Page 2 - Immigration Laws

Amit Shah launches programme to fast-track immigration services for OCIs

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a special programme under which the immigration process of pre-verified Indian nationals and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders will be fast-tracked, an official said. The Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) is a "visionary initiative" by the government, thoughtfully designed for Indian nationals and OCI cardholders, the official said. Eligible individuals will need to apply online and submit their biometrics (fingerprint and facial image) along with other required information as specified in the application form. The FTI registration will be valid for a maximum of five years or until the validity of the passport, whichever comes first, he said. Approved applications would receive a message to schedule an appointment to provide their biometrics details. Applicants may provide their biometrics at designated international airports in India or the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO)

Trump proposes green cards for foreign students graduating from US colleges

Former US President Donald Trump made a departure from his anti-immigration stance and proposed handing out green cards to all foreign students who graduate from US colleges

DIAL introduces biometric kiosks for faster immigration processing

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Friday introduced biometric registration kiosks for faster immigration processing, which will be operated under the direct supervision of the Bureau of Immigration (BOI). DIAL said that five kiosks are currently operational at the international arrival pier of the airport and it plans to add five more soon. This expansion will further expedite the immigration process for arriving passengers. The specially-designed kiosks for foreign nationals arriving in India with a visa where biometric information was not collected during the application process, have been set up for the first time at any airport in the country, DIAL said in a statement. Before implementing this new mechanism, visa-holding passengers arriving in Delhi without biometric registration were required to utilise the designated immigration counters, resulting in an average wait time of 4-5 minutes per passenger, the private airport operator said. During peak hours, these qu

How UK migration curbs could shrink workforce, limit economic growth

Migration curbs could further shrink the workforce, increasing wage and price pressures and limiting economic growth

Portugal tightens immigration rules: Changes and impact on Indians decoded

Lisbon plans to require most foreigners to obtain a work visa before entering and living in the country

Explained: Canada hikes permanent residency fees by 12 per cent

Canada granted a record 437,000 foreigners permanent residency in 2022. It seeks to bring in 1.45 million new permanent residents by 2025-end

US lawmakers to address Green Card, H-1B issues at immigration summit

Eminent lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties at an immigration summit have called for urgently addressing the Green Card backlog, an issue that is majorly impacting Indian professionals and the issues related to the H-1B visa. At the first-of-its-kind 'Tech Immigration Summit' at the US Capitol on Monday hosted by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora (FIIDS), the lawmakers pushed for removing the seven per cent country quota when it comes to issuing Green Card or legal permanent residency to foreign guest workers in specialised categories. In the absence of such a move, the Green Card waiting period for Indian immigrants would be more than 20 years and over 70 years in many cases. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. Congressman Ro Khanna, who is also co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, called f

Supreme Court blocks Texas law that allows police to arrest migrants

Texas' plan to arrest migrants who enter the US illegally is headed to the Supreme Court in a legal showdown over the federal government's authority over immigration. The high court on Monday blocked Texas' immigration law from going into effect until March 13 and asked the state to respond by March 11. The law was set to take effect Saturday, and the court's decision came just hours after the Justice Department asked it to intervene. Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the law in December and for months has unveiled a series of escalating measures on the border that have tested the boundaries of how far a state can go keep migrants from entering the country. The law would allow state officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. People who are arrested could then agree to a Texas judge's order to leave the country or face a misdemeanor charge for entering the US illegally. Migrants who don't leave after being ordered to do so could be arrested again and

UK, EU to jointly tackle illegal immigration as post-Brexit relations thaw

Britain and its former partners in the European Union have struck a deal to cooperate more on tackling illegal migration, in the latest sign of a thawing in relations between the two sides following Brexit. The British government said in a statement Friday that UK border agencies and Frontex, the EU's border and coast guard agency, will be able to access each other's intelligence to secure borders and tackle organised immigration crime. There will also be joint training, deployments of staff from one side to the other, and collaboration on research and development on new technologies. The agreement, which will be signed later in London, doesn't include any bilateral returns agreement, which means neither side will be obliged to to take any asylum-seekers under burden-sharing arrangements agreed on between the EU's 27 member states. Organised immigration crime and people smuggling are global challenges that require shared solutions and ambitions," UK Home Secretary James Cleverly ...

Surge in immigration to boost US GDP by $7 trn over decade, says CBO

The agency's estimates come amid a fierce political debate in Washington over the surge of migration at the US-Mexico border and what should be done to control it

French PM Borne resigns following recent political turmoil over immigration

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigned on Monday following recent political turmoil over a new immigration law, paving the way for President Emmanuel Macron to seek fresh momentum by appointing a new government in coming days. The shakeup was widely seen as an attempt by the 46-year-old centrist Macron to head off a looming lame-duck status. Macron's term is to end in 2027, and he won't be able to run again for president in line with the French Constitution. In her resignation letter, Borne suggested she resigned at Macron's request, citing the president's will to appoint a new prime minister. Borne's resignation followed the passage late last month of contentious immigration legislation backed by Macron aimed at strengthening the government's ability to deport some foreigners, among other measures. Macron's centrist alliance was able to pass the measure only after making a deal with the conservative Republicans party, which many observers saw as the government's shift to t

Gujarat police to coordinate with passengers who returned from France

The Gujarat Police have formed teams to unearth a suspected illegal immigration network involving "agents" and will coordinate with the passengers of a plane that has landed in Mumbai from France, a senior official said. Many passengers of the plane hail from Gujarat, he said. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking. It landed in Mumbai in the wee hours on Tuesday. "The CID crime wants to take action against agents who had promised help to the victims to enter the US and other countries (illegally). We have formed four teams which will get information from the victims regarding promises made to them by these agents," Superintendent of Police, CID (Crime), Sanjay Kharat said. He said most of the passengers on the chartered plane that returned from France were from Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat. "Police will coordinate with the passengers when they reach

Foreign nations often do not disclose illegal stays, leaving a data void

Foreign nations often do not disclose tales of illegal stays, leaving a data void

Macron defends divisive immigration bill, denies govt's tilt to far right

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that a contentious immigration bill backed by the far right is imperfect and needs some fixes but is what the French wanted," and is not a victory for the far right. The president on a much-listened-to talk show explained and defended the divisive immigration bill that critics claim plays into the hands of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally group at the National Assembly. It's the fruit of a compromise, Macron said. Critics claim the bill in part mimics the far-right party's long-standing demand for national preference by which the French, not foreigners, must profit from the riches of the land. The bill strengthens France's ability to deport foreigners considered undesirable and makes it tougher for foreigners to take advantage of social welfare, among other measures. Some decried it as a betrayal of French values. It passed the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, with a 349-186 vote late Tuesday

Macron's govt faces heat as France approves divisive immigration bill

French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist government faced an uproar on Wednesday after parliament approved a divisive immigration bill backed by the far right. The bill, meant to strengthen France's ability to deport foreigners considered undesirable, passed the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, with a 349-186 vote late Tuesday. It had been adopted by the Senate. Macron's health minister resigned to show his opposition to the draft legislation, and some left-leaning lawmakers in the centrist alliance decided to abstain or vote against it. Interior Minister Grald Darmanin, who championed the bill, said the government wants greater firmness against foreign offenders. Who here can say that we must allow criminals, people on our land, who attack us, attack our professors, and who attack our police forces and who attack the youth on the cafe terraces, without reacting? he said in a speech at the National Assembly. He singled out the recent school attack where a teach

Fears over asylum-seekers' rights as EU hails migration deal breakthrough

European Union leaders and top officials hailed on Wednesday a major breakthrough in talks on new rules to control migration, but critics said the reforms will weaken the rights of asylum-seekers and encourage more morally dubious deals with countries that people leave to get to Europe. After overnight talks, visibly exhausted EU lawmakers emerged expressing relief that agreement was found on the core political elements of the Pact on Asylum and Migration a major overhaul of rules that many hope will address the challenges posed by migrant arrivals over the last decade. It's truly a historic day, said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, flanked by lawmakers responsible for the key parts of the agreement. With migration likely to be a hot campaign issue ahead of EU elections next June, Metsola said, it was vital to make a breakthrough. Let's not underestimate the risk if we had not reached such a deal, she told reporters. This means, hopefully, that member states will fee

Dunki explained: What is the donkey flight illegal immigration method?

The Punjabi idiom 'dunki' refers to hopping from place to place before crossing illegally into a nation. Here is a closer look into the method and what it entails

Foreigners now flocking to New Zealand, net immigration surges in April

New Zealand has loosened immigration policy, allowing more foreign workers to enter the country to ease labor shortages that had became acute when the border was shut during the Covid-19 pandemic

Canada launches category-based selection for Express Entry candidates

The move will allow Canada to issue invitations to apply to prospective permanent residents with specific skills, training or language ability

Japan Parliament passes bill to amend immigration law to deport foreigners

Japan's lower house of Parliament on Tuesday passed a contentious bill to amend an immigration law allowing authorities to deport foreign nationals who apply for refugee status multiple times.