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The Government of Canada is offering a new tip line through the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Call Centre where tips on suspected citizenship fraud cases may be reported, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Canadian citizenship is not for sale. I encourage anyone who has information regarding citizenship fraud to call our tip line,” said Minister Kenney. “My department will ensure that all tips are investigated and that appropriate action is taken.”
Cases involving false representation, fraud or knowingly concealing material circumstances in the citizenship process – for example, pretending to be present in Canada to meet the residence requirements for obtaining citizenship – should be referred to the citizenship fraud tip line at CIC’s Call Centre at 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada only, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday). Those overseas can contact the nearest Canadian visa office. Tips may also be reported by e-mail at Citizenship-fraud-tips@cic.gc.ca.

All other types of fraud tips related to immigration should be reported to the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Border Watch Tip Line at 1-888-502-9060. The CBSA is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

To date, CIC has identified approximately 2,000 people from over 100 countries who may have obtained Canadian citizenship fraudulently, many by using the services of crooked consultants to misrepresent their residence in Canada. CIC is taking steps to revoke citizenship from those who obtained it fraudulently, where allowed by the evidence.

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The Obama administration has decided to add the Republic of South Sudan to the list of countries included under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The move comes as South Sudan gained its independence last July and the United States swiftly recognised it. Southern Sudanese voted almost unanimously in favour of secession from the North earlier this year.

Sudan was initially designated for TPS in 1997 and Washington kept extending it throughout the years. The current designation expires next November. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expected to announce extension of TPS for Sudan as well. All citizens of South Sudan who entered the US on or before the TPS designation is officially published will qualify regardless of their visa status. However, only Sudanese citizens who entered the country on or before October 7, 2004 will be covered by TPS extension.

TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to nationals of designated countries as part of the US Immigration Act of 1990. The US Congress established a procedure by which the Attorney General may provide TPS to aliens in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

During the period for which a country has been designated under the TPS program, the registrants are allowed to remain in the United States and obtain work authorisation and may not be deported unless they commit certain crimes. However TPS does not lead to permanent residence in the US which is better known as the ‘green card’. Several bills in the US Congress to grant permanent residence to some TPS beneficiaries have stalled.

Currently nationals of Burundi, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Somalia are also covered by the program.

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The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) today announced the release of the submission guidelines for Enterprise Migration Agreements (EMA), to assist project owners and prime contractors on eligible resources projects.

The guidelines contain all the necessary information for those who wish to make a submission for an EMA. The agreements are a new migration initiative that will allow major resource projects to gain access to overseas skilled workers for genuine vacancies that cannot be filled from the Australian skilled labour market.

“Now that the submission guidelines have been released, eligible projects will be able to make submissions for access to an EMA,” a departmental spokesman said.

“The agreements are available to resource projects which have been approved by the relevant state or territory government with capital expenditure of more than $2 billion and with a peak workforce of more than 1500 workers.”
The spokesman said the EMA program would ensure that skills shortages do not put constraints on major resource projects and jeopardise Australian jobs.

“Access to overseas skilled workers will ensure the workforce needs of major resource projects are met, realising the economic and employment benefits of the projects,” the spokesman said.

“Overseas workers will only be supplementary, with resources projects required to demonstrate effective and ongoing local recruitment and training efforts.”
The policy settings in the guidelines reflect extensive consultation with relevant industry, unions and government stakeholders. The department has committed to negotiating the agreements within three months from the time a project owner submits a complete request.

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Turkey is enjoying a growing number of tourists visiting this year and it has seen a nearly 11 percent increase in the first seven months of this year, the Turkish government has said.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry data shows that Turkey received 17,624,969 tourists in the first seven months of this year — a 10.64 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The month of July has also seen an increase in the number of tourists visiting the country by 5.49 percent. A total of 4,597,475 tourists visited Turkey in July alone. While Germany is topping the list, Russia is second and the UK third in terms of the number of tourists visiting Turkey.

Out of nearly 18 million tourists, 990,906 tourists (5.62 percent) spent only a single day in the country.

Recent statistics covering the years 2002-2010 released by the Culture and Tourism Ministry reveal the progress Turkish tourism has made over the last eight years. While in terms of the number of tourists it was ranked 17th among the most visited tourist destinations in 2002, the numbers show that Turkey clinched seventh place in 2009, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The number of tourist who visited Turkey in 2002 was 13.2 million, whereas the same number rose to 28.6 million in 2009, representing a 117 percent increase.

While 14.29 percent of tourists came from Germany, 11.79 percent came from Russia, 7.95 percent from England, 6.28 percent from Iran, 4.62 percent from Bulgaria, 4.08 percent from the Netherlands, 3.94 percent from France, 3.45 percent from Georgia, 3.11 percent from Syria and 2.28 percent from the US in the first seven months of this year.

Until August, while 2,518,202 tourists visited Turkey from Germany, 2,078,741 from Russia, 1,401,833 from England, 1,107,067 from Iran and 813,976 tourists from Bulgaria chose Turkey as a place for their vacation.

Tourists visiting Turkey this year have mostly entered through border gates in Antalya (33.57 percent), followed by İstanbul (25.41 percent) and Muğla (9.48 percent).

Thanks to its retaining close political and economic relationships with its neighbors, Turkey managed to remove visa requirements for many countries in the region, resulting in a huge increase in incoming and outgoing tourists in the area. However, the political uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, or the Arab Spring, has lead to a significant drop in tourists from those countries visiting Turkey
Germany, Russia and England is again topping the list in the number of tourists visiting Turkey in July. Out of 4,597,475 tourists who visited the country in July, 310,225 tourists (6.75 percent) stayed in Turkey only for a single day.

In July, while Germany sent 602,511 tourists (13.11 percent) to Turkey, 586,905 tourists (12.17 percent) were from Russia, 435,143 (9.46 percent) from England, 242,870 (5.28 percent) from the Netherlands, 191,681 (4.17 percent) from Iran, 186,631 (4.06 percent) from France, 146,162 (3.18 percent) from Bulgaria, 127,527 ( 2.77 percent) from Austria, 127,240 ( 2.77 percent) from Belgium, 124,147 (2.70 percent) from Georgia.

While the number of tourists visiting Turkey was 4,343,025 in July in 2009, this number was 4,358,275 in 2010. In the January-July period, the number of tourists visiting Turkey was 14,933,656 and this number increased to 15,929,702 in 2010.

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More than a million of the highest-qualified and best-trained Britons have gone to live abroad and are contributing to the wealth of other countries, a report found yesterday.

They have made up more than half of the British emigrants who have gone abroad over the past 14 years to work in countries including America, Australia, or, increasingly, Germany, it found.

The report from the immigration think tank MigrationWatch warned of a new brain drain and said that no other country loses as many university graduates through emigration.

The analysis of who is going abroad comes at a time when numbers of people leaving the country to live abroad have plummeted, mainly thanks to the recession. At the same time levels of immigration have remained at sky high levels. As a result net migration – the number of people added to the population by migration – last year totalled 239,000, the second highest total ever.

The new report said that professionally qualified workers and experienced managers continue to make up the majority of emigrants from Britain, numbering more than 50,000 in 2009.

It put the number of British graduates working abroad at 1.1 million, and added many will stay away permanently.

Citing the verdict produced by the Paris-based grouping of rich nations, the report said: ‘This is consistent with the findings of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that the UK suffers from a brain drain less serious only than Mexico whereby a significant proportion of its tertiary level educated go overseas to work.

The report said the need to import engineers means that British companies may be paying too little for highly qualified staff.

The UK Border Agency Shortage Occupation list includes civil engineers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers among others. It said, perhaps suggesting that UK companies are not paying sufficiently well to keep the brightest and the best. Despite the NHS claiming to be reliant on migrant labour, 27 per cent of our skilled emigrants had a health or education degree.

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The UK Border Agency has completed its review of the criteria to become a Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) under Tier 4 of the points-based system. We are now inviting comments on the proposed new criteria. From April 2012, all Tier 4 sponsors must obtain HTS status. By the end of 2012, they will also need to have been inspected, audited or approved by one of the educational oversight bodies specified by us.

In April 2011, we committed to review the criteria to become a Highly Trusted Sponsor. We have now completed this review, and the proposed new criteria are set out below.

– Mandatory requirements – all must be passed
– Minimum qualifying period 12 months, with the last 6 months as an A-rated sponsor
– Minimum period with no civil penalties 3 years
– Refusal rate 90 per cent
– Course completion rate More than 85 per cent
– Declaration of progression 100 per cent
– No serious concerns (Linked to the new visiting officer report)
Core measurable requirements start with 100 points; must score 70 or above.

To become a Highly Trusted Sponsor, you must pass each of the mandatory requirements. You will then be assessed against the core measurable requirements, with points deducted according to a sliding scale.

For example, a sponsor meets all the mandatory requirements and has an 18 per cent refusal rate, a 94 per cent enrolment rate and a 92 per cent course completion rate. They are deducted 20 points for the refusal rate, 10 points for the enrolment rate and a further 10 for the course completion rate, losing 40 points in total. This leaves a score of 60 points so their application is refused.

If you fail on one or more mandatory requirements, you will become a legacy sponsor. You will not be able to sponsor new students, and your licence will be revoked from April 2012.

Sponsors failing on the core measurable elements may reapply after 3 months.

All education providers who wish to begin or continue to sponsor students from outside Europe must apply for HTS status by a date to be specified, and must obtain HTS status by April 2012.

Sponsors who currently have HTS status will need to apply up to a month before their current status expires. For the current renewal process and guidance, see our How to apply as a Highly Trusted Sponsor page.

Sponsors who do not already meet the accreditation requirements must also apply to Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) or the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) by 9 September 2011. We published further information about the enhanced role of QAA and ISI in a news story last month.

Since 21 April 2011, all independent schools with an ‘A’ rating and appropriate accreditation are automatically awarded HTS status. Independent schools with a ‘B’ rating are given HTS status, if they have the appropriate accreditation, as soon as they become A-rated.

New independent schools are given HTS status immediately, if they are A-rated and have the appropriate accreditation.

If you were registered after 1 March 2011 with a zero CAS limit, you will be given 50 per cent of your requested CAS allocation and must apply for HTS 12 months after receiving your licence, providing you have been A-rated for the last 6 months.

Any sponsor who misses either application deadline will become a legacy sponsor, unable to sponsor any new students. Their licence will then be revoked in April 2012.

Sponsors who achieve or successfully renew HTS status will be subject to an interim CAS limit until they have obtained satisfactory educational oversight (EO) inspection.

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Reflecting the importance of the United States’ diplomatic relationship with Malta, Chargé Richard M. Mills, Jr. dedicated the new United States Embassy facility in Valletta today. Malta’s President, George Abela; Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi; and Office Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), Patrick McNamara, participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The new Embassy facility, located in the Ta’Qali neighborhood of Attard near Ta’Qali National Park, was designed to incorporate green building techniques and to meet the principles of the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system. The multi-building complex provides more than 125 U.S. embassy employees, both American and Maltese, with state-of-the-art work space that features a collection of contemporary Maltese, American, and Maltese-American art, curated by the Office of Art in Embassies.

A.I.C.I-SP of Arlington, Virginia constructed the facility, which was designed by the architectural firm Karn Charuhas Chapman Twohey (KCCT) of Washington, D.C. The $125 million project generated jobs in both the United States and Malta. The new facility was completed in May 2011 and, at times, involved more than 800 workers in its construction.

Since the 1999 enactment of the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act, the Department has moved more than 24,000 people into safer facilities. Including the new Embassy in Malta, OBO has completed 82 diplomatic facilities and has an additional 35 projects in design or construction.

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Kenyans planning to travel to USA may soon be required to prove that they have basic knowledge of how life ‘actually’ is in America before they are issued with travel visas.

Proof, to be in the form of some kind of ‘certificate of induction’ issued after attending Basic Information sessions conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be part of a retinue of requirements that must be presented to the US Embassy in Nairobi as part of qualifying documents when one is seeking to travel to America.

Currently, one has to show proof that they are financially able to sustain their stay in the USA without becoming a ‘public charge’. For those going to study, they must present financial bank statements from their sponsors either in Kenya or in the USA. The move that is bound to be received with mixed reactions by a public that is wary of the many complications around visa applications for traveling abroad, is being spearheaded by the Kenyan Embassy in the USA, more specifically Ambassador Elkanah Odembo.

Odembo who first proposed the requirement through a letter he sent to his Permanent Secretary in Nairobi, says the move is aimed at protecting the safety and integrity of Kenyans migrating to the USA. In the recent past, the Kenyan embassy in the DC has been inundated by calls and letters from Kenyans living in the USA seeking help for all manner of problems. “We are seeing too much suffering on the part of some Kenyans who came to this country with scanty information about how life actually is. We think part of the solution to this problem can be tackled when someone is still in Kenya and that is why we are proposing this initiative,” Odembo said.

He says proper information for those going to America is very key in helping them prepare financially and psychologically for the life they are bound to find there. Odembo, who was himself once a Diaspora student in the USA, said the embassy is in the process of developing a manual containing basic information about America. This will be part of the literature that will be given to those intending to travel to the USA for whatever reasons but especially for those choosing to study in America.

“When we came to America to study long time ago, this was part of the requirements. We had to prove that we knew what we were going to do in America. Of late, this is not happening,” he said, adding that the manual is a necessity and will contain not just the do’s and don’ts but also basic information about important contacts and help centers managed by the Diaspora in the USA. Odembo said he was working closely with the newly appointed USA ambassador to Kenya, Scott Gration, whom he described as someone who is very ‘conversant’ with these issues.

If approved and implemented by the Kenya government, this will be one of the measures aimed at tackling some of the immense challenges that the Diaspora is currently facing in the face of changing fortunes for USA, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and the collapse of the financial markets.

Many Kenyans living in the USA have not only lost their jobs in the recent past but also their homes and investments as a result of the economic recession. Some of the measures aimed at checking illegal immigrants to the USA include tightening rules for foreign students. Many foreign students can’t find jobs within the campuses and if they drop some classes to find work to supplement their upkeep, their student visas are revoked. Frustrations arising out of this have led to increased social ills such as domestic violence, suicides and drug and alcohol abuse.

Hardest hit are those who are migrating on the lottery visa commonly known as Green Card. Many are staying for months on end and sometimes years without finding employment.

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U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it will no longer offer parole to Lautenberg category members who are denied refugee status in Moscow. Individuals who have been offered parole by USCIS in Moscow must make plans to arrive in the United States by Sept. 30, 2011.

A provision of the Lautenberg Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act allows certain individuals who are paroled into the United States after being denied refugee status to adjust to lawful permanent resident status after being physically present in the United States for one year. Within the Moscow program, this provision is limited to only those refugee applicants from countries that made up the former Soviet Union who meet the Lautenberg criteria.

Congress has not extended this Lautenberg Amendment provision, which expires after Sept. 30, 2011.