Legal Draftsman dilly dallies over new dual citizenship laws

Sri Lanka’s much awaited new dual citizenship scheme has been held up at the Legal Draftsman’s office for the past one year adversely affecting the Immigration and Emigration office processing applications from expatriates seeking dual citizenship.

Immigration and Emigration Controller Chulananda Perera said they were awaiting approval from the Legal Draftsman’s office from the middle of last year to go ahead with the dual citizenship scheme.

“We need to amend Section 14 of the Immigration Act to accommodate the changes in the new procedure,” he said adding that the Legal Draftsman is yet to put together the draft Amendment for approval.

Following the dawn of peace in the country, the Sri Lankan expatriate community is eagerly waiting to obtain dual citizenship to become partners in the country’s development and make any contribution within their reach but the delay in implementing the new procedure has dampened their enthusiasm.

The draft law had been referred to the Attorney General for his perusal and fine-tuning and was returned within one month to the Immigration office with adjustments to be sent to the Legal Draftsman.

A Sri Lankan holding citizenship of another country will be granted permanent residency for five years before he becomes eligible for dual citizenship under the new scheme.

Details need to be submitted on how he or she obtained the citizenship of the other country and the intention to seek dual citizenship in Sri Lanka to process his application.

The issue of dual citizenship has been suspended since early 2011, in view of the new measures to be adopted to streamline this facility which is misused by some expatriates.

source:http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/10/20/new02.asp

457 visas: more than 10,000 are rorting system, says minister

More than 10,000 foreign workers are rorting the 457 visa system, Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor declared on Sunday.

He released new figures showing the number of 457-visa holders on low incomes had doubled in the past year – the number of people holding "Accommodation and Food services" visas grew by 99 per cent and the number holding "Retail" visas grew by 75 per cent.

The average wage for accommodation and food workers was $55,000, and the average wage for retail workers was $69,000.

"When we see evidence that something is not right with the program - such as spikes in particular sectors that are out of step with growth in those industries - we must take action to stamp out any rorts," he said.

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And for the first time, Mr O'Connor sought to quantify his argument that the system was prone to rorting, saying more than 10,000 people were abusing the scheme.

"Insofar as numbers, I believe that the areas where there's been an illegitimate use of 457s ... is not negligible," Mr O'Connor told Sky News. "I would say it would exceed 10,000."

Mr O'Connor said he he would introduce legislation when Parliament resumes in May to fix the system.

"I've always said there's a combination of reforms; we'd look at administrative, regulatory and legislative," he said.

"I am yet to determine what parts of the reforms would be introduced in legislation but I can assure you we will be looking to legislate."

According to figures released on Sunday, the number of 457 visas had increased by 19 per cent at the end of March compared with the same time last year, although they fell slightly between January and March this year.

Mr O'Connor accused "unscrupulous" employers of hiring foreign workers to avoid training locals.

“The Gillard government believes locals should have the opportunity to get jobs first, with temporary skilled workers employed from overseas only as a last resort,” Mr O'Connor said.

“I am concerned that some unscrupulous employers are seeking to use 457 visas to avoid training local workers – citizens and permanent residents."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/457-visas-more-than-10000-are-rorting-system-says-minister-20130428-2imcy.html#ixzz2Rit0IMwW

Foreign workers in fraud crackdown

THE Department of Immigration will hand over the records of one million temporary visa holders to the Australian Tax Office to identify fraud and visa rorts, in a massive data-matching operation.

The exercise will target the holders of 27 temporary visa types including skilled “457 visa” workers, students, backpackers and foreign sports people playing in Australian competitions.

Foreign doctors, film industry professionals, seasonal workers, researchers and employees of foreign government agencies will also have their records scrutinised.

The operation coincides with a Gillard government crackdown on the 457 visa sub-class, which it claims is being rorted by employers to deny Australians jobs.

The exercise will analyse records from three financial years, 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14, with preliminary results expected to be available ahead of the September 14 election.

The operation will red flag individuals and employers who are cheating tax and immigration laws.

The agency hopes to identify “new or widespread fraud” and address “identified risks posed by temporary working visa holders and employer sponsors”.

According to the ATO, the names, addresses and other details of visa holders “will be electronically matched and analysed with certain sections of ATO data holdings to identify potential fraud, and other non-compliance with lodgement and payment obligations under taxation law”.

“The ATO may also provide information to assist the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to maintain the integrity of the student and temporary working visa programs.”

Labor argues, with strong backing from the union movement, that temporary 457 visas are being abused by employers to avoid training Australians.

But it has struggled to come up with hard evidence of widespread rorting of the system, sparking claims it is demonising foreign workers for electoral gain.

Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor said the data-matching exercise would help protect Australian jobs.

“While this is not a specific crackdown, it is another example of the government working to ensure the integrity of the immigration program and to ensure that locals are not missing out on work opportunities to visitors who do not have the correct work rights,” he said.

Mr O'Connor has previously highlighted a spike in 457 visa approvals, at a time of rising unemployment, as evidence that the system must be overhauled.

He says the fact that the biggest growth in 457 visas has been in Tasmania, South Australia and NSW, rather than the big mining states, is also evidence that the program is not working in the interests of Australian workers.

Tony Abbott has defended the system, accusing the government of attacking the system it has presided over for more than five years to divert attention from its border protection failures.

Source:http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-workers-in-fraud-crackdown/story-fn59niix-1226629266867

Dual citizenship for expat Sri Lankans hangs in the balance

Sri Lanka’s Department of Immigration & Emigration (DIE) and the office of the Legal Draftsman are at loggerheads over the new amendments to the Dual Citizenship Act.

'Ceylon Today' reported that the two departments are forwarding papers to and fro, between their offices, while having a disagreement as to how the new amendments could be accommodated.

In an interesting twist to the year-long drawn out amendment, it is learnt that the two departments have also lost track as to where the documents are at present.

While the Controller, DIE, Chulananda Perera, said the draft amendment to the Dual Citizenship Act is still with the Legal Draftsman and they are awaiting his observations, the Legal Draftsman, GAS de Silva, said he had sent the observations to the DIE.

Dual Citizenship for Sri Lankans living overseas was suspended on January 28, 2011. While many applicants are anxiously waiting to obtain dual citizenship, the DIE is waiting for the new amendments to the Act so as to proceed with processing the applications.

According to the DIE, the amendments are not feasible to be incorporated into the Citizenship Act. Earlier, dual citizenship was covered under the Citizenship Act. However, the current procedure where applicants are given visas for five years enabling them to live in Sri Lanka during that period, and which period is considered as a term of probation for the applicants, apparently does not fit into the Citizenship Act.

"The new system to grant dual citizenship will initially be akin to granting a visa, and therefore, will not fit into the Citizenship Act," DIE Deputy Controller, Harsha Ilukpitiya said.

"The Legal Draftsman's office has incorporated this amendment under the Citizenship Act, which is not appropriate" he added.

The process explaining the process that has taken over a year to be implemented, while officials tasked to formulate the conditions for dual citizenship continue to shuffle their feet, Ilukpitiya said: "Following the discontinuation of granting dual citizenship in January 2011, a new system to grant dual citizenship to Sri Lankans living overseas was prepared under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The amendments had been carefully vetted by a four-member committee and submitted to the Cabinet on 11 January 2012. The Cabinet granted approval for the new amendments on 12 April 2012, and the preliminary draft which was finalized on 16 July 2012, was sent to the Legal Draftsman's office for approval the next day, through the Ministry of Defence, as is the required protocol."

Source:http://www.emirates247.com/news/sri-lanka/dual-citizenship-for-expat-sri-lankans-hangs-in-the-balance-2013-02-27-1.496602

Julia Gillard faces internal revolt on 457 visas

JULIA Gillard is facing dissent in the cabinet and caucus over her attack on 457 visa rorts, with critics claiming the crackdown is damaging the government's credentials with business.

Internal fears are being raised, including by some Gillard supporters, that the move has subjected Labor to claims of xenophobia and failed to ease anger in western Sydney over the influx of asylum-seekers.

Some MPs, however, are pushing the Prime Minister to go further in policing 457 visas, while others argue she is merely protecting Australian workers.

But the dissenting MPs believe the 457 program is essential for economic growth - in all areas - and needs to be flexible to meet ebbs and flows in the demand for skilled workers.

"It is part of our main migration program," one Labor MP said.

An MP who did not want to be named described the 457 issue as "sinister" and a "throwback to the White Australia policy".

Another said that, while the changes to the regime announced by Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor were "quite mild", the rhetoric used to deal with it "doesn't sound like Labor".

Trade Minister Craig Emerson said the government's tightening of 457 visa processes was designed to achieve the original intention of the visa category: "that is, to meet temporary skills shortages where genuinely there aren't Australian workers to fill the positions".

After this week pledging the government wanted to "stop foreign workers being put at the front of the queue, with Australian workers at the back", Ms Gillard and Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor have later in the week cited rorts of the system as the government's reason for toughening the 457 visa regime.

Ms Gillard yesterday defended her stance, saying she was interested in protecting Australian jobs and rejecting claims her message was damaging national harmony or the economy.

"I believe we should only be looking for temporary workers from overseas if there are skills shortages that we cannot fill any other way," Ms Gillard said.

"Mr Abbott believes that temporary workers from overseas should be a mainstay of our migration program; I just don't think that's right."

Ms Gillard said Australia continued to accept migrants who made it permanently their home and became Australian citizens.

"It's been good for our economy; it's been good for our society," she said.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, in a speech in Melbourne, said successive generations of migrants from all corners of the world "have made Australia much stronger and richer than we would otherwise have been". "It is worth pondering for a moment where Australia would be today, in terms of both our living standards at home, and our standing in the world, had we simply shut the door after World War II . . . our population stagnating at a little more than 8 million people," he said.

Declaring population policy "fundamental for the future", Mr Rudd said Australia had instead managed to become the 12th largest economy in the world and a member of the G20.

Ms Gillard said the Howard government had not invested enough in skills and training and cited her experience of meeting overseas-trained doctors and nurses in hospitals.

"We need their skills," she said. "When Mr Abbott was minister for health we did not train enough doctors and nurses."

A spokesman for the Opposition Leader said: "The 457 visa program is a demand-driven program. That's why the use of 457s has almost doubled since Julia Gillard became Prime Minister. It would remain a demand-driven program to address skills shortages under a Coalition government."

The number of people training to be doctors, nurses and other health professionals, including psychologists, had increased when Mr Abbott was health minister or had increased since that time because of measures that he announced as health minister.

Labor senator Doug Cameron said the government should look at introducing inspectors, funded by major mining companies to make sure 457 visa conditions, including workplace standards, were being properly adhered to.

Resources Minister Martin Ferguson yesterday stood by his comments in June last year when he said the domestic labour force might not be big enough to meet the peak in construction demand on mining projects, prompting the government to introduce fast-tracked processing of 457 visas and enterprise migration agreements.

Mr Ferguson said his comments were "consistent with Labor's policy of always putting Australian workers first".

"Achieving the potential of our resources industry depends on having the workers needed to deliver on the pipeline of new investment being created, which leads to long-term Australian jobs in the operations phase," he said.

Source:http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Labor cites 22pc rise in 457 visas as evidence of need for crackdown

• AAP 
• March 09, 2013 4:32PM

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THE federal government moved to shore up its case for a crackdown on 475 visas by releasing figures today showing a 22.4 per cent year-on-year increase in skilled foreign workers under the program.

Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor said there were more than 105,000 people working in Australia at January 31 on the temporary visas for skilled workers.

“The overall trend is clear - more people are coming in on temporary skilled worker visas. This comes at a time when the unemployment rate is flat, not dropping,” Mr O’Connor said.

The release of the figures follow a week in which Julia Gillard pledged to “stop foreign workers being put at the front of the queue, with Australian workers at the back".

Her comments, made during a discussion about jobs during a visit to western Sydney, led to accusations that she was exploiting foreign worker xenophobia to the Governments vote in the area. The Prime Minister has rejected the charge, arguing that the visa program had been abused at the expense of local workers.

In a statement issued today, Mr O’Connor said that the figures backed the Gillard Government’s plan to close loopholes in the 457 visa program “to ensure that local jobseekers are not disadvantaged by unscrupulous employers bringing in temporary workers from overseas”.

The government plans to restrict the number of workers a business can sponsor on 457 visas, tighten the definition of eligible jobs and toughen up rules to ensure visa-holders are paid market rates, amongst other changes to the program.

Mr O’Connor has previously said rorts were rife in the 457 system, citing more than 100 sanctions against visa holders, and that the presence of visa-holders had pushed down wages in some occupations.

There were 125,070 workers on 457 visas in Australia in the 2011-12 financial year, the largest annual number of the documents handed out under the program so far.

The Australian’s Paul Kelly reported today the 105,325 people working on 457 visas in January was far in excess of the number during the Howard years.

In 2012-13 Labor planned a permanent skilled migration intake of 129, 250 people, he added.

The 457 visa scheme was introduced in 1996 to allow local business to fill skills shortages with overseas workers able to stay for up to four years, bring their families and travel in and out of Australia as often as they want.

Unions have long objected to the scheme but the opposition backs it as an effective means of filling skill shortages with few rorts.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the figures released today proved nothing other than that Labor had handed out more 457 visas than any other government.

Mr Morrison said the figures jumped from December to January because it was Christmas.

"To suggest there are rorts because more visas have been handed out is like suggesting there is a drought because the sun is shining. One is not evidence of the other,'' he said.

"All I have called for in the wake of the government`s announcement is to produce the report of the inquiry or the investigation conducted by the department that demonstrates the widespread rorting and abuse that the government claims, and that is absent.''

Australian firm offering €100,000 salaries, free flights and visas to experienced Irish electricians

EXPERIENCED Irish electricians are being sought by a leading power distribution company in Australia which is offering a six-figure salary, free flights and a four-year working visa.
The firm wants to hire more than 100 electrical network technicians in Melbourne – and due to a shortage of experienced workers, successful candidates will be offered a four-year working visa by employers.
The Irish-based recruiter would not reveal the name of the power company, but said salaries start at the equivalent of €100,000 with the potential to earn €130,000 with bonus and overtime payments.
Network technicians are specially trained electricians certified to work at heights who build and maintain power grids. Recruiters are looking for those with distribution experience on low voltage power lines.
Included in the rewards package are free flights for successful candidates and their families to Melbourne, employer-sponsored visas and relocation support and benefits.
The type of visa being offered entitles the employee to bring family members – including same-sex partners – to work and study in Australia.
Employees will be based in Melbourne, and a free company van will be provided for work that could take them throughout the state of Victoria.
Expensive
Melbourne is the eighth most expensive city in the world, according to a recent Worldwide Cost of Living survey. Five Australian cities made it into the list of the dearest 20.
CVs should be sent to cv@jobcontax.com for pre-selection. Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be held in Dublin from December 3 to 14.
Job offers will be made within a week of the interview, followed by a four to five-week visa process.

- Mark O'Regan

Source:http://www.independent.ie/national-news/australian-firm-offering-100000-salaries-free-flights-and-visas-to-experienced-irish-electricians-3302991.html