Archive for the ‘General’ Category

All those looking to apply for visas for the United Arab Emirates(UAE) will be able to apply online by January next year.

This is yet another country to join the ever-growing number of countries turning to technology to make the visa application process quick and less effort.

The UAE Ministry of Interior announced on Monday the new online visa system that will be accessed via the website www.moieserv.ae.

Currently the application form, together with the required documents, need to be handed in at the nearest Naturalisation and Residency Department. This will no longer have to be done with the online system.

This system will also allow fees and charges to be paid online via a credit card.

With global mobility becoming a developing trend it seems that it has fuelled an entire generation of so-called job-hoppers.

According to a report by CNN fewer numbers of youngsters are opting to settle with one employee and are instead moving around from job to job.

The report blames today’s mobile work force as the result of a rapidly changing economy.”In previous generations, a worker sometimes could land a job out of college and remain with the same company until retirement. Experts say that scenario is rare these days; most workers don’t spend more than 10 years with a company.”

The increased mobility comes as workers have had to adapt to a global, information-age economy. In this age companies as well as employees are not merely settling for local talent and are instead broadening their horizons to the global marketplace.

With many students opting to travel and work most end up in temporary jobs which are not skills assessed but are instead used as a convince pit stop before returning to follow careers.

Well, this is the theory in practice, however it could be argued that with so many people wanting to open their horizons and experience more of the worlds and its contrasting cultures the tradition of establishing a career at a single company and subsequently growing through the ranks.

Here! Here! To our Equality Minister Harriet Harman. Today the minister established the much needed Equality Bill to end discrimination in the work place. Personally I am over the moon about this, I think it’s the feminist in me coming out and I know the old boys club who set up these ridiculers rules to discriminate against age, race, sex or sexual preferences are all rolling about to try to revoke the new proposed bill. This bill will make it easier for women to demand equal pay and as it has been the trend in the past years, age discrimination will come to an end, eventually.

Thank goodness www.globalvisas.com is a company that prides itself in equality and diversity. The equal pay legislation was introduced 30 years ago however the gap is still mounting. Everywhere else in the world the anti-discrimination bills are in place but they are not “really” implemented. So what the minister is saying is that, all that has to stop and government and business need to work together to eliminate that gap and play fair and square on the playground. So how does this bill fit into immigration policies?

More diverse skilled migrants can come into the country knowing that they will be treated fairly and equally. As women, the uncomfortable feeling of negotiating what we are worth will take a plunge. More women will start tracking the world for better opportunities to the UK. Recent studies has shown that women in the IT industry for example which happens to be one of the fastest growing industries in the world (next to banking and business to name a few), women are being paid much less. Women may feel that getting a university degree is useless as they will continue to earn less than their male counterparts. This will all hopefully change.

Of course many of us know that the UK has always sold itself to the rest of the world as the mother of the global community and that it has opened its doors to multiculturalism and diversity. Even with recent UK border and immigration law changes the UK can still hold its head high as one of the best in the world.

Even in the US, Democrat presidential candidate Obama Barrack has been trying to lure female voters by promising better earnings and pay raises. While in Spain the Spanish cabinet boasts itself with nine women alongside eight men, including Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Could this be why many English natives prefer Spain as an alternative immigration destination? Whatever the reason, this law proposal is slowly restoring my hope in humanity. I think the world with the help of the UK is initiating a much needed movement 0f anti-discrimination on anything.

Now we only hope that they can walk the walk as much as they are talking it. (TM)

Recently I read an article by Toronto journalist and author, Joe Clark called The Web is like Canada. The article touches on the paradigm and similarities that the web and Canada have to each other. Mr. Clark states: “like the web Canada defines itself by what it is not”.

“Only Canadians could assert themselves by explaining what they aren’t. Even the West and East Germans; the North and South Koreans; the New Zealanders and the Australians; the Scottish, the Welsh, the Irish, the Northern Irish, and the British; or the Walloons and the Flemish – all identifiable in relation to someone else – don’t take definition by negation to such lengths”. 

I thought how right Clark is. We hear very little of Canada and when we do hear about them they are either “requesting” (I use the word request and not need for good reasons) for skilled immigrants, or on its picturesque perfection and maybe sometimes if we are lucky we may hear a bit on sporting events.

But generally we hear very little of this diverse country and its inhabitants and yet many desire to move to there. Canada has become almost like a myth, it exist only when you want to get to it but it somehow manages to remain in hibernation until its needed to come out to make some announcement to the world or defend itself from Americans.  

Let’s take a look at what is happening in the world at the moment, politically (US presidential candidates elections), socially (earthquakes in China and famine in Ethiopia) and economically (mortgage crashes and economic downfalls of the super-powers (America and UK)). Why have we not heard anything from the world’s biggest immigration country? Could Canada be so perfect as to not get affected by the rest of foreign policies and market crashes?  Is it so invincible? 

Every year millions of UK immigrants flock to this country for a better lifestyle. Canada is truly Zion. Is this the reason we should all move to Canada because its so kept itself away from all the chaos of the world?  

This wonderland seems unattainable yet it is. Even though Canada and its inhabitants live in a bubble, we do know Canada has opened its borders to the world, housing refugees or opening up for students and workers. Clark states that Canada is struggling to find its own identity yet Canada has a solid reputation internationally making it the Hallmark of the world.  I couldn’t agree. 

Maybe I’ll ask the boss to move me to our  www.globalvisas.ca offices! (TM)

Today the European Parliament approved a contentious new rule to expel illegal immigrants from the bloc (Basic Level of Capability). The new rules come after anti-immigrant sentiments from wealthy blocs such as Italy, who are blaming foreigners for spiking violent crimes in the country. France is also one of the countries that pushed for this new law that has had human rights activists protesting against. The last few years has seen France grappling with tensions in its “immigrant-heavy suburbs”. The EU joins bloc member (UK) in the latest drastic immigration rules implementation.

With the US credit crash affecting economies, governments are struggling and the old trusted scapegoat of immigrants (legal or not) comes into place as introduced heavily by the UK and Europe. Goverment immigration authorities argue that the dramatic immigration changes across Europe and the UK are needed to preserve a countries economy and to let in those (immigrants) who will benefit the country, however at www.globalvisas.com we believe that goverments should be more cognizant when making immigration policies. Not only is the rest of the world being stopped from moving freely they have to deal with new discriminatory rules that are being implemented on a regular basis just to keep migrants out.
 
Many industrialised countries can not deny the contribution of immigrants labour to their countries prosperity. With global mobility ever increasing, whether it’s forced (refugees/illegal immigrants) or by choice (skilled labour immigration), migrants tend to move to cosmopolitan, developed countries. In return immigrants become the worlds scapegoats for when things go wrong and especially when economies and social structures take a plundge. Immigrants are only admitted to satisfy a labour shortage and later discarded e.g. UK discarding doctors based on the new tier system and immigration changes.

Border control is important for any country and yes countries do need to protect what’s theirs. However decisions on immigration control and law change so frequently that in some cases by taking thoughtless measures a government could be sending someone to their death bed. A country has every right to protect itself but discrimination and racism and inhumane laws are incomprehensible, especially when developed countries preach peace and togetherness to the rest of the world. The new EU law on illegal immigrants is a scramble to regain power and give a solution to countries where they have not sorted out their own internal problems because of bad policies. In the end a migrant is seen as nothing more than “human capital”, and more “capital” than “human” and if he is neither, measures are taken to deploy him. (TM).

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,  

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.

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 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.

Visas and immigration is the name of the game at Global Visas. Each day, week, month, year we deal with requests and provide  visa services for a range of countries from Canada, UK, Australia and many other desirable destinations around the world.

Often when the visa is in hand, our services are highly praised through emails, recommendations and thank yous. Gifts are a rare gesture but plants, chocolates and vouchers have been received by some staff here – today’s gift was a little different.

A plastic packet came today as a thank you gesture to one of Global Visas’ much loved managers. Such a gift, due to its rarity, was met with much excitement. We stood around his desk and as the plastic bag was slowly opened a strong fishy smell emerged. What was found you may ask?

Well, packed in about five polystyrene containers was enclosed an assortment of sushi. Yes the gift was fish rapped in seaweed and rice, accompanied by some soy and an essential dash of wasabi.

We wonder what could have prompted such a gift. Is it Global Visas’ dedication to its jobs, just like the sticky rice  that clings to the fish or is it our attention to detail reminiscent of craft of sushi creation. Could it be that the manager looks or act somewhat like a fish in her opinion?

It is clear though that this lady truly appreciated the services of Global Visas who organised her HSMP (Highly Skilled Migrant Programme) for the UK, allowing her to stay and work. 

Its a strange gesture but much appreciated nonetheless. To the lady who sent the sushi, thank you, on behalf of all Global Visas staff, the fish will be enjoyed by all. If we all die from food poisoning well she obviously wasn’t happy with her visa as we assumed, that we certainly hope is not the case.

Global Visas strive to make people happy in any way possible and it is days like this that make us want to do even better and days like these that make us love our job.

I wonder what gift we will get tomorrow, a puppy by any chance…

TB