Archive for May, 2008

A renowned London based university has taken a further step in the plan for improved relations amongst international students.

Yesterday UCL (University College London) announced plans to open an overseas campus in Australia. The announcement will see UCL become the first British university to open a subsequent campus in Australia, a move which is in tune with the UK’s planned initiatives for multi-national study.

It has been reported that UCL sealed a deal with the government of Australia to open a School of Energy and Resources in Adelaide. The school which is scheduled for opening next year is to specialise in global energy use and is expected to teach on average 60 masters students.

The news will be seen as a positive addition to the already well established university and will open up a wealth of opportunities for cross cultural study, particularly between Australian and UK students.

Should the school be viewed as a successful working campus, we may see an up rise in universities basing additional campuses throughout the world.

CN

The ease of global mobility has made it easy for people to travel and make homes abroad. And Europe is a popular destination when it comes to a new home. But the European Union is tightening the laws.

It has been announced that France, who will head the EU from July will propose a “pact on immigration.”
This pact is said to call for compulsory language training for immigrants, strong deportation rules and fast use of the biometric system.

Europe ideally wants immigrants who contribute to the economy and add the demographics of the continent. However they will not make it easy. Keep an eye on more detail on www.globalvisas.com,  

A controversial debate has arisen amongst academics and politicians from both sides of the pond; with Scotland’s latest announcement regarding new schemes for encouraging global student mobility being the topic.

In order to challenge the stay-at-home culture which is emerging amongst Scottish students the country is planning to launch a new pilot scheme which would grant students wishing to study abroad financial support.

The scheme would see those Scottish students whom choose to take their entire undergraduate degree abroad receiving the same financial support as students who study at home.

With Scotland currently having one of the lowest student mobility rates in Europe the scheme has been planned with the hope of increasing the desire to study abroad.

The controversial debate gains opposition with the consideration of fees. Should a student be accepted at America’s prestigious Harvard University then the government would end up paying an average of 17K in tuition fees under the scheme.

Although as many argue, travel broadens the mind and the opportunity which will be on offer to such students is immense, some argue the fact that financially Scottish Universities are currently on the brink of a gulf and current administration has told them they cannot have the money they need to continue at their current level. Therefore querying how essential such spending is in the grandiose scheme of things.

In defence of the plans the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning said “We believe universities at home and overseas have a vital role to play in creating a smarter, more prosperous Scotland, we also believe that access to education should be based on the ability to learn, not to pay.”

It seems that the issue surrounding funding will need to be fully explored in order for a general consensus to wholly agree with the initiative.

Liza Minnelli almost didn’t get to perform in London over the weekend because she did not have the correct UK work permit in her passport.

Minnelli was booked to perform in London, UK, for the first time in almost 20 years but as she arrived at the airport, her and her entourage were stopped and initially prohibited from entering the country.

This was probably highly embarrassing for a star like Minnelli. This just shows you that no matter who you are, you need to have the correct permits in place if you want to travel overseas.

Minnelli, often praised as having the greatest theatrical singing voice in history was ultimately able to entertain her fans at the London Coliseum on Sunday evening after intense negotiations between her management and Home Office officials. The visa was eventually granted just in time for her to perform.

According to her representatives, Minnelli did in fact apply for the correct visa; however it had not been approved as yet.

It is probably true that if it was not Minnelli, she would have been sent back to the US but it is a valid warning to all of us anyway.

Sometime visas take longer than you expect, therefore always ask an expert how long it can take and book according to the maximum time for safety purposes.

Maybe next time Minnelli will use Global Visas to save her the embarrassment.

By Robbie Ragless (www.globalvisas.com)

It has been 2 weeks of turmoil in South Africa with unnecessary criminal behavior sweeping our Rainbow Nation. The scenes are reminiscent of our days in the struggle where innocent people were displaced and racist violent attacks made front page news on all international newspapers. 

Mindless, uneducated criminals have taking advantage of the “xenophobic” tidal wave by looting, stealing and killing. My principle at school in Cape Town always used to talk of this term “mob mentality”. He described it as unique behavioral characteristic that emerges when one is involved in a mass demonstration that goes wrong. Being in such a large group would mean less consequences as you are lost in the crowd and as a result your actions could be more aggressive or inhumane. You can’t help but feel that this is what is happening in South Africa at the moment.  

South Africa, a role model for all countries undergoing democratic change, has been at the forefront of this revolution. We have adopted one of the most democratic constitutions in the world and as a youth growing up during this era, I am proud to say “I am South African!” Today I am less proud to make this statement.

I spoke to the South African High Commissioner in London last week and he said the following, “The recent attacks at home have shocked and embarrassed us.  They have undermined concerted efforts we make on a daily basis to attract much needed skills and investment to our country.  I verily believe that these are purely actions of criminals who have to be dealt with accordingly.  I am hopeful that the government will get to the bottom of it and the SANDF and the police will quell it.”

I couldn’t agree with him more. These are uneducated criminal thugs that have nothing better to do with themselves than to cause chaos and us the xenophobic excuse as a reason to commit crime.

Being the regional manager for Global Visas South Africa and directly involved with promoting the country in London, I hope that the situation is brought under control and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

In our 14 years in the immigration business, Global Visas has constantly strived to fulfill any immigration or visa need, especially when it involves keeping a family together. However sometimes there is no legal way around the system and as heartbreaking it may be, there is nothing we can do.

This is what happened today in our London office. A mother’s wish to keep her son safely in the United Kingdom was dashed as his dependent visa expires at the end of this weekend. The son, a nineteen year Zimbabwean, will now have to return to Zimbabwe where he has no home, food or hope.

The reason for this is because he has applied too late. He has been in the UK for many years under his mother’s ancestry visa. However now that he is over 18 this dependence falls away. Because of the late application there is no other option for him but to return to his place of birth. Even if he applies for a study permit in the UK, he will have to go back to Zimbabwe in order to obtain entry clearance.

It was an emotional day at Global Visas as tears were shed over the issue. It is frustrating when you cannot help someone despite looking at all avenues - law is law and cannot be sidestepped.

We at Global Visas are passionate about helping people, but today we were defeated. We certainly hope this remains a rarity. 

It’s that time of year again and swarms of youngsters from across the globe are making plans in order to attend this years World Youth Day , planned to be held between the 15th and 20th July in Australia.

However many may find that their plans may not run as smoothly as they had previously hoped, with the Australian Government having announced that they can no longer guarrantee immediate decisions for visa applications in the current months leading up to the World Youth Event.

The Australian Embassy has warned all potential visitors and participants that a visa will be required in order to gain entry into the country. However, applications which are lodged after June 1st will not be guaranteed to be processed in time.

World Youth Day is a youth orientated Roman Catholic Church event aimed at young people. The event carries symbolic values of gathering together, putting trust in the young and meeting the international world on a human level.

This year the event in Australia is scheduled to be held in Randwick, Sydney, it is thought that the occasion will attract hundreds of thousands of youths from almost every country on the planet.

It seems that a global trend of ‘medical tourism’ is occurring across the world, with it gaining particular speed throughout Western nations.

As the growing costs of hospital and healthcare treatment in many countries have risen, more and more people are travelling abroad and incorporating such treatment with holidays. A growing sector of this trend seems to be cosmetic surgery, with countries such as Thailand and India heading out in front as favourite destinations.

It seems that more people are opting for these medical tourist packages with the hope of spending their recuperation periods on a sun soaked sandy beach.

The issue is one which is causing great debate amongst society; with some arguing that medical tourism is a great money saving combination and is an inevitable by-product of a mobile world, with people taking advantage of treatments which aren’t available in their own areas.

On the other hand with a large proportion of treatments being seeked relating to ‘unnecessary’ cosmetic procedures, some feel that it is a case of extremity which is being demonstrated by people hoping to get back on healthcare costs whilst getting a tan.

Of course it is important to remember that not all of these so-called tourist treatments are non essential. With a large dispersion of doctors with different specialist fields working throughout the worls and the increasing culture of global mobility, many are finding that that in order to get the best help available they will need to travel outside of their home towns or lands.

Either way it seems that overseas treatment is an option being grabbed by many, paticuarly amongst U.K and U.S citizens.

Results from an international study published today have shown that American workers are a lot less likely to work abroad compared to their international counterparts.

The report conducted by U.S staffing agency, Kelly Services Inc, showed that only 37% of Americans were prepared to even consider working in another country, although two thirds of the people questioned did say that they would be willing to possibly relocate to another city for the sake of a job offer.

This low figure was measured in comparison with a pleasing 59% of global respondents saying that they would change countries in order to experience greater working opportunities.

In the current climate of global mobility and with many nations desperately seeking ways of attracting overseas skilled workers these figures are not viewed as encouraging for such countries experiencing skills shortages in many of their working sectors.

With America also ranking as one of the lowest for mobility out of 33 countries, it’s intriguing to look at what factors are keeping citizens firmly rooted. It could be argued that although the lack of mobility from the U.S is a negative implementation for many global companies, instead the results act as positive proof of America successfully holding onto their home grown talent.

When further questioned respondents blamed family concerns, language barriers, schooling and property ownership as the major influencing factors stopping them moving.

However one must think that these issues are surely ones which would influence any potential migrant around the world. So the question remains unanswered, why are so many Americans reluctant to relocate? Is it because of the opportunities available to them in the states are already sufficient or are they simply a nation which on the whole is less open to the expanding world of global mobility.

I arrived at the Global Visa office this morning to find a report that had been emailed to me titled “South Africa to open borders for 2010”. It explained how the SA government was considering opening its borders to SADC countries in Africa in time for the 2010 World Cup.

Firstly, I don’t think an event like this needs to be the core reason why South Africa needs to open its borders. Its not like 2.5 million people are coming into South Africa in June 2010 to make it to some of the matches. The government is proposing scrapping its visa control policies and introducing a visa-free system which would allow citizens from the SADC region to enter South Africa using his/her passport only.

I don’t think the government has thought this through properly. The unemployment rate is currently sitting at 23% and we all know that South Africa is the economic hub of Africa and an oasis in many people eyes. Xenophobic attacks are on the rise and this ruling would prompt more attacks as there would be more foreigners crowding the place.

Now I’m not saying that we restrict travelers from coming in to South Africa. These attacks over the past couple of months are disgusting and I feel embarrassed that we can’t treat our fellow human beings with dignity and respect that they deserve regardless of where they come from. What I am saying is that you can’t open your borders to allow hundreds of millions of economic migrant workers to come into your country and overcrowd the place. This is crazy!

Visa control is one way to restrict unwanted travelers that aren’t necessarily going to add to economic growth of the country. Can you imagine what Johannesburg is going to look like? Millions and millions of people looking for work without homes and without food on their plates. We cannot accommodate more people. It’s plain and simple. Why on earth would we want to do this?

As a South African, I feel this move would be detrimental to the social balance of South Africa. I am a strong believer in equality and the right to a better life for all but this is not the way to achieve this. Currently, Zimbabwe (a member of SADC ) has experienced a complete economic meltdown and over 5000 refugees a day are crossing the border in the hope for a better life in South Africa. Can you imagine if these borders didn’t exist? A tidal wave of economic migrants flooding into the country.

I encourage the South African government to look at this and weigh up all its options. The repercussions of trying to satisfy a small short term problem provisionally may lead to a much bigger one in the long term.

by Robbie Ragless