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The South African embassy in Nigeria has introduced N120, 000 as caution visa fees for visa applicants travelling to South Africa for the first time or applicants that the embassy suspect will not come back.

The caution fee would be returned to visa applicant when he or she returns to Nigeria from South Africa, but the embassy holds back the money if the applicant absconds. Spokesman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ozo Nwobu said the foreign ministry is aware of the new development, but it will be discussed at the bi-national commission joint meeting, but the status quo is reciprocal, all South African first timers to Nigerian must drop N120,000 at the Nigeria embassy in South Africa before they are issued visa.

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The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday announced the extension deadline for expiration of the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) to the Harmonised ECOWAS Electronic (Smart) Passport, otherwise called e-passport from December 31, 2010 to April 30, 2011.

The Minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, who made this known during the presentation of his ministry’s scorecard for 2010, in Abuja, said the December 31 deadline earlier announced was not feasible because a lot of complaints had been received by the ministry from most Nigerians abroad who were yet to obtain the e-passport.

He disclosed that in order to protect and meet the expected high demand for the e-passport from Nigerians in diaspora, the Nigerian Immigration Service had procured 15 mobile enrolment and 135 officers had been selected and trained for passport intervention programme in the six continents of the world.

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Canadian passport holders will have to obtain visas prior to entering the UAE from January 2, 2011, the UAE Embassy in Ottawa announced on Tuesday.

The Canadian diplomatic missions in the UAE have posted the new visa regulations for Canadian nationals on their websites.

According to the website of the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Canadian nationals who plan to travel to the UAE for tourism and business purposes after this date should contact the UAE Embassy in their country for details. It said all diplomatic and special passport holders must also obtain their visa before traveling to the UAE.

It said that the information on entry and exit requirements has been confirmed with the authorities of the UAE. However, these requirements are subject to change at any time. It is the traveler responsibility to check with the embassy of the UAE for up-to-date information. It is the sole prerogative of each country or region to determine who is allowed to enter. All countries or regions have special requirements for persons intending to reside for extended periods (usually more than 90 days) or who plan to work, study, or engage in non-tourist activities. Violations of entry and exit requirements may result in serious penalties.

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In view of Mr. President Barack Obama visit to South Asian giant ‘India’, here are some updates on Indo-US bilateral relationship. The basic purpose of Mr. Obama’s visit is to strengthen the bilateral relationship.U.S. President Barack Obama began his maiden visit to India on last Saturday by promising to remove restrictions on sensitive high-tech exports, a nagging irritant in the evolution of bilateral ties, even as he declared deals worth $15 billion that would support some 54,000 American jobs and seek to answer critics back home. This step will considered to be greatest achievement of Mr. Obama after the recent debacle in US Polls.

The United States is the world’s largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). India is among the fastest growing investors in the United States. As the U.S.-India economic relationship deepens, investment from India contributes to the growth and vibrancy of the American economy and in the creation of jobs in the United States. Over the last decade, investment capital from India grew at an annualized rate of 53% reaching an estimated $4.4 billion in 2009. This growing flow of capital from India reflects the increased integration of the two economies and has brought many benefits to the United States, increasing U.S. exports and supporting tens of thousands of jobs in the last six years alone.

An increasing number of Indian-owned firms contribute to U.S. jobs, exports, and growth:
• Goods exports to India reached approximately $17 billion in 2009, in part due to increased FDI from India.

• Indian companies have aided the turnaround of struggling U.S. firms, saving jobs and improving company performance. They have also made important new investments, stimulating innovation and production in the American economy.

Just a few examples include:
* The Essar Group invested over $1.6 billion in the declining Minnesota Steel Industries and now employs over 7,200 people in almost a dozen states.

* The Tata Group has invested more than $3 billion in the U.S. and now employs nearly 19,000 throughout the country.

* Jubliant Organsys Total Capital invested $246 million in the U.S. and now employs nearly 900 employees throughout the country.

* Wockhardt, a pharmaceutical company, acquired Morton Grove for $37 million. The deal preserved the jobs of all 200 original Morton Grove employees.

* Crompton Greaves, an entity of the Indian conglomerate Avantha Group, has invested and partnered on a $20 million project to launch a Center for Intelligent Power with the University of Albany. The deal will create 100 high-tech jobs in upstate New York.

Indian FDI in the U.S. is on the rise:
• Indian investment capital is spread throughout the United States; it has reached states on both coasts and in the American Midwest. Geographically diversified investment by Indian firms has helped to support employment, particularly in towns reliant on industry and manufacturing that faced difficulties during the recent economic downturn.

• According to a report by Ernst & Young and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the largest share of investment capital from India has been allocated to industries associated with the knowledge economy. This capital is helping the U.S. increase employment in high value-added industries, such as IT and pharmaceuticals.

• FDI from India is expected to continue to grow in the future. There is strong interest from Indian investors in the power, steel, and extractive industries. The pharmaceuticals and health care industries are also expected to receive major investments. This inflow of capital will expand the U.S. economy across a wide variety of fields, creating jobs and keeping the U.S. competitive in global markets.

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The Ministry of Interior has denied rumors that it has stopped issuing visas to the immediate relatives of expatriate residents. Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, Director-General of the Naturalization and Residency Department, told Gulf News that visas are still being issued to immediate family members, and especially to parents.

He added that a husband has the right to sponsor his wife, parents and in-laws. Wives in turn have the right to sponsor their husbands, parents and in-laws. Parents have the right to sponsor their children if they are under the age of 21. The ministry takes into consideration humanitarian and social imperatives and sometimes issues visas to children above the age of 21 who want to visit their families or continue their education.

A local Arabic-language newspaper reported yesterday that the Naturalisation and Residency Department had stopped issuing visas to parents of residents, but continued to issue them to husbands, wives and children. The report prompted panicked expatriates to call newspapers and residency department offices.

Al Menhali said there had been no change in the UAE’s naturalisation and residency laws. Applicants are required to deposit a guarantee of Dh5,000, in addition to the visa application fee.

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New Zealand is to open a full Embassy in Vienna, Austria, in January 2011, Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced. New Zealand already has a Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Vienna, which will now be co-located with the Embassy.

“New Zealand and Austria share many common values and have a good record of cooperation on international issues,” Minister McCully says.

“The Embassy in Vienna will help to consolidate New Zealand’s diplomatic footprint in Europe. Vienna is an important gateway into Central and Eastern Europe and it is the home of many significant international organizations. A key focus of the Embassy will be to develop trade and economic links with Austria and its neighboring region.”
Career diplomat Philip Griffiths will take up the position of Ambassador to Austria in January 2011. Mr Griffiths will also hold the position as New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna.

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Taiwan’s latest visa-refusal rate has met the requirement of the United States for its Visa Waiver Program (VWP), but there is no timetable for Taiwan’s inclusion in the program due to various technical issues, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said Thursday.

Taiwan’s U.S. visa refusal rate for fiscal year 2010 was 2.2 percent, much lower than the minimum requirement of 3 percent as stipulated for inclusion in the VWP and a great improvement over the 4.4 percent of 2009, said Bruce J.D. Linghu, director-general of MOFA’s Department of North American Affairs.

This was a “big step forward” to Taiwan’s eventual VWP inclusion, Linghu said, but a country’s visa-refusal rate is just one of the criteria considered when determining eligibility for VWP status.

To be admitted to the program, he said, a country must meet various requirements, such as enhanced law enforcement and security-related data-sharing with the U.S. The country is also required to maintain high counterterrorism, law enforcement, border control, and document security standards.

The U.S. expressed concern over Taiwan’s passport-application-and-issuance procedure, which does not require travelers to apply in person but is usually undertaken by travel agencies, Linghu said. William Stanton, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the U.S. representative office in the absence of official bilateral ties, said in a recent interview that Taiwan’s inclusion in the VWP “is not a political problem but a legal issue.”
Citing media reports that human trafficking rings have smuggled Chinese citizens into the United States by falsifying or tampering with Taiwanese passports, Stanton said that this problem results from Taiwanese citizens not being required to apply for passports in person.

With this in mind, a new procedure will be tested in Taiwan next year requiring visa applicants to complete passport application in person, Linghu said. The measure will later be implemented nationwide, he added. The two sides will probably need to reach agreements on a number of issues, such as anti-terrorism. Linghu said. Moreover, it will take collaboration between at least four governmental agencies to secure VWP eligibility, he noted.

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Passport authorities at King Abdulaziz International Airport Haj Terminal, Saudi Arabia have turned away 61 pilgrims so far because of discrepancies in their documents and fingerprint records, a senior official said on Tuesday. The General Directorate of Passports has installed state-of-the-art equipment to detect fraudulent Haj visas at the Haj Terminal in Jeddah. The equipment can accurately detect forgeries using techniques such as ultraviolet rays, fingerprint comparisons and infrared. Any illegal additions, deletions and alterations can be detected with the help of these devices. Brig. Ayed Al-Harbi, a commander of the Passport Forces for Haj, said 61 pilgrims were not allowed entry into the country either because of discrepancies in information supplied in their travel documents or because fingerprint records showed they were blacklisted. All land, sea and air entry points to the Kingdom have been linked to the fingerprint system, so that any traveler entering the country will have to undergo fingerprint examinations, said Al-Harbi. He added that deported expatriates would not be allowed to come back as Haj pilgrims. Commander of the Passport Forces for Haj at KAIA, Col. Khalafallah Al-Tuwairaqi said the Passport Department is determined not to permit any deported expatriate with a criminal record to return to the country using a different passport. The special (passports) lounge, staffed by trained personnel of the Passport Department, will be operating round the clock during the Haj season under the supervision of the superintendent of the Anti-Forgery Unit Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Takhis, said Al-Tuwairaqi. The equipment will also alert immigration officials if there is a security warning about any of the pilgrims. The system contains passport data from a large number of countries so that any forgeries could be identified. Al-Harbi said domestic pilgrims who attempt to enter the holy sites without Haj permits would be sternly dealt with. Passports officials at 16 entry points to Makkah are watching for violators of Haj and residence regulations, he said. Any traveler without a Haj permit or any vehicle carrying pilgrims without Haj permits will be stopped at these points. Those transporting illegal pilgrims will be fined up to SR10,000 for each pilgrim and will have their vehicle confiscated, he said. He added that 1,600 violators of residence regulations were detained and 2,900 pilgrims without permits were turned back up till Monday.

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The British government will create a new “entrepreneur visa” and reform its intellectual property laws to try to attract high-tech businesses.

Cameron will set out plans to transform a stretch of East London into a high-tech hub to rival Silicon Valley, starting with new investments from the likes of Internet search leader Google, computer chipmaker Intel and social networking site Facebook. “Right now, Silicon Valley is the leading place in the world for high-tech growth and innovation. But there’s no reason why it has to be so predominant,” Cameron will say in a speech, according to excerpts released in advance by his office.

The government last month announced a four-year plan of deep cuts in public spending to tackle a record budget deficit. Almost no area of government spending will be spared the axe and half a million public sector jobs are expected to be lost.

Cameron says he wants to create better conditions for the private sector to generate the jobs and growth that the public sector will no longer be able to provide. The proposed new “entrepreneur visa” would allow people with great business ideas and the backing of serious investors to set up shop more easily in Britain.

The proposal comes at a time when the government is working on plans to introduce a cap on immigration, in line with a pre-election pledge from Cameron’s Conservative party. Some in the Liberal Democrat party, the junior partner in the two-party coalition government, are uncomfortable with the cap. Business Secretary Vince Cable, a Lib Dem, has argued that it would harm business interests by keeping top talent out.

The “entrepreneur visa” could be part of Cameron’s response to those concerns.

Copyright Laws. Cameron will also say that a company like Google could never have started up in Britain because of a copyright system that is not as open to innovation as it is in the United States. So I can announce today that we are reviewing our intellectual property laws, to see if we can make them fit for the Internet age. I want to encourage the sort of creative innovation that exists in America,” he will say.

Cameron will also say that the government has had a series of meetings since it came into office in May with technology companies and venture capital investors to discuss ways to turn East London into a world-class high-tech center. These talks have led to a series of commitments from companies to invest in East London, previously a deprived residential area which is already the focus of regeneration efforts as it will host the London 2012 Olympics.

Projects will include an Intel research lab focusing on performance computing and energy efficiency, an “innovation hub” from Google where researchers, developers and academics can pool ideas, and a permanent London home for Facebook’s “Developer Garage” programme for new talent in high-tech fields.

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A drug-smuggling tunnel and approximately 30 tons of marijuana were discovered early Wednesday in the Otay Mesa section of San Diego, said officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

The officials said the tunnel, which contained much of the drugs, was roughly 600 yards long and had been used to shuttle marijuana between California and Tijuana, Mexico, for some time.

exican officials said they found five tons of marijuana at the southern end of the tunnel. The discovery comes weeks after Mexican authorities seized 134 tons of marijuana in Tijuana, a record-breaking amount for the country. Officials said it was unclear whether the tunnel discovered Wednesday was related.

In the last four years, authorities have found more than 75 such tunnels along the border.

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