Page 4 - Immigration

Pakistan sends back around 402,312 'illegal' Afghans to their homeland

"Thousands of Afghans are returning to their homeland on a daily basis through Chaman and Torkham borders, thanking Pakistan for its generosity," Radio Pakistan reported

Modi govt to continue with its approach towards illegal immigration: Shah

The Narendra Modi government will continue with its zero-tolerance approach towards illegal immigration and is committed to shielding Bharat from this menace, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday. Shah said that pursuing Prime Minister Modi's "vision of a secured Bharat," the National Investigation Agency has busted five international human trafficking modules. The operation, carried out simultaneously across ten states, resulted in 44 arrests, he said. "Congratulations to team NIA. The Modi government will continue with its zero-tolerance approach toward illegal immigration and is committed to shielding the nation from this menace," Shah wrote on 'X'. Five modules engaged in human trafficking were busted and 44 operatives arrested by the NIA in nationwide raids on Wednesday. The raids were conducted in coordination with the Border Security Force and state police forces at 55 locations in eight states and two Union territories to dismantle human trafficking support netwo

Biden will host Americas summit that focuses on supply chains, investment

President Joe Biden is gathering leaders from countries across the Americas on Friday in the US capital to discuss the tightening of supply chains and addressing migration issues. In a preview of the first Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders' Summit, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the two-day event would be a once in a generation opportunity to shift more of the global supply chains to the Western Hemisphere. Kirby said the summit would also involve the shared migration challenge and the building of meaningful economic opportunity among the countries in the region. Friday's event was announced last year at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. The focus on trade comes as competition has intensified between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies. Biden has provided government incentives to build US infrastructure and for companies to construct new factories. But after the pandemic .

Canada plans to maintain immigration levels at 500,000 per year in 2026

Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that the target is meant to support the labour supply while easing pressures on housing and health care

Indians top the list of those seeking citizenship in wealthy OECD nations

Out of those Indians who moved to OECD countries, 133,000 were granted nationality, the highest among all countries

NZ immigration hits all-time high as movement surges after pandemic lull

New Zealand's immigration numbers have hit an all-time high, enabling employers to fill jobs but also putting pressure on the housing market, according to economists. The net number of immigrants was 110,000 in the year ending August, beating the previous high of 103,000 set a month earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics New Zealand. The numbers represent a big turnaround after more people left New Zealand than arrived during much of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are talking very, very big numbers for a small economy like ours, said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank. Kerr said the surge likely reflected pent-up demand that had built during the pandemic. He said it had come as a relief to employers, who last year were having great difficulty finding skilled workers to fill vacant roles. New Zealand's unemployment rate remains at a relatively low 3.6 per cent. But Kerr also cautioned the migrants would need a lot of resources, including tens of thousands o

Google's Sundar Pichai joins CEOs in White House meeting on immigration

President Joe Biden's administration has requested $600 million from Congress for housing, and said it will work with cities to facilitate work permits for eligible asylum seekers

Canada invites 500 healthcare workers through its Express Entry draw

Canada has invited 500 healthcare workers to immigrate under its first occupation-specific draw, aiming to bring additional focus on sectors facing major labour shortages. The draw, announced by Immigration Minister Sean Fraser on Wednesday, took the number of ITAs (Invitation to Apply) issued through its flagship Express Entry system in 2023 to 60,249, a press release by the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said. It was the first Express Entry draw pre-announced by Canada, and featured a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 476, ten points lower than the 10th all-programme draw of 2023 on Tuesday, the press release said. The new draws target candidates with strong French language ability, the press release said. On Tuesday, Canada announced a new open work-permit stream to allow 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the US to come and work in the country, a move that could benefit thousands of Indian tech professionals. Taking to Twitter to announce the draw, Fr

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

Pursuing solution for Indian students fearing deportation: Canada minister

The Canadian minister was categorically clear in saying that the innocent victims (students) will be given every opportunity to have their case considered fairly

Changes in visa rules won't impact undergrad students, says UK minister

His comment comes days after UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman recently announced changes to the existing visa rules, which included disallowing students from bringing dependants into the country

Canada's new process to welcome skilled workers as permanent residents

The category-based selection will allow the Canadian government to issue invitations to apply to prospective permanent residents with particular skills, training, or language ability

Will UK's new visa rules impact Indian students? Here's what report says

Home Secretary Suella Braverman also announced that the government is mulling removing the ability for international students to switch to work visas before finishing their courses

Immigration to Britain reaches record high in 2022 due to war, economy

The number of people moving to Britain reached a record high of more than 600,000 in 2022, government figures showed Thursday. Net migration the difference between the number of people arriving and those leaving was 606,000 for the year, according to the Office for National Statistics. A total of 1.2 million people moved to the U.K. in 2022, while 557,000 left. The net figure is up from just under 500,000 in 2021. The statistics office said the record level was due to a series of unprecedented world events throughout 2022 and the lifting of restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic. As well as people coming to Britain to work, the figure includes tens of thousands of international students and almost 200,000 people who have arrived under special programs for people fleeing war in Ukraine and China's clampdown in Hong Kong. The high figure will renew debate about Britain's departure from the European Union, which was motivated in part by the arrival of hundreds of thousands

UK to soon disallow international students to bring dependants along

The move comes ahead of the official data, which is expected to show that legal migration has hit a record high of 700,000 this year

Suella Braverman warns immigration threatens UK's 'national character'

'It's not racist for anyone, ethnic minority or otherwise, to want to control our borders,' said Braverman, whose parents are of Indian origin and emigrated to Britain from Kenya and Mauritius

UK to pay France $576 mn over next 3 years to combat illegal immigration

As per Illegal Migration Bill, people who come to UK illegally cannot claim asylum, benefit from UK's modern slavery protections, make spurious human rights claims and also cannot stay in the country

UK doubled visas for residence last year despite aim to cut migration

The figures mark a contrast with the goal of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government cut immigration sharply, one of the main things the Conservatives promised to deliver after leaving the EU

E-immigration process for international fliers soon, says Scindia

Airports across the world have started using biometrics to create automated lanes for immigration clearance at airports

Making every effort to reduce visa interview appointment time in India: US

The United States is making every effort to reduce the waiting time for visa interview appointment in India as soon as possible, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. "Visa processing is recovering faster than projected and over the coming year, we expect to reach pre-pandemic processing levels," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. The US issued more student visas in fiscal year 2022 than in any year since 2016, he said, adding that its embassy and consulates in India in particular broke their all-time record for the number of student visas issued in a single fiscal year. "We issued nearly 1,25,000 student visas. We recognize that some applicants may still face extended visa wait times, and we're making every effort to further reduce visa interview appointment wait times as quickly as possible in India and around the world, including for first time tourist visa applicants," he said. Responding to a question, Price said he .