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Ukraine has established a single rate for visa processing, and reduced the number of visa types. This is stated in Cabinet of Ministers’ decision of June 1 on the rules of drawing visas for entry to Ukraine and transit through its territory which will come into force on September 10, 2011.

According to Foreign Ministry’s press secretary Oleksandr Dykusarov, the main purpose of the adoption of this resolution is to bring the legal framework of Ukraine in the visa field in conformity with modern requirements and EU legislation, as well as to improve the efficiency of state bodies of Ukraine in the sphere of combating illegal migration. The decree also regulates the issue of long-term residence and employment in the territory of Ukraine by representatives of foreign non-governmental organizations, foreign business entities, foreign banks, providing for registration by the specified categories of aliens of long-term visas and temporary residences.

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Australia has welcomed highly skilled human resource from India and those with outstanding abilities to the country through its new reformed immigration policies, aimed at boosting its economy. This will enable highly skilled human resource from India with Indian degrees in the fields of health care, IT, engineering to apply for immigration to Australia under its Global Non-discriminatory Immigration programme, Peter Speldewinde, Assistant Secretary, Labour Market Branch of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Government of Australia told reporters in Mumbai today.

“We have brought in a fundamental shift in the immigration process, focusing on medium and long-term skill needs for Australia and the age limit for immigration of such human resource has been increased to 50 (from 45 yrs),” he said.

Those who apply from July 1 this year will come under the new point system for a direct visa application. While the proposed system of skilled migrant selection model will be based on an Expression of Interest (EOI) and will be launched from July 1, 2012, he said.

For the 2011 application, once the threshold English language requirement is met with, the applicant can claim points under a range of different factors (Indian degrees are now recognised by Australia) and must meet the pass mark of 65 points to be eligible for a points tested visa, he said adding that the highest points were for PhDs.

The EOI is an on-line application form for skilled migration to Australia and once selected under the merit list the candidate will be invited to apply for visa, he said.

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UK Immigration Minister Damian Green has announced the next set of changes to the Immigration Rules affecting Tier 4 – the student tier – of the points-based system. The has been laid in Parliament today. The changes will come into effect on 4 July 2011.

The Home Secretary announced changes to the Immigration Rules in a statement to Parliament on 22 March, following a major public consultation on reforming Tier 4. The first set of changes came into effect on 21 April.

The aim of the revised Immigration Rules is to deliver a strong migration system which tackles immigration abuse, while allowing genuine students to study at genuine colleges.

From 4 July we will:
– Restrict work entitlements to migrants studying at higher educational institutions (HEIs) and publicly funded further education colleges only;
– Restrict the sponsorship of dependants to those studying at postgraduate level at HEIs on courses lasting at least 12 months, and government-sponsored students on courses lasting at least 6 months;
– Require education providers to vouch that a new course represents genuine academic progression;
– Ensure that maintenance funds are genuinely available to the applicant, by introducing a declaration on the visa application form;
– Commit to publish a list of financial institutions that we consider, on the basis of experience, do not verify financial statements to our satisfaction in more than 50 per cent of a sample of cases;
– Introduce a streamlined application process for low-risk nationals applying to attend courses with Highly Trusted Sponsors;
– Extend the list of courses for which students must receive ATAS clearance;
– Restrict the ability to deliver accountancy courses accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to those sponsors accorded platinum or gold status by ACCA; and
– Clarify the position of overseas universities with campuses in the UK.

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The Department of State has released the new visa bulletin for July 2011 on June 9, 2011 which continues to bring cheers to Chinese and Indian nationals whose Priority Dates get benefited.

For the month of July 2011, the EB-1 category was current for both Chinese and Indian nationals. In the EB-2 category, the cut-off dates moved forward nearly five months for Chinese nationals (from October 15, 2006 to March 8, 2007), and also moved forward nearly five months for Indian nationals (from October 15, 2006 to March 8, 2007). In the EB-3 category, the cut-off dates moved forward from May 15, 2004 to July 1, 2004 for Chinese nationals and moved forward from April 22, 2002 to May 1, 2002 for Indian nationals.

For the month of June 2011, the EB-1 category was current for both Chinese and Indian nationals. In the EB-2 category, the cut-off dates moved forward more than two months for Chinese nationals (from August 1, 2006 to October 15, 2006), and moved forward more than three months for Indian nationals (from July 1, 2006 to October 15, 2006). In the EB-3 category, the cut-off dates moved forward from April 15, 2004 to May 15, 2004 for Chinese nationals and moved forward from April 15, 2002 to April 22, 2002 for Indian nationals.

We will keep you updated on the recent developments on the Employment base Visa Bulletin.

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Canada gave a new push to Indo-Canada trade relations when it announced a new visa regime that would allow Indians 10-year multiple entry visas to the country. The announcement was made by the Canadian Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Edward Fast at the roundtable discussion with high-level representatives of the Indian government and business community at the two-day mini PBD Canada 2011 convention, a day for Overseas Indians.

The minister said that the new visa regime would accelerate bilateral trade and investment and cultural bonds.

The convention is being organised here for the first time by the Government of India and the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the High Commission of India as part of the celebrations to mark the Year of India in Canada. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, who is leading the Indian delegation to the convention of the Indian-origin people settled in North America and the Caribbean, said that both countries were committed to strengthen and deepen their bilateral trade.

She said India and Canada aim at a bilateral trade target of US $15 billion in the next five years. Both countries were in talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that would yield significant economic benefit and lower tariff on a large number of products for both the countries.

Kaur said that the India-Canada relations had undergone a “sea change” recently. On November 12, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper announced the launch of talks on the CEPA.

“A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is an free trade agreement (FTA) from Indian perspective. It is aimed at promoting market opening policies and stands to become one of the most important building blocks in constructing a broader and deeper bilateral relationship,” she said.

S M Gavai, the High Commissioner of India, said that the new 10 years multiple entry visa would help to meet the longstanding demand of Indians businesses and others who would like to come Canada frequently and would help in ‘Building Bridges’ between the two countries.

The PBD-Canada 2011 is a conference that brings more than 1500 high-level business and government delegates together, in Canada. It comes just a few weeks before the Bollywood Oscars in Toronto, whose TV audience of 700 million will put Canada, however briefly, at the centre of Indian cultural consciousness.

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Migrants coming to the UK to work on temporary visas will no longer be able to apply for settlement, under proposals announced by the government today.

The government is implementing reforms to the immigration system which will reduce the level of immigration to sustainable levels. Today’s announcement is the next step in this process.

Launching a public consultation on reforms to the work routes leading to settlement, Immigration Minister Damian Green set out plans to re-classify visas as either ‘temporary’ or ‘permanent’ and introduce stricter criteria for those who want to stay.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said:
‘The proposals I am making today are aimed at breaking the link between temporary and permanent migration.

‘Settlement has become almost automatic for those who choose to stay. This needs to change. The immigration system has got to be made to work properly.

‘We want the brightest and best workers to come to the UK, make a strong contribution to our economy while they are here, and then return home.’
Under the current system, many workers are allowed to apply to stay here permanently. In 2010, 84,000 people who entered the UK for employment were granted settlement. This compares to less than 10,000 who qualified for employment related settlement in 1997.

The government has already implemented new settlement requirements for skilled workers entering under Tiers 1 and 2 of the points-based system, which require applicants to demonstrate English-language proficiency, continue to meet the salary requirements and to pass a new criminality test.

Key proposals under consideration in the 12 week consultation are as follows:
– Re-branding Tier 2 (the skilled worker route) as temporary, ending the assumption that settlement will be available for those who enter on this route;
– Allowing certain categories of Tier 2 migrant, for example those earning over £150,000 or occupations of a specific economic or social value to the UK, to retain an automatic route to settlement;
– Creating a new category into which, after three years in the UK, the most exceptional Tier 2 migrants may switch and go on to apply for settlement;
– Allowing Tier 2 migrants who do not switch into a settlement route to stay for a maximum of five years with the expectation that they and any dependants will leave at the end of that time;
introducing an English language requirement for adult dependants of Tier 2 migrants applying to switch into a route to settlement;
– Restricting the maximum period of leave for Tier 5 Temporary Workers to 12 months; and
closing or reforming routes for overseas domestic workers.

Damian Green added:
‘A small number of exceptional migrants will be able to stay permanently but for the majority, coming here to work will not lead automatically to settlement in the UK.’
The Government has committed to reforming all routes of entry to the UK in order to bring immigration levels under control. The settlement, Tier 5 and overseas domestic worker reforms will work alongside the annual limit, the new student visa reforms and changes to the family route which will be consulted on later this year.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hails the favorable vote returned by the European Parliament, by a wide margin (487 votes in favor, 77 votes against and 29 abstentions) today, June 8th, 2011, to Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen Area. By this vote the European parliament is sending a clear political message in support of Romania’s quickest joining of the Schengen Area.

The fact that beyond the actual recognition of Romania’s meeting the accession criteria under the Schengen acquis, the European political groups and parliamentarians in general adopted an extremely constructive, principled approach throughout the debates in recognizing the advanced stage of our preparations and, by way of consequence, in declaring open support for our accession.

In the current European context today’s favorable vote reconfirms that the European Parliament remains deeply attached to the European emblematic projects, and that enhancing cooperation at European level is extremely valuable and allows our citizens to appreciate the full benefits of the European construction.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses hope that the positive message conveyed by the European Parliament today with its confidence vote given Romania for its joining the Schengen Area will allow for the adoption by the Council, within the shortest delays, of the decision concerning Romania joining the Schengen Area.

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France will be granting Taiwanese youth the working holiday visa soon, the Bureau Francais de Taipei said Wednesday at the institute’s name change press conference. The Taiwan-France working holiday program is at its final stage of completion and hopefully will be ready before the arrival of summer, said the Bureau Director Patrick Bonneville.

Bonneville noted that a consensus has been reached between the two sides and France will become a new working holiday destination for Taiwanese people as soon as the administrative procedures are finished.

“We hope as soon as possible, ” Bonneville said, but he was unable to give a date for the launch.

Taiwan currently has working holiday visa agreements with six countries — Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Germany. France is expected to be the seventh.

Institut Francais de Taipei, a name used by the French representative office in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties since 1991, was changed to the Bureau Francais de Taipei in accordance with the French government’s cultural policy abroad.

The French government, since the beginning of 2011, has created a specific public establishment responsible for all overseas cultural and promotional affairs and named it Institut Francais.

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During the month of May 2011, a total number of 865 Visa on Arrival ( VoAs ) were issued . The number of VoAs issued during the month of April 2011 were 1234. During the period January-May 2011, a total number of 5004 VoAs were issued.

The country wise break up of VoAs issued during May 2011 was, Indonesia (122), New Zealand (121), Philippines (206), Japan (177), Singapore (149), Finland (57), Vietnam (6), Myanmar (4), Luxemburg (4) , Laos (1) and Cambodia (18).

The country wise break up of VoAs issued during January-May 2011 was, New Zealand (1067), Japan (954), Philippines (829), Singapore (745), Indonesia (673), Finland (573), Cambodia (67), Vietnam (38), Luxemburg (29) Myanmar (27) and Laos (2).

India is doing a step ahead in the Immigration reform in terms of issuance of Tourist visa. During the period January-May 2011, the maximum number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (2766), followed by Mumbai (1166), Chennai (825) and Kolkata (247).

As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India, Government has launched a Scheme of “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) from January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxemburg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. This scheme has been extended for the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar from January 2011

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Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya discussed Estonia’s request for Estonian citizens to be able to enter Thailand without a visa, bilateral relations, co-operation in international organisations, and tourism exchange.

Foreign Minister Paet said that Estonian citizens could be given the opportunity to visit Thailand without a visa. “Currently Estonian citizens must apply for a Thai visa at the border,” he noted.

Thai Foreign Minister Piromya promised he would do whatever he could to make sure that Estonian citizens can travel to Thailand without a visa in the near future.

Paet asserted that Thailand is an important partner for Estonia in South-East Asia and that we will soon be prepared to sign an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and a cultural and educational co-operation agreement with Thailand. “Estonia could also be of interest to Thai entrepreneurs as a place to develop a regional distribution centre,” he added.

Foreign Minister Paet also met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar in Budapest. Foreign Minister Zandanshatar stated that Mongolia is very interested in learning about Estonia’s reform experiences so that it can strengthen democracy in its own state and learn about how a multi-party system functions.

Paet confirmed that Estonia is open to the idea of sharing its reform experiences with Mongolia. “Establishing regular political consultation would definitely be helpful,” he noted. Estonia will also soon be appointing a non-residing ambassador and an honorary consul to Mongolia.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Latvian Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis met in Budapest and signed a bilateral agreement on the reciprocal exchange and protection of classified information between Estonia and Latvia.