Archive for the ‘Studying abroad’ Category

Win a prize with the British Council

Well, the nice people over at the British Council need your help and they’re offering some great prizes for anyone who can.

If you are a UK resident thinking about studying abroad then they want to learn all about your opinions, views and motivations as to why you’re considering studying for a qualification from another country.

The British Council have created a survey to gather this info. The results are confidential and should take about 15 minutes.

Fill in the survey by the 31 October this year and you could be the lucky winner of an Apple MacBook, Xbox 360, a signed Manchester United soccer shirt and other great prizes.

Your time and effort is appreciated and, who knows,  you may be one of the lucky ones who get their hands on one of the great prizes on offer. Sadly there’s no free student visa or tuition fees!

A work visa can boost your brainpower

Don’t just take Global Visas’ word for it that living and working abroad is better for your mental health. A research project has proved there is actually a proven link between improved creativity and living abroad.

The study was conducted by two psychologists, William Maddux of INSEAD, a business school in Fontainebleau, France, and Adam Galinsky, of the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago. Their findings were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and a brief overview of their work is summarised below, in an article featured on the Economist.com website:

Maddux and Galinksky conducted two experiments to test their theory. The first, asked 155 American business students and 55 foreign ones studying in America with a test used by psychologists as a measure of creativity.

To check that they had not merely discovered that creative people are more likely to choose to live abroad, Dr Maddux and Dr Galinsky identified and measured personality traits, such as openness to new experiences, that are known to predict creativity. They then used statistical controls to filter out such factors. Even after that had been done, the statistical relationship between living abroad and creativity remained, indicating that it is something from the experience of living in foreign parts that helps foster creativity.

Given a candle, some matches and a box of drawing pins, the students were asked to attach the candle to a cardboard wall so that no wax would drip on the floor when the candle was lit. (The solution is to use the box as a candleholder and fix it to the wall with the pins.) They found 60% of students who were either living abroad or had spent some time doing so, solved the problem, whereas only 42% of those who had not lived abroad did so.

A follow-up study with 72 Americans and 36 foreigners explored their creative negotiating skills. Pairs of students were asked to play the role of a seller of a petrol station who then needed to get a job and a buyer who would need to hire staff to run the business. The two were likely to reach an impasse because the buyer had been told he could not afford what the seller was told was his minimum price. Nevertheless, where both negotiators had lived abroad 70% struck a deal in which the seller was offered a management job at the petrol station in return for a lower asking price. When neither of the negotiators had lived abroad, none was able to reach a deal.

Given the importance of creativity to working practices and individual self-development and the relevance of multicultural experience in our increasingly globalised world, such research is of insignificance for anyone who makes the effort to obtain a work visa and live abroad, or for employers who recruit from an international pool of workers.

We at Global Visas offer you some handy hints as to how to most efficiently secure your all important work visa:

1.  Patience is paramount in the visa process.
We all know someone who thinks the rules don’t apply to them.  But Immigration laws apply to everyone equally and the process takes time. In only very exceptional cases, fast tracking visas is possible,  but in most cases, the visa process must run its set course. Make sure you plan well head, allowing plenty of time for the visa(s) to be granted.

2.  Don’t book a flight until the visa has been issued.
This may sound like obvious advice, but even the most straightforward cases can be delayed.  Recently we had a client who booked a flight thinking the case visa would be issued in ample time. Unfortunately the employee’s passport was expiring within six months and this prevented a visa being granted.  The visa would have taken 24 hours to secure. His passport took six weeks to renew.

3.  Visa restrictions last longer than you think
Every visa comes with rules and conditions that must be adhered to. And that means even after your employee has arrived in ther host country. Your company must continue to track and manage their visa status any changes to their role, leave your employment, or extend their stay beyond their visa expiry date, then such changes must be reported to the relevant authorities and the visa amended. A visa only ceases to be an issue after your employee has returned back to their home country.

4.  Be prepared for others’ mistakes
It is not uncommon for a government employee to misread a form and then reject a perfectly acceptable case, or for a busy line manager to forget to sign a box.  Don’t panic! Immigration decisions made in error are common and there are procedures to correct them.  Managers in host countries often do not recognise the importance of just one form but with a close eye these things can be picked up early enough not to affect the case.

5.  Keep it simple
Your business maybe rocket science or even dealing with complex brain surgery. But that should not make securing your work permit any more difficult.  Immigration laws are the same regardless of what your company does.  The law is blind to certain details even if they are critical to your business.  When dealing with visas, keep it simple and only focus on the laws and what they are asking for to administer that law.  Ensure  your explanations on visa applications meet the requirement of the Immigration law only.  Offering explanations of how complex your business is will only confuse the officer charged with dealing with the case.  Stay focused on the rules.

6.  Protect your brand
Governments the world over need to show they are no pushover when it comes to enforcing Immigration law. Do not allow your brand to become that ’six o clock news’ example.  Always aim to ensure your staff remain compliant with the Immigration law at all times in all countries.  Immigration audits which show up any negative issues can have an adverse impact on a business’s reputation and should be avoided.  Even if you make a mistake but tried your best that will go a long way in your favour.

7.  Use a reputable Immigration consultancy
Make sure any immigration consultancy you use is up to the job. Do they have registered offices? Do their staff have the experience and, most importantly, are they qualified to address Immigration issues for the host country that you require?  In many regions across the world local “immigration advisors” operate with no supervision or control.  Their limited resources and knowledge can lead to difficulties and should be avoided.  Aim to secure the services of a company that is able to assist pre-departure and has offices in the host country.

8. Understand dependents
Dependents of employees often want to study or work in the host country.  Usually it’s a straightforward process to make the necessary arrangements or to explain why they are unable to do so if restrictions apply. Whatever the outcome, dependents are as important to the main applicant as his or her own visa.  The visa process may change depending on when the dependents apply for their visa.  Polygamous marriages are banned in many countries but acceptable in others, as are gay marriages and the maximum age a child can be a dependent.  Make sure you take into account all the issues before confirming a secondment the expat declines later due to family reasons.

9.  Localised staff can bring you benefits
Many on expat benefits find it hard to give them up, but a company can make big savings if they localise their expats quickly.  If a person elects to stay in a host country, you should be ready to arrange residency and even citizenship in that country.  It will mark the end of expatriate status and localise the employee in a supportive way.

10.  If in any doubt, ask
Immigration law tends to be one of the most complex areas of any country’s legislation.  Our team are always happy to answer our clients’ questions and we would prefer they confirmed facts rather than assumed them.  Our reputation is attached to the success of our clients international mobility programs and we want to get it right 100% of the time.  Whatever your question, we want to hear about them because you are important and so is your business

For all your work visa needs, let Global Visas be your one stop immigration advice and solution finder.

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Overseas students are having their UK visa applications needlessly turned down

The British government is under attack after recent changes to its overseas student visa application process has led to many such students having their UK visa applications needlessly rejected.

The situation has arisen after the government introduced a new points-based system for allocating UK visas to all international students. This system came into practice, replacing the old one, in March 2009.

But the new system has confused foreign embassies who have been applying the rules inconsistently and wrongly turning away students. These students have simply taken their skills and money elsewhere.

The knock on effects for the economy and universities are obvious. Economists say that one foreign student is worth eight tourists. Moreover, selling our educational services overseas is part of export-led growth.

For UK universities the impact is even more adverse. Overseas students are worth up to four times more money than national students. British students also lose out as overseas students cross-subsidise British ones.

UK immigration is currently is the second biggest importer of overseas student next to the US.

International students at Brunel University, West London

“The Tribunal determined that the requirement or condition applied was that somebody does not require a work permit and that the proportion of non-EEA nationals who could comply with that requirement was smaller than the portion of persons not in that group who could comply with it.”

A judgement by a UK court that could affect thousands of young people who want to work and study in the UK, has decided UK law firms who don’t accept international job applications from non-EEA citizens can be deemed racially discriminating.

The ruling is a result of a case brought by Indian student, Ashokvardhan Purohit, who accused top UK law firm, Osborne Clarke Services, of discrimination after they rejected his application for an internship because he needed a UK work permit.

“This case is going to help a lot of my fellow Indian nationals and other non-European Economic Area nationals to apply for the jobs in the UK and get their selection based on merit,” said Purohit.
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Get your H1B visa applications in now!

The circus show has left Capitol Hill, the clown has retired to Texas and an air of optimism has swept the big top from Washington to the windy city, there’s a new master of travelling ceremonies in town so what is he going to do for US immigration and in particular the H1B visa?

In 2007, 123,500 petitions were filed in the first two days. Within those 48 hours the US Citizenship and Immigration Servicesvisa application process lasted 5 days when more than 163,000 were filed, including 31,200 against the advanced degree quota.

In 2008 the visa application process lasted 5 days when more than 163,000 were filed, including 31,200 against the advanced degree quota. Eventually a lottery system allocated the remaining numbers and again applicants and employers told to wait another year.

That year is almost up.

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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.

Australian travellers are opting for more environmentally friendly travel; this is according to research conducted by Contiki Holidays.

The world is becoming “greener”, with initiatives to become more environmentally conscious springing up all over the place. This has even filtered into the tourism industry.

Young Australians seem to be setting the standard as they realise the effects their travels can have on the environment. “The world is filled with young Australian tourists,” says Erin Ryan of www.globalvisas.com. She adds that this study shows that, “not only does their tourism benefit a country economically but they now aim to help the environment at the same time.”

According to the survey 54% of young Aussie travellers expressed a want to travel using carbon-neutral options.

These include the use of recycling bins while travelling, couch touring which is less pollutant, requesting that towels are not washed daily and travelling in tourist buses that use fish and chip oil to run. This however is only achievable by changes and developments within the tourism industry, whereby more carbon friendly practices are incorporated.

Despite the want to travel “green”, it must be noted that only 9% of those interviewed travel according to these standards. (TB)

Australia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and with World Youth Day approaching it is becoming even more popular.

The annual World Youth day will be celebrated in Sydney this year and with it will come an expected 125 000 youth coming to join in the festivities. The foreign youth will get together with about 100 000 Australian youngsters on this day and celebrate their Roman Catholic faith.

There is such a demand for people wanting to come to Australia for this event that an extra 36 flight from around the world have had to be added.

If you are interested in going to this year’s event book your flight now and contact www.globalvisas.com to arrange your Australian tourist visa.