Immigration Laws

Trump taps ally of immigration policies to head Customs, Border Protection

The picture of who will be in charge of executing President-elect Donald Trump's hard-line immigration and border policies has come into sharper focus after he announced his picks to head Customs and Border Protection and also the agency tasked with deporting immigrants in the country illegally. Trump said late Thursday he was tapping Rodney Scott, a former Border Patrol chief who's been a vocal supporter of tougher enforcement measures, for CBP commissioner. As acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Trump said he'd nominate Caleb Vitello, a career ICE official with more than 23 years in the agency who most recently has been the assistant director for firearms and tactical programs. They will work with an immigration leadership team that includes South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security; former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement head Tom Homan as border czar; and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of ...

UK introduces grace period for transition to eVisa system until March 2025

The UK on Wednesday introduced a grace period until March 2025, during which time expired physical documentation will be accepted for international travel as visa holders make the transition to an entirely online eVisa system. As part of an ongoing Home Office drive, all visa holders including many Indians using a physical biometric residence permit (BRP), a passport containing a visa vignette sticker or ink stamp confirming their indefinite leave to enter/remain in the country, or biometric residence card (BRC) as evidence of their immigration rights, were given until the end of December to make the switch to an eVisa. While the Home Office claims over 3.1 million people have already switched over to an eVisa, there are believed to be several others who have been unable to meet the year-end deadline having encountered technical issues, among other reasons. For those who are yet to switch to an eVisa, a wide range of guidance and support is available, said Seema Malhotra, UK ...

Gujarat engineer caught with fake visa to New Zealand: Consequences decoded

The Gujarat engineer has been booked under India's Passports Act, 1967, which imposes penalties for passport misuse and fraudulent activities

Made mistakes in immigration policy, will reduce their number: Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that his government made "mistakes" in its immigration policy which led to "bad actors" like "fake colleges" and big corporations exploiting the system for their vested interests. Trudeau's statement on Sunday came amidst his Liberal Party's denting popularity ahead of the 2025 general election in Canada. The prime minister is facing intense public criticism due to his policies leading to housing shortage, inflation, and deteriorating health and transport systems in the country. The opposition Conservative Party has also been accusing his government of mismanagement and failure to prioritise Canadian citizens' needs. In a video message posted on his YouTube channel, Trudeau said, "In the last two years, our population has grown really fast, like a baby boom...Increasingly bad actors like fake colleges and big chain corporations have been exploiting our immigration system for their own interests." To combat this, "we are reducing th

US takes immigration issue 'very seriously': State Dept amid visa delays

Early discussions among Trump's team have focused on removing undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes, a source familiar with the team's preliminary plans told CNN

Centre designates Assam's Darranga as authorised immigration check post

This designation allows for the entry into and exit from India for all classes of passengers with valid travel documents, following sub-rule (b) of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 195

Sweden's new visa rules to open more high-paying jobs for Indians in 2025

Swedish employers value Indian skills, says ambassador on EU Blue Card

Six out of 10 Canadians feel there's 'too much immigration' in country

The poll reflects further erosion of public support for immigration, with the proportion of Canadians opposing the volume of new arrivals surging for the second straight year

UK grants 286,382 work visas, 432,225 student visas in a year: Data shows

British citizenship was granted to 246,488 during the same period, an increase of 37% compared to the year ending June 2023

Starmer, Meloni hold talks on curbing migrant boats reaching UK, Italy

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is meeting Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday, as the two very different politicians, from left and right, seek common cause to curb migrants reaching their shores by boat. Support for Ukraine is also on the agenda for the trip, part of Starmer's effort to reset relations with European neighbors after Britain's acrimonious 2020 departure from the European Union. The center-left Labour Party prime minister isn't a natural ally of Meloni, who heads the far-right Brothers of Italy party. But migration has climbed the U.K. political agenda, and Starmer hopes lessons from Italy can help him stop people fleeing war and poverty trying to cross the English Channel in flimsy, overcrowded boats. More than 22,000 migrants have made the perilous crossing from France so far this year, a slight increase compared to the same period in 2023. Several dozen people have perished in the frigid Channel, including at least eight who died off the French coast

Unauthorised migration into EU countries declines despite heated politics

Unauthorised migration to European Union countries dropped significantly overall in the first eight months of this year, even as political rhetoric and violence against migrants increased and far-right parties espousing anti-immigration policies made gains at the polls. There was, however, a spike in migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that is increasingly used as an alternate stepping stone to continental Europe. Irregular migration dominated the European parliamentary elections in June and influenced recent state elections in eastern Germany, where a far-right party won for the first time since World War II. The German government this week announced it was expanding border controls around its territory following recent extremist attacks. What do the numbers show? Despite the heated debates, irregular crossings over the southern borders of the EU the region that sees the most unauthorised migration were down by 35% from Januar

Difficult but crucial: Discussing high immigration and demographic changes

Political correctness should not prevent us from discussing them

Biden restarts immigration programme with more vetting for sponsors

The Biden administration is restarting an immigration programme that allows migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come to the United States, and it is including additional vetting of their US-based financial sponsors following fraud concerns. The Department of Homeland Security had suspended the programme earlier this month to investigate the concerns but indicated that an internal review found no widespread fraud among sponsors. Together with our existing rigorous vetting of potential beneficiaries seeking to travel to the United States, these new procedures for supporters have strengthened the integrity of these processes and will help protect against exploitation of beneficiaries, the agency said. The programme launched in January 2023 and is a major piece of the Biden administration's immigration policies that create or expand pathways for legal entry while restricting asylum for those who cross the border illegally. The policy is aimed at countries that send la

Canada cracks down on foreign worker exploitation: New rules from Sept 26

The Temporary Worker Programme is meant to be a temporary solution for businesses that can't find qualified Canadian workers to fill job vacancies

Planning to move to Canada, US, UK, or France? A guide to jobs and salaries

Take a look at the most sought-after jobs and average pay in countries like the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, France, and New Zealand

Indian students turning to US as Canada, Australia, UK tighten rules

In recent years, several countries have been tightening their immigration rules, directly impacting international students

US September visa bulletin: Diversity visa numbers released for DV-2024

The US offers a range of immigrant visas, including those based on family ties, employment, adoption, and special categories

Foreign students face uncertain future amid global immigration crackdown

The impact is already being felt - aggregate visa data for the first quarter of 2024 showed volumes to the UK, Canada and Australia down between 20% and 30% from a year earlier

IndiGo Airlines fined $5,832.60 for late payment by US customs

IndiGo reportedly received the intimation about the penalty from the US authority on 24 July, and is currently exploring the possibility of a waiver of the penalty

UK to fast-track returns of illegal migrants to safe nations like India

The asylum applications of migrants entering the UK illegally from countries on its designated safe states list, including India, will be fast-tracked to deport them back speedily under new Labour government proposals. UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said she has begun the work to move staff from the previous Conservative-led government's now-abolished Rwanda scheme to a new Returns and Enforcement programme. In place of the policy of trying to fly out illegal migrants to the African country, the Home Office plans to increase the returns to the countries of origin, starting with an increase in raids on businesses employing illegal workers. We are drawing up new plans for fast-track decisions and returns for safe countries, Cooper wrote in The Sun on Sunday'. Most people in this country want to see a properly controlled and managed asylum system, where Britain does its bit to help those fleeing conflict and persecution, but where those who have no right to be in the country are .