Immigration Tales

This week, the Global Immigration team at Smith Stone Walters would like to highlight the following recent updates from Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan and the United States. Australia: New Pacific Engagement Visa The Government has committed to a new permanent resident visa program and will introduce the Pacific Engagement visa (PEV) for nationals of participating Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste. Australia will introduce the new Subclass 192 – Pacific Engagement visa in 2024. It will provide up to 3,000 permanent places annually for citizens of participating Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste and their immediate family members. This is in addition to Australia’s permanent migration program. On 19 October 2023, the Australian Government passed immigration legislation to enable the use of a ballot for the new PEV. The ballot ensures that eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste nationals of all skill levels, gender and ...

Canadian goment don annonce new restrictions on work and study permit for international students wey wan undergo postgraduates studies as dem plan to reduce di number of dia annual students intake. Marc Mille, Canadian Immigration Minister announce on Monday say dem wan reduce di number of international students for dia kontri by 35 per cent in di next two years. Di minister note say dem go allocate di numbers of international students base on di population of each province so international students go fit progress wit dia studies in di kontri. Di minister also announce say dem go stop to issue work permit to international students wey graduate from Public College-Private Partnerships programs. “In order to maintain sustainable level of temporary residence for Canada, as well to ensure say no further growth in di number of international students for Canada for 2024, we dey set national application intake cap for a period of two years for 2024. “Di cap dey expected to result in approxim...

A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the future of international student visas in Canada. As the country grapples with a housing crisis,  strong wording from the federal government in recent months suggests it is looking to potentially cap the number of study permits issued to prospective international students to help alleviate the housing demand. “Enough is enough,” said Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship  in December of last year. “If provinces and territories cannot do this, we will do it for them, and they will not like the bluntness of the instruments that we use,” he said. Recent reports suggest the minister is ready to impose such limits in select provinces, such as Ontario and British Columbia. On Thursday, the minister’s office told Global News he was unavailable for an interview. In an email, a representative did not confirm if a cap for study permits is imminent, saying only that there hasn’t been one established yet, “but it is an option ...

Australia's immigration landscape is in the midst of a profound transformation, marked by pivotal policy changes recently announced by the government. These modifications, which took effect immediately, carry substantial implications for both prospective visa applicants and employers alike. Australian Immigration Priorities: A Paradigm Shift in Student Visa Processing Ministerial Direction No. 107, implemented on December 14, 2023, represents a significant change in how Australia prioritizes student visa applications. The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students ( CRICOS )-registered education providers now play a pivotal role, with each assigned an evidence level. This new framework, synergizing with Ministerial Direction No. 107, prioritizes applications based on specific criteria. The highest priority is now bestowed upon: Student Visa Applications: From sectors like Schools, Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Postgraduate Research, when lo...

Securing a job is often an important step for many temporary residents (those on a work, study, or visitor visa), in not just establishing themselves in Canada economically, but also in building eligibility for economic pathways to permanent residence (PR). In light of this, many newcomers are interested in what the in-demand jobs are in Canada. This knowledge can help to better inform their employment search and enable their immigration journey. In an aim to better adjust immigration to labour force needs, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced Express Entry category-based selection draws to target candidates in the Express Entry pool who have experience in professions that Canada critically needs workers for. The categories that IRCC targets are made-up of in-demand occupations in five different fields: Healthcare; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Trade; Transport; and Agriculture and agri-food. As such we can look to the list of targete...

  On December 11, 2023, the Australian government announced its new Migration Strategy that, according to the white paper, is the Government’s vision to get migration working for the nation, helping deliver a prosperous and secure Australia. The Strategy will end COVID concessions, strengthen integrity and lift the standards in international education, end settings that drive long-term temporary stays, tackle exploitation of the visa system and target skilled migration to genuine shortages. The main objectives of the Strategy are: Raising living standards for Australians  by boosting productivity, meeting skills shortages and supporting exports Ensuring a fair go in the workplace by complementing the jobs, wages and conditions of all workers and preventing migrant worker exploitation. Building stronger Australian communities by better planning the migration intake, and giving migrants the opportunity to invest in their lives in Australia through permanent residence a...

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations in the first Express Entry draw of the year. The department invited 1,510 candidates to apply in a general draw. They required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 546. A general draw considers candidates from all Express Entry managed programs including the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). No occupations or other human capital attributes are targeted. The four most recent draws took place from from December 18-21. The all-program draw on December 18 invited 1,325 candidates with a minimum CRS of 524. The remaining three draws were for candidates who fit the criteria for category-based selection in one of the six possible categories. The December 19 draw invited 1,000 candidates in a category-based draw for trades occupations with a minimum CRS of 425 and the December 20 invited 670 candidates in transport oc...

The Migration Review outlined the new decree that, within a package of measures to tighten the post-study work visa, the maximum eligible age to be able to apply for one would lower significantly. “The maximum eligible age for a Temporary Graduate visa will be reduced to 35, repositioning the visa as a product for early career professionals who can contribute to the Australian economy over a longer period,” the Migration Strategy document – published in December – read . Ly Tran, a professor in the school of education at Deakin University, told The PIE how harmful this particular rule could end up being – both for certain demographics and for Australia’s standing. “The new rule goes against the national desire to tackle skills shortages and attract talent such as PhD graduates with high-level skills and expertise,” Tran explained. The PIE reached out to the Home Affairs department to obtain the information on the average age of Graduate visa applicants. “The government is recalibrating...

Canada's Immigration Minister Marc Miller says the federal government's stated 1,000-person limit on temporary resident visas for Palestinians looking to flee Gaza is not a hard cap, despite previous suggestions. In an interview on CTV News Channel's Power Play, Miller told host Vassy Kapelos that "no," the limit as previously stated is not set in stone. "It is conventional for a number of these programs to have an internal number that is established. This was one that we thought at the outset — in the context of something being done in a relatively short period of time understanding that it's a war zone in Gaza — was something to manage flow, understand what the numbers are, and then you know remain flexible on the fly if we do see numbers that exceed that." This comes, after Palestinian-Canadians and advocates told CTV News that they thought the federal government’s new program limiting temporary resident visas to 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza was unf...