hurry up! Apply for Hong Kong Visas.

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According to a recent survey, it was found that Australia is having a great demand for nursing profession. A person with good caring attitude and accredited qualification can apply for the nursing vacancies in Australia. Gender does not matter here, what matters is the care.  Both male and female nurses are needed in many medical fields of Australia.

Australian Tourism and Immigration Site claims that trained professionals in this category have become a part of their culture. The reason behind this is evident life style of Australians. Nurses are the major part of the child care & the nanny programs of the highly urbanized society in Australia.

One should not miss this opportunity. Candidate with good scores in the nursing studies should apply for these positions.  For next 5 years nurses will be hired because at present those in service are getting near to their retirement age.  Nearly 50,000 nurses will get retired in coming 5 years leaving their places vacant.

If you look at the recent demand there is great shortage of nurses in the following areas:

• Childcare workers
• Mental healthcare nurses
• Caregivers for the aged

A great shortage of qualified staff in the same has also been noticed as the present nurses have to work for long hours in day cares. Hence there is need to reduce this inconsistency and this can be done by allowing highly qualified nurses of any gender.

Though the demand for nurses is great in Australia but only candidates with relevant qualification and experience recognized by the Australian nursing association will be allowed in the country. Recently Australian Nursing Council (ANCI) has introduced assessment program through which each candidate will be judged for the standard of nursing in Australia.  It is points based system and candidates with good experience in mental healthcare, midwife tasks, and disability care can easily score nearly 60 points to get top desired jobs in Australia.

In addition, as pre-announcement of Australian government, there will be growth in salary under good performances. Near about AU$ 49,000 could be easily earned by senior nurses plus accommodation benefits. Also that is not all as this can also increase if the latter is promoted to coordinators and team leaders.

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Officers of the Canadian immigration will be present at all of the fairs to provide information on student visa applications for Canada. The representatives of the Canadian universities will be present there to answer the queries of the students about the requirements university admission.

Students, Teachers, Parents and Counsellors can attend the fair to learn more about the Canadian study options.  The Free fairs will be conducted at Kota Kinabalu at 15^th February and Kuching 17 February.

The Canadian High Commission in Malaysia said, “Canada offers consistently high-quality, affordable education and internationally recognized credentials in over 10,000 study programmes.”

In 2010, more than 200,000 international students from more than 160 countries immigrated to Canada to study a variety of programmes including engineering, business, actuarial sciences, biotechnology, and computer science.

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