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Immigration: How nations compare |
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By Dean Marshall » If you've been thinking about immigrating to
another country, but aren't sure where you'd stand the best chance of
getting through, read on.
Skilled independent migration has become increasingly popular with a
number of countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand. Essentially, this allows individuals with strong experience
and/or education to migrate to another country with the right to work
WITHOUT first needing to find an employer to sponsor a work permit.
This gets round the problems faced by people seeing great jobs that
they cannot apply for because the employer is unwilling to sponsor
their work permit.
The purpose of allowing people to enter the country with the right to
work already gained is to encourage the entry of people with exactly
the skills that the country needs. These visas tend to be more flexible
for the individual as they do not tie the person to only one company.
United Kingdom
The HSMP (Highly Skilled Migrant Programme) is a points based system.
Applicants are awarded points for their education, experience and
previous earnings and must be awarded a minimum of 65 points to
qualify.
Applicants who are under 28 will get points for this and find the
criteria for other areas easier in terms of lower criteria for points
being awarded. MBA students from certain universities around the world
are also awarded HSMP purely based on their education.
The HSMP Visa allows for an initial one year period, with a further
three year extension to be applied for at the end of the first year.
This scheme has proved very popular since its creation. You can use an
online points calculator like this one to get an idea as to whether you are likely to qualify.
Canada
The Federal Skilled Worker Visa is again a points based system, but
rather more complex than the UK version, with additional points being
available in a wider range of areas. These can include points for
having a relative in Canada, for having a job offer, for French and
English language skills and more.
This visa takes a considerable time to be approved presently, but many
feel that the opportunities available in Canada make the wait more than
worthwhile.
Again, there are online points calculators available to find out if you qualify, such as this one.
Australia
Skilled workers wishing to migrate to Australia face two main options -
the full Skilled Worker Visa and the Skilled Independent Regional Visa.
As its name suggests, the Regional Visa allows you to work in a
specific region of Australia and is designed to encourage development
of these areas specifically. The full Skilled Worker Visa allows you to
work anywhere in Australia but requires you to gain a higher level of
points. Again, these visas are more complex than the UK version.
New Zealand
New Zealand is working hard to encourage skilled migrants to move there
and have lowered the pass mark from 195 points in 2004 to its current
level of 100 points. As with Canada, having a close relative in New
Zealand will gain you extra points and previous work experience gained
in New Zealand can also gain you extra points.
For individuals with good education and/or experience, there is a
strong initiative in these countries to try and encourage you to bring
your skills and experience to their economies, representing increasing
options available for individuals to experience different cultures and
career opportunities.
About the Author: Dean Marshall is a Director and co-founder of www.SkillClear.co.uk - Immigration and Work Permit Consultants for the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
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