New Zealand:
Relaxation in Immigration rules:
- The New Zealand government has decided to relax immigration rules and double the number of working holiday visas available in order to fill labour shortages. The goal is to draw approximately 12,000 workers.
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Immigration Michael Wood announced yesterday that the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) cap will be raised to 19,000 for the fiscal year 2022/23. This represents a 3,000 increase over the previous season.
- The cap of 19,000 reflects the industry’s current assessment of its needs for the 2022/23 season, which is based on production growth forecasts, employer demand, and recent trends in cap growth.
- Sick leave will also be implemented for RSE employees beginning with their first day of work each season.
Welcoming more students:
- The plan confirms that up to 5,000 international students will be allowed to enter the country under a border exception class beginning in April.
- According to Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao, the return to normal visa processing will allow international students to enrol for study in New Zealand in 2023.
- The border will first open to New Zealanders from Australia on February 27, followed by nationals from the rest of the world on March 13. The 5,000 international student places for semester two are included in the third step, which begins on April 12.
- “The government has shown its commitment to international students and educational institutions in 2023, with normal visa processing resumed in October 2022.” This means that international students can make plans.
Increased wages:
- According to the New Zealand government, migrant worker wages will be increased to $29.66 in late February 2023 – and businesses are outraged.
- “In accordance with current policy, I also confirm today that the new median wage of $29.66 per hour will be implemented in the immigration system on February 27, 2023,” said Immigration Minister Michael Wood. “All wage thresholds indexed to the median wage, including sector agreements, will be updated as well.”
Australia:
The Migration Program 2022-23 is intended to help Australia’s economic recovery and social cohesion outcomes in the post-pandemic environment. The Migration Program 2022-23 will have a planned capacity of 160,000 places, with the following composition:
- Skill (109,900 positions) – This stream is intended to improve the economy’s productive capacity and fill skill shortages in the labour market, including those in regional Australia.
- Family (50,000 places) – This stream is primarily made up of Partner visas, which allow Australians to reunite with family members living abroad and provide them with pathways to citizenship.
- Partner visas will be granted on a demand-driven basis beginning in 2022-23 to facilitate family reunification. This will aid in the reduction of the Partner visa pipeline and processing times for many applicants.
- For planning purposes, 40,500 Partner visas are estimated for 2022-23; however, this estimate is not subject to a ceiling.
- For planning purposes, 3000 child visas are estimated for 2022-23, noting that this category is demand driven and does not have a ceiling.
- Special Eligibility (100 places) – This stream covers visas for people in unusual situations, such as permanent residents returning to Australia after a period abroad.
Canada:
Canada will shortly release its most recent immigration level plan, 2023–2025. The number of immigrants who will be admitted to Canada each year is announced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Immigrants from various economic class, family class, and humanitarian class programmes are included in the three-year Immigration Level Plan. It will display the projects for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 in November 2022. By November 1 of each year, the Canadian Government is required by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to make the statement (IRPA). This is the main immigration law of Canada.
According to the Immigration Plan for 2022–2024, the Canadian government expects to admit 431,645 new permanent residents through all immigrant classes in 2022. By 2024, it could reach 451,000.
Canada will have welcomed 300,000 new permanent residents by 2022, the majority of whom came through programmes for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Up to 241,850 immigrants from the economic class, 105,000 from the family class, and 8,250 from the humanitarian class are the focus of the next plan. However, after the new Immigrant Levels Plan 2023–2025 is announced, these goals could change.
Canada aims to grant citizenship to 300,000 immigrants in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, a move likely to benefit many Indians.
According to CICNews, an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) memo recommends that it process a total of 285,000 decisions and 300,000 new citizens by March 31, 2023. A decision means a review of an application which is then approved, denied, or marked as incomplete.
Canada’s Immigration Level Plans for 2023:
| For 2023 | Target | Low Range | High Range |
| Overall Planned Permanent Resident Admissions | 4,21,000 | 3,30,000 | 4,30,000 |
| Federal High SkilledFootnote1 | 1,13,750 | 1,00,000 | 1,14,500 |
| Federal BusinessFootnote2 | 1,000 | 500 | 1,250 |
| Economic Pilots: CaregiversFootnote3; Agri-Food Pilot; Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot | 10,250 | 4,500 | 11,000 |
| Atlantic Immigration Pilot ProgramFootnote4 | 6,500 | 3,500 | 6,750 |
| Provincial Nominee Program | 83,000 | 65,000 | 84,000 |
| Quebec Skilled Workers and BusinessFootnote5 | To be determined | ||
| Total EconomicFootnote6 | 2,49,500 | 2,07,000 | 2,53,500 |
| Spouses, Partners and Children | 81,000 | 60,000 | 82,000 |
| Parents and Grandparents | 23,500 | 14,000 | 24,000 |
| Total Family | 1,04,500 | 74,000 | 1,06,000 |
| Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | 25,000 | 19,500 | 25,500 |
| Resettled Refugees - Government-AssistedFootnote7 | 12,500 | 8,400 | 13,000 |
| Resettled Refugees - Privately Sponsored | 22,500 | 15,500 | 23,000 |
| Resettled Refugees - Blended Visa Office-Referred | 1,000 | 100 | 1,000 |
| Total Refugees and Protected Persons | 61,000 | 43,5000 | 62,500 |
| Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and OtherFootnote8 | 6,000 | 5,500 | 8,000 |
| French-speaking immigration admissions necessary to meet objective in Francophone Immigration Strategy (PDF, 582 KB)Footnote10 | 4.4% of total admissions outside Quebec | 12,144 | 16,544 |
United Kingdom:
With complete operations projected to be in place by Q3 2023, the United Kingdom will begin to roll-out its system for the issuing of “Electronic Travel Authorization” (“ETA”) as part of its “Permission to Travel Scheme” for visa-exempt travelers in 2023.
The “New Plan for Immigration: Legal Migration and Border Control,” produced by the UK government, “sets out the vision for [the UK’s] border and legal migration system of the future… to a stronger, more secure and prosperous Union.”
The Home Office asserts that by carrying out its vision, the UK will have the most efficient and secure border system in the world, one that will enable and encourage economic growth and prosperity, be easy to comprehend and use (with assistance from the Law Commission), and prioritise public safety.
After overhauling the points-based system in 2021, which the New Plan praises for its many accomplishments, and providing “safe and lawful paths” to the UK via the Hong Kong British Nationals in the following years (Overseas) :
- Enhanced customer services through:
- Publishing “how to” films and offering straightforward advice to individuals, so that users can better understand their eligibility, the application procedure, and how to adhere to UK immigration laws;
- call centres and online self-service for details, explanations of procedures, and pointers on compliance, with the introduction of chatbot and voicebot features expected for 2023;
- simplified identity acquisition and verification methods for digital applications;
- quicker processing of applications;
- continuous implementation of “eVisas,” which can be accessed through a user-friendly online system (digital customer account) or “system to system” services;
- conversion to eVisas by the end of 2024 for persons with current immigration status, for which assistance and counselling will be offered;
- physical proof of immigrant status (such as BRPs) will gradually disappear by December 2024, according to the Home Office, who claims that Wind rush lessons suggest that anyone should be
- better targeting and “watch listing” at the border;
- slicker and more efficient borders:
- higher levels of e-Gates usage, on the basis that “we live in a digital age, in which businesses and customers expect a swift, user-friendly experience”, with a view to lowering the user-age minimum from 12 to 10 years and extending usage to individuals with immigration permission;
- implementation of better informed ‘counting in and counting out’ processes;
- more efficient use of biometric data from 2022/2023, to recognise individuals at different points in the system, thereby removing the need for repeat capture of such data;
- partnership with all types of carriers and ports by early 2024 to enhance user experience by developing a single, integrated approach to security, immigration, and health (if applicable) pre-departure checks, based on the Home Office’s existing Advance Passenger Information (API) systems; and
- improvement of digital case working processes
- A flagship “permission to travel scheme” to be unveiled in 2023, touted as making it easier for the UK’s ‘friends’ to travel and contribute to the UK, in turn making it “harder for those we do not want to come here” – this will require all travellers to the UK to secure permission prior to travel here, with a view to avoiding ‘turning away’ or detaining travellers at ports of entry;
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