The latest figures released by the Australian Immigration Department have revealed that the number of Australian Temporary Work (Skilled) (Subclass 457) visa applications rose by 15% between 2014 and 2015. Such rise in “457 visa” applications mainly concerns accommodation and food services (37%), IT (31%), and professional, scientific and technical services (27%).

Source: http://www.workpermit.com/news/2015-07-17/australian-457-visa-applications-up-15

Flood of rich Chinese settle in UK

The number of Chinese citizens who obtained investor visas to the UK doubled last year as more rich people emigrate. A total of 357 British “Tier 1” investor visas were issued to Chinese nationals during the 12 months up to September 2014, thus becoming the biggest group of “Tier 1” investor visa by far. Only 178 Chinese investors obtained such visas over the same period a year ago.

To obtain a “Tier 1” investor visa, applicants must invest more than £ 2 million in the debt or equity of active UK-registered companies or UK government bonds only.

Rich Chinese also have chosen countries such as the US, Australia and Portugal as their favourite destination countries. According to the statistics of such countries, there has been a huge increase in the number of applicants attempting to acquire residency abroad in the past few years.

Many rich Chinese are motivated to emigrate due to worsening pollution, food safety, inadequate health and education systems and also fear of political repression.

(Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/986bd08a-9b10-11e4-882d-00144feabdc0.html)

Hong Kong Government Halts the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

On 14 January 2015, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR Mr. CY Leung, in his Policy Address 2015, announced that the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (“CIES”) would be suspended with effect from 15 January 2015. The explanation for the suspension was that “the Government is seeking talent, not money”.

The CIES scheme was launched in 2003 when Hong Kong was suffering from economic recession and the CIES was implemented to attract prominent investors to invest and live in Hong Kong. Foreign investors who meet certain criteria and who have the financial means to invest in Hong Kong may apply to stay in Hong Kong together with their dependants. After seven years’ of continuous stay in Hong Kong, these capital-investment entrants (together with their dependants) may apply to become permanent residents of Hong Kong. According to the scheme, foreign investors only needs to invest in Hong Kong for not less than HK$10 million without actually carrying out any business operation in Hong Kong.

According to statistics on CIES provided by the Immigration Department of Hong Kong, since the inception of CIES in 2003, the Immigration Department has received a total of 40,392 applications as at 30 September 2014. About 90% of the total applications received had been submitted by Chinese nationals with permanent residence overseas. Among such Chinese applicants, 21,822 had been granted formal approval whilst 2,315 had been granted approval-in-principle. Since 2003, applicants who have been granted formal approval have invested HK$42,588 million in real estate and HK$163,221 million in financial assets respectively.

According to the Immigration Department, more than 12,000 applications are being processed currently. The suspension of the CIES will not affect applications received before the suspension date (15 January 2015), whether already approved (including approval-in-principle and formal approval) or still being processed. Moreover, as a transitional arrangement, applications will be accepted for processing after the suspension date if those applicants have already invested no less than HK$ 10 million made within 6 months before the suspension date and their applications are made within 6 months of the investment, subject to the applicant meeting the other eligibility criteria under the CIES.

The Chief Executive Policy Address also launched a pilot scheme to attract second generation of Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents who have emigrated overseas to return to Hong Kong for development. Further, talents and entrepreneurs will be encouraged to come and stay in Hong Kong by relaxing the stay arrangements under the General Employment Policy, the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals and the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme.

Please contact our Mr. Hank Lo for any enquiries or further information about this news.

Canada launches express entry immigration selection system

On 1 January 2015, the Canadian government officially launched the express entry selection system (“Express Entry”) for immigration to Canada.

Eligible candidates can create their online profiles and maximize their chances of being invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”, the online platform of the Canadian immigration and citizenship authority), first invitations to apply for Express Entry will be issued before the end of January 2015. Hence, candidates who act promptly may have better chances of receiving early invitations. The launch of Express Entry will change the way how the Canadian immigration system is operated, by switching it from supply-driven to demand-driven system.

The Canada federal government, provincial governments and Canadian employers are able to select immigration candidates from the Express Entry pool, which is made up of candidates who must qualify for either one of the following programs, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program or the Canadian Experience Class. The key requirements of these programs are summarised below:

1. Federal Skilled Worker Program

   Applicants under this program must:

   (a) have at least one year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the past 10 years in a skilled occupation (National Occupational Classification skill lever 0, A or B); or

   (b) qualify for Arranged Employment with a Labour Market Impact Assessment and a full-time, permanent job offer from a Canadian employer; or

   (c) have completed a PhD in Canada, or have completed two years of study in Canada towards a PhD, in both cases at a recognized institution; and

   (d) pass a minimum threshold of language ability for one of Canada’s two official languages (English/French).

   In addition, applicants under this program must attain at least 67 points based on CIC immigration selection factors.

2. Federal Skilled Trades Program

   Applicants under this program must:

   (a) have offers of employment from up to two employers in Canada of at least one year duration OR a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial body;

   (b) provide proof of basic language proficiency from a designated language testing organization, demonstrating that the applicant meets the minimum threshold set by the Minister (Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for speaking and listening, 4 for reading and writing);

   (c) have obtained twenty-four months of qualified work experience in the skilled trade in the last five years; and

   (d) be able to demonstrate the skills and experience and that they have performed the essential duties of the occupation.

   90 eligible occupations will be eligible for this program.

3. Canadian Experience Class

   This is an immigration category for Canada’s temporary foreign workers who wish to become permanent residents. Applicants under this program must:

   (a) obtained at least one year of skilled, professional or technical work experience in Canada within 36 months of the application date;

   (b) met or surpassed a Canadian Language Benchmark threshold of 5 (“initial intermediate”) or 7 (“adequate intermediate proficiency”) depending on the level of the job; and

   (c) plan to live and work outside of the Province of Quebec (individuals who plan to reside in Quebec may apply to the Quebec Experience Class).

Selected candidates will be issued an invitation to apply and must submit a completed application within 60 days. CIC aims to process the applications within 6 months.

Please contact our Hank Lo for any enquiries or further information about this news.

(Source: http://www.cicnews.com/2014/12/canada-launches-express-entry-immigration-selection-system-124327.html;
http://www.cicnews.com/2014/12/express-entry-124159.html)

Super-rich Chinese considering emigration

According to a recent global poll of two thousand high net worth individuals (total net worth in excess of US$1.5 million per individual) conducted by Barclays Wealth, 47% of super-rich Chinese nationals plan to emigrate within the next 5 years. Their main reasons include superior overseas educational and employment opportunities for their future generation. 30% of the Chinese respondents stated Hong Kong is their preferred destination followed by Canada at 23%.

In the same poll, 16% of the super-rich in Hong Kong plan to emigrate within the next 5 years (of which 44% choose Singapore as their destination whilst 31% prefer relocating to Mainland China).

(Source: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=149482&sid=42991077&con_type=1&d_str=20140916&fc=2)

Canada halts visa-free policy for St. Kitts passport holders

In November 2014, the Canadian government changed its visa-free entry policy for St. Kitts passport holders. The change in the policy is thought to be related to security concerns raised by Department of the Treasury of the United States in May 2014 on travellers evading US or international sanctions. However, this has caused disturbance to the usual travel routines for　“astronaut” fathers. These fathers have work mostly based in other countries while their wives and children live in Canada. They often hold St. Kitts passports for the ease of entry into Canada. The recent halt of the visa-free policy has certainly affected the travel arrangements of the fathers in this situation.

(Source: http://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1659290/trouble-paradise-chinese-astronaut-dads-caught-st-kitts-passport)