![]() Jakarta: Indonesian immigration authorities have arrested an Australian man for allegedly running a coffee shop and bakery on a university campus while only holding a tourist visa. Sayegh Ghassan was arrested on Friday while serving meals at Gus Kitchen at the Depok campus of the University of Indonesia. The head of Depok Immigration office, Dudi Iskander, said the Australian could face up to five years' jail and a maximum fine of 500 million Rupiah (about $50,000) if a court found him guilty of violating immigration law. "We received information from people that there was a suspicion of immigration violation by a foreigner," Mr Dudi said. "We checked it and it was true so we arrested him. We will investigate the university too about why it has a foreigner running a canteen on a visa on arrival only." Depok immigration investigator Hendy Darmawan said Mr Ghassan, who was from Sydney, had been running a canteen called Gus Kitchen for about a year on the Depok campus and a bakery called Gus Daniel, which had only recently opened. Both the cafe and bakery are now closed. "He's been coming into Indonesia several times since 2015 using a Visa on Arrival and a Visit Visa," he said. Mr Darmawan said he believed there was sufficient evidence to hand the case over to the prosecutor's office in the near future. Indonesia takes a tough stance on foreigners who work in the country without holding the correct visa and work permit. Last month Australian forensic pathologist Professor Beng Beng Ong was deported and banned from entering Indonesia for six months after he testified in the alleged cyanide coffee murder trial while only holding a tourist visa. And Daily Mail journalist Candace Sutton was last year deported from Indonesia for not holding the correct visa while reporting on the executions of Bali nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Article Source: smh
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![]() WELLINGTON: New Zealand's immigration boom struck a record with 125,000 newcomers landing in the 12 months through August, yet shortages of skilled labour in hot sectors like tech and construction is fuelling criticism of government policies. The latest data, released on Wednesday by the statistics office, will likely add to the growing calls for the government to do more to attract the right kind of workers needed to fill jobs in the Pacific nation. The country's centre-left opposition party, rather than conservatives, has led that criticism, and in July even the central bank called for a review of migration policies. "The key issue around migration is what is the - for want of a better word - the quality of the people that we bring in," Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Graeme Wheeler told a news conference last month, reinforcing the call for a review. "What are the skills they're bringing in and can they add value to the economy?" he added. Foreigners with experience in areas on the country's skill shortage list had a better chance of gaining a work visa and residency, which offered benefits such as the country's free public health services. However, only eight percent of work visas went to people on that list, according to Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse. A housing boom in Auckland, partly driven by increased numbers of immigrants seeking a place to live, and the rebuilding of earthquake-ravaged city Christchurch had created strong demand for construction. Yet Fletcher Building, the country's largest building company, said the labour shortage coupled with supply constraints meant there were some "unacceptable" delays in Auckland projects. "The local labour force is stretched and we are looking to Australia and the UK, particularly for project management disciplines," said Fletcher CEO Mark Adamson. New Zealand's IT scene, the country's fastest-growing export sector, was also struggling to keep up. The number of technology jobs had grown 35 percent in the past four years, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Rod Drury, CEO of Xero, a financial technology firm based in Wellington that is expanding in the U.S. market, said New Zealand's reputation as a tech hub was growing, helping lure workers, but that finding enough workers remained a challenge. "We've got more jobs than we can fill, we're always looking for people," he said, adding that the company currently fills 70 percent of its positions with recruits from overseas. Article Source: channelnewsasia Moving to a place like Australia and working there can be a dream come true for many of us. However, this ambition can turn into a reality only when we are thoroughly updated about the recent developments happening in the field of Australian immigration. Keeping ourselves abreast of all the latest changes that have been made in the Australian visa requirements is of crucial importance. This would help us is applying for an Australian visa in a professional and flawless manner. As many of you may already know, the government of Australia regularly makes certain amendments to its immigration policy. These changes are made keeping in mind the increasing demand for an Australian visa as well as the growing need within the country for skilled labor. The main aim behind these changes in the Australian immigration policy has been to ascertain fairness in offering Australian visas to the most deserving applicants and also to bring down any kind of error while selecting the applications for Australian immigration. The General Skilled Migration Program laid down by the Government of Australia offers some of the valued opportunities for skilled labor from all over the world to live and work in Australia. As per this GSM program, skilled labors throughout the globe can apply for an Australian visa. Selection will be based on their age, qualifications, work experience, proficiency in specialized skills and linguistic excellence. An important point to be remembered here regarding Australian immigration is that under the GSM program only those who have not received any kind of sponsorship from their employer and who possess skills required for any occupation that figures in the SOL (Special Occupations List) are eligible to apply for an Australian Visa. In 2010 some important changes were implemented in the General Skilled Migration Program with regard to migration to Australia. These changes were made in accordance with the growing needs of the Australian economy. The most important modification made was the creation of State Migration Plans as well as modifications to the Skilled Occupations List. This is applicable to those who are applying for an Australian visa under the General Skills Migration Program. The recent alterations that have been implemented in the Australian immigration policy aim at increasing the scope of employment for those who possess skills in a particular field that is currently experiencing shortage of employees in the country. Applications for Australian immigration from candidates possessing these crucial skills will be processed on a priority basis. The new Australian immigration policy has also endowed the state and territory governments with increased authority to decide on the crucial skill needs in the area under their purview. The Australian government has constantly been striving to provide increased occupational opportunities to well deserving applicants from all over the world who dream of migrating to Australia. The changes that have been effected in the Australian immigration policy are only an indication of the government's sincere attempts of increasing the scope of bringing within its fold more and more migrants who are qualified to contribute to the country's economy in a healthy manner. Article Via: synch1
The government of Nauru has refused to grant visas to Danish politicians critical of Australia’s offshore detention system, triggering a diplomatic row. The Danish foreign minister, Kristian Jensen has been drawn into the dispute with the Nauruan government and high level Australian officials. A cross-party Danish parliamentary group of six politicians has been in Australia since Saturday, as part of a long planned visit to examine Australia’s offshore detention system. They met with Australian immigration officials while in Australia, and had planned to depart for Nauru on Tuesday to gain a rare glimpse on the Nauru detention facility. The Guardian understands that the delegation were given approval to visit the immigration processing centre in official correspondence with Australia and Nauru. But their plans were thwarted when the arrived at Canberra airport on Tuesday to travel to Nauru via Brisbane and discovered three members of the delegation had been refused visas. Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen, a progressive politician from the red-green alliance (Enhedslisten), has been openly critical of Australia’s detention system. She and Socialist People Party member Jacob Mark, who had also been critical of Australia’s policies, were two of the members who were declined visas. A third politician, who has not been publicly critical of Australia, Syrian-born conservative MP Naser Khader, was also denied a visa. Schmidt-Nielsen posted on Facebook: “The Danish delegation as a whole then cancelled their visit to Nauru. The government of another country should not be able to pick out members of a Danish parliamentary delegation. Such an action is deeply undemocratic.”“The visit has been under preparation for a long time in cooperation between authorities form Denmark, Australia and Nauru. A detailed programme of the visit had been made.” She said it was “anybody’s guess” why Khader had been denied access as well. “It is totally unacceptable, antidemocratic and very telling of the situation on Nauru that critics are denied access.” The decision to refuse the politicians visas is likely to intensity international scrutiny on Australia’s immigration detention system, following the publication of the Nauru files by the Guardian, and longstanding concerns over the secrecy of Australia’s detention regime. Jensen tweeted on Tuesday he was working on resolving the matter. The Guardian understands he had been in contact with the Nauruan government’s foreign minister. Politicians from the Social Democratic party, the Danish People’s party and the governing Liberal party (Venstre) were still permitted to continue on to Nauru. But the remaining three politicians all declined to continue on to their visit to Nauru without the other three delegates.
The trip had been a secret for months until a Danish radio station 24syv broke news of the visit. It is costing the Danish government about AU$100,000. Heated debate has occurred in Denmark over how the country should respond to migration in Europe. Some far-right groups have urged the country to adopt a similar model to Australia’s system of offshore detention. The Danish People’s party has suggested asylum seekers should be sent to Greenland or Tanzania as part of a similar offshore arrangement. The Australian government has faced heavy international criticism over its management of the Nauru detention centre, as well as the extraordinary regime of secrecy it has put in place over the facility. Only a few handpicked journalists have been able to access the detention centre since it opened three years ago. Article Via Source |