Page 3 - Immigration

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

India received $111 bn in remittances in 2022, highest by any country: UN

India received over USD 111 billion in remittances in 2022, the largest in the world, becoming the first country to reach and even surpass the USD 100 billion mark, the United Nations migration agency has said. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in its World Migration Report 2024 launched Tuesday, said that in 2022, India, Mexico, China, the Philippines and France were the top five remittance recipient countries. "India was well above the rest, receiving more than USD 111 billion, the first country to reach and even surpass the USD 100 billion mark. Mexico was the second-largest remittance recipient in 2022, a position it also held in 2021 after overtaking China, which historically had been the second-biggest recipient after India, the report said. According to the report's data, India was the top country receiving remittances in 2010 (USD 53.48 billion), 2015 (USS 68.91 billion), and 2020 (USD 83.15 billion), with the remittances crossing the USD 100 billion mark t

Australia student visa rule: Rs 16 lakh minimum bank balance now mandatory

The savings requirement ensures that students have enough money to cover their travel, course fees, and living costs during their stay

Global housing shortages hinder immigration-driven growth across world

For decades, the rapid inflow of migrants helped countries including Canada, Australia and the UK stave off the demographic drag from aging populations and falling birth rates

12 Indians arrested by UK's immigration dept over breach of visa rules

Eleven men and one woman, all said to be Indian nationals, have been arrested by the UK's immigration authorities in a series of raids on suspicion of being in breach of their visa conditions and working illegally at a bedding and cake factory. According to a statement from the UK Home Office on Wednesday, Immigration Enforcement officers descended on the bedding and mattress business in the West Midlands region of England following intelligence that illegal work was taking place on-site. They arrested seven men all Indian nationals for suspected illegal working, the Home Office said. Four more Indian men were arrested at a nearby cake factory. They were found to be in breach of their visa conditions, and one was also working illegally. An Indian woman was then arrested for immigration offences at a private home, with further raids planned throughout the afternoon, it said. The officials said four of the offenders were detained pending consideration for removal from the UK or ...

New Zealand tightens visa rules: How will it impact Indian job seekers?

New Zealand's Alejandra Mercado told Business Standard that, applications already in progress at the time of the changes will be assessed based on immigration requirements effective when they applied

Four, including 3 Indians, arrested while illegally entering US from Canada

At least four people, including three Indian nationals, have been arrested in Up state New York along the Canada border when they were trying to enter the US illegally, officials here said on Wednesday. The US Border Patrol arrested four people, including a woman, when they were jumping off a moving freight train on the International Railroad Bridge in the city of Buffalo. The fourth person, a man, was identified from the Dominican Republic. The men left the woman who became immobile due to an injury as they were approached by the police and were caught shortly after a foot pursuit. The injured woman received first aid from Erie County Sheriff's deputies and US Customs and Border Protection officers (CBP). After treatment, the woman was transported by ambulance to a local medical centre. The investigation concluded that all four people were undocumented non-citizens. The three men are being processed for removal and detained in Batavia Federal Detention Facility awaiting a deport

USCIS launches new system related to H1-B registrations, petitions

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a statement on Wednesday announced the launch of myUSCIS organisational accounts

Over 95 GB of Indian immigration data stolen by China-linked hacking group

Files leaked on GitHub include data not only from India but from at least 80 overseas targets, including Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan

Immigration crisis, Made in America

Conflicts over immigration often arise from similarity rather than difference, and the strangers at our border have a familiar history that Blitzer tells in meticulous and vivid detail

India, Taiwan sign migration agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation

India and Taiwan on Friday signed a migration and mobility agreement that will facilitate the employment of Indian workers in diverse sectors in the self-ruled island, a move that is seen as reflective of the renewed momentum in the cooperation between the two sides. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at a virtual ceremony by Director General of the India-Taipei Association (ITA) Manharsinh Laxmanbhai Yadav and Baushuan Ger, the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in New Delhi. In order to strengthen the bilateral labour cooperation relations, Taiwan and India have signed an MoU, Taiwan's labour ministry said. Both sides were engaged in discussions over the pact for the last several years. After all the preparatory work is completed, India will be announced as a "new source" country of migrant workers in accordance with the law, the Taiwanese labour ministry said. Taiwan's current source countries for migrant workers are Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippine

The deadly business of restricting immigration

While xenophobia remains a constant in American life, anti-immigrant policies have consequences beyond borders. Two recent books, spanning different periods in history, illustrate this point

506 foreign nationals found staying illegally in Navi Mumbai: Police

The Navi Mumbai police have found 506 foreign nationals, including 411 Nigerians, who were residing illegally in their jurisdiction in the past year, a senior official said on Saturday. These persons had either entered India without proper documentation or overstayed their visas, he said. The police came across these during raids and searches conducted as part of their efforts to crack down on the sale of drugs in the area, said Navi Mumbai police chief Milind Bharambe. Many of the 411 Nigerians were found to be involved in drug-related offences, he said. The police have also initiated action against landlords who sheltered illegal foreigners in their properties. A total of 483 foreigners, identified as staying illegally in Navi Mumbai, have been served notices to leave the country, the official said.

Another Indian student found dead in US, third such case within a week

Another Indian student in the United States named Shreyas Reddy has been found dead in Cincinnati, Ohio, making it the third such case within a week

German State Secy invites Indians to explore opportunities in Germany

Leonie Gebers emphasised the great potential of India and expressed Germany's interest in collaborating across different sectors

Trump praises Texas governor on clash with Biden govt over immigration

Former President Donald Trump lavished praise Saturday on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for not allowing the Biden administration entry to remove razor wire in a popular corridor for migrants illegally entering the US in an escalating feud over immigration. In a speech focused overwhelmingly on border security, Trump said Texas should be given full support in its measures to deter migrants along the US-Mexico border. The state is restricting the US Border Patrol after the Supreme Court cleared the way for these federal agents to cut or remove the sharp metal barrier. When I'm president, instead of trying to send Texas a restraining order, I will send them reinforcements, Trump told a crowd of supporters in Las Vegas, where he rallied on an indoor soccer field in a largely Latino neighbourhood. Instead of fighting border states, I will use every resource tool and authority of the U.S. president to defend the United States of America from this horrible invasion that is taking place right ...

Rishi Sunak's Rwanda migration bill suffers blow in Britain's Parliament

The upper house of Britain's Parliament has urged the Conservative government not to ratify a migration treaty with Rwanda. It's a largely symbolic move, but signals more opposition to come for the stalled and contentious plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to the African nation. The House of Lords voted by 214 to 171 on Monday evening to delay the treaty that paves the way for the deportation plan. The treaty and an accompanying bill are the pillars of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 's bid to overcome a block on the deportations by the UK Supreme Court. Members of the Lords, who are appointed rather than elected, backed a motion saying Parliament should not ratify the pact until ministers can show Rwanda is safe. John Kerr, a former diplomat who sits in the Lords, said the Rwanda plan was incompatible with our responsibilities under international human rights law. The considerations of international law and national reputation... convince me that it wouldn't be right to

Canadian govt announces two-year cap on number of student visas: Report

For 2024, the federal government aims to approve 3,60,000 undergraduate study permits, reducing the number by 35 per cent from 2023

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

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