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March 2001
PLI NEWS
(A Monthly Newsletter
Published by PLI-Consultants
CONTENTS
Introduction
News
Immigration
Business & Trade
Students Admission
Legal Matters
Information Technology
ARTICLE
INTRODUCTION
PLI-Consultants is a leading Advisory and Information Services Firm in
Faisalabad, Pakistan. The core areas of services of the firm are Immigration, Business
& Trade, Students Admission, Legal Matters and Information Technology. The PLI
News Summarizes the most recent developments of the proceeding months in the areas
mentioned above.
There are two versions of PLI News, the Paper editions, which highlights the
main stories and links leading to the web site containing the stuff and the Web Edition,
which contains the full stories with pictures. The Web Editions can also be subscribed by
e-mail.
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NEWS
IMMIGRATION
Afghanistan, a country of 26 million, has become a
major source of
migrants and refugees. Within its borders, Iran has an estimated 1.3
million Afghan refugees and Pakistan has 1.2 million, and both countries
have closed their borders to future flows. There are settlements of as
many as 500,000 Afghans inside Afghanistan fleeing the Taliban government
who are not helped by UNHCR because they are considered internally
displaced people
In the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of
Interior reported
that 276,000 foreigners took advantage of an earlier amnesty to leave the
UAE without paying fines for overstaying. The Ministry of Interior would
like to change the current system for bringing foreigners into the
country, which involves a UAE national acting as the foreigner's
sponsor-sponsors receive a fee from migrants, and many allegedly bring
migrants into the UAE for whom they do not have jobs.
The government of Bahrain plans to give passports
to over 15,000 people,
including 8,000 people from 24 Arab and foreign countries and 7,000
stateless people. Among the 660,000 residents of Bahrain, 220,000 are
foreigners.
Unofficial studies say unemployment in Saudi Arabia
has jumped to more
than 30 percent from about 12 percent over the past five years, as
hundreds of thousands of young Saudis join the work force each year.
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Libya, Yemen and the Palestinian
Authority have some of the world's highest population growth rates, so
that at least half the population is under 17.
"South Africa to introduce new immigration
laws," Xinhua News Agency,
February 12, 2001. Vincent t'Sas, "Full trains take Ivory Coast migrant
workers home," Reuters, February 11, 2001. Douglas Farah, "Fearful
Immigrants Flee Tensions in Ivory Coast," Washington Post, February 7,
2001.
South Africa. Popular resentment against foreigners
is increasing in
South Africa, where frustration with the slow pace of improvements since
the end of white rule in 1994 has led to a rise in xenophobia. A survey
by the South African Migration Project found that 25 percent of South
Africans want a total ban on immigration; 45 percent support strict
limits on the number of immigrants.
Libya invited foreigners into the country in the
late 1990s, when
Col. Mohammar el-Qaddafi, who embraced pan-African unity, began talking
about open borders and a common currency. An estimated one million Black
Africans migrated north, filling jobs that the four to five million
Libyans shun-some 800,000 Libyans work for the government. However,
there were riots between Libyans and African migrants in Fall 2000 that
left hundreds dead, and many migrants fled Libya. Qaddafi plans to
announce the United States of Africa in March 2001.
Australia: The anti-immigration political party,
One Nation, won nearly 10 percent
of the vote in the February 10, 2001 state election in Western Australia.
One Nation founder Pauline Hanson said: "The government is more concerned
about the illegals in this country and migrants than what they are for
the Australian people." One Nation captured 11 seats in Queensland state
elections in 1998.
New Zealand, which expects to receive about 38,000
immigrants this year,
will make an additional 10,000 visas available to skilled and business
migrants, boosting the number of migrants with business and other
professional skills from 17,000 to 27,000. Additionally, spouses of
foreigners already holding permits will be allowed to work in New
Zealand.
The Korean government wants to convert foreign
trainees, who are paid
650,000 won ($576) a month, into foreign workers who would be guaranteed
Korea's minimum wage. However, the Korea Federation of Small Business,
which manages the trainee program, does not want major changes- it fears
that worker status would raise labor costs.
Malaysia-Indonesia. The government of Malaysia
deported 97,251
foreigners in 2000, including 83,190 or 85 percent Indonesians. Malaysia
plans to deport 110,000 illegal Indonesians who were being held in
detention in early 2001, but in phases to avoid overburdening Indonesia
with returned migrants.
Vietnam. Vietnam plans to send one million migrants
overseas by 2010.
Smuggling. A Chinese official in February 2001 said
that China's role in
illegal immigration is inflated because Chinese migrants are willing to
pay more to smugglers, which makes it seem there are more Chinese
migrants.
Hong Kong. At the end of 2000, there were 158,000
Filipinos in Hong
Kong, most working as domestic helpers. There were also 40,000
Indonesians; 12,100 Indians; 10,100 Thais; 8,100 Nepalese; and 5,500
Pakistanis. Non-Chinese residents, including 45,400 expatriate British,
Americans, and Japanese, were 4.1 percent of the territory's 6.8 million
population
Taiwan. There were 326,515 foreign workers in
Taiwan in December 2000,
and the government is drafting regulations to require their employers to
provide insurance coverage for them. Most of the foreign workers in
Taiwan are admitted after they make agreements with brokers in the home
countries, and Taiwanese also pay fees to these brokers. Migrants are
not supposed to pay more than NT$56,000 ($1,735), but many report paying
NT$150,000 to NT$200,000.
Japan: The KSD mutual-aid society provides services
to small Japanese
businesses, including recruiting trainees. One KSD affiliate, the
Association for International Manpower Development of Medium and Small
Enterprises Japan (known as IMM Japan) began recruiting trainees when the
Technical Internship Program was launched in 1993, it brought 15,000
Thais and Indonesians to Japan in the 1990s.
Italian employers are complaining of labor
shortages- they say that
northern Italy has 100,000 to 160,000 vacant jobs, and that workers no
longer arrive from southern Italy despite unemployment rates there of 20
to 25 percent.
Portugal. There are some 2.5 million
Portuguese abroad, and 10 million
in Portugal. Portugal has become a destination for immigrants, and there
are now about 200,000 legal foreign residents there, up from 32,000 in
1974. Estimates of the number of foreigners illegally in Portugal range
from 35,000 (official) to 200,000 in press accounts. Many of the
unauthorized foreigners are employed in construction, and they live in
makeshift housing near their work sites.
Spain. A new immigration law took effect January
23, 2001, stepping up
penalties on employers who hire illegal workers, and making it easier for
Spanish authorities to deport the estimated 500,000 unauthorized
foreigners. In order to simplify deportation, Spain has made
re-admission agreements with the major sending countries, including
Morocco and Ecuador, and is negotiating such arrangements with Colombia
and Poland.
Switzerland. The Swiss government has asked the
cantons, which regulate
naturalization, to streamline and simplify naturalization procedures by,
for example, giving second-generation foreigners a Swiss passport after
they declare loyalty to Switzerland, and giving third-generation
foreigners automatic Swiss citizenship.
France. Many migrants who attempt to smuggle
themselves into the UK from
France are housed in a Red Cross reception center for migrants near the
coastal suburb of Sangatte, 12 km from Calais. When caught by French
authorities, most migrants are taken to the Red Cross center, which they
are free to enter and leave.
Britain. An election is expected to be held
in May 2001, and
immigration is expected to be a point of contention between the ruling
Labor and opposition Conservative parties. There were 76,040 asylum
applications in 2000, and 78 percent of the applications dealt with in
2000 were rejected.
Germany: Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in
February 2001 that there would be a
new immigration law before the next national elections, expected in Fall
2002. He said, "We need a modern immigration law, and it will not be
played off against the right to asylum."
USA: There was a 22 percent drop in apprehensions
along the 1,952-mile
Mexico-US border in the first four months of FY01, which began October 1,
2000- from 421,359 in the four months from October 1999 to January 2000,
to 330,317 in the same period ending in January 2001.
Amnesty. Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) in February 2001
introduced legislation that would grant immigrant status to all persons
in the US since February 6, 1996, and give Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) that could be converted to immigrant status after five years to
persons in the US on February 6, 2001.
LIFE. The Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act, signed into law in
December 2000, continues to confuse illegal migrants who think it is a
general amnesty and to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees
for unscrupulous immigration consultants.
February 21, 2001, Chicago immigration officials granted
political asylum to a 10-year-old boy with autism based
on the premise that if he were to return to Pakistan he
would face persecution due to his disability. Under the
Immigration and Nationality Act, a refugee is entitled to
asylum if that person faces "persecution or a well-founded
fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality
or membership in a particular social group or political
opinion." Recently, membership in a particular social group
has been stretched to include individuals who have suffered
because of their sex or sexual orientation. This is the
first time that the disabled have been granted asylum under
that category.
**Child Citizenship Act Takes Affect**
Effective February 27, 2001, the Child Citizenship Act (CCA)
will automatically grant citizenship to most foreign-born
children adopted by U.S. citizens on the date they immigrate
to the United States. In the past, adoptive parents had to
submit an application to the INS for their children to become
naturalized. The CCA will permanently protect the adopted
children of U.S. citizens from deportation.
Canada, with 31 million residents, received 226,837
immigrants in 2000,
above its target level of 200,000 to 225,000; the target for 2001 is
235,000.
The leading countries of origin of Canada's immigrants in 2000 were:
China (36,664); India (26,004); Pakistan (14,163); Philippines (10,063);
and South Korea (7,602). The top three countries accounted for one-third
of Canada's immigrants, and most of the immigrants settled in three
cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Toronto, a city of 2.4 million,
including 1.1 million who are foreign-born, credits immigration for the
establishment of 3,000 call centers in Ontario.
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BUSINESS & TRADE
Next Month Regularly
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STUDENTS ADMISSION
Next Month Regularly
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LEGAL MATTERS
Next Month Regularly
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Next Month Regularly
ARTICLE
Global Population
Population. The UN released new projections of global population that
show the world's population rising from 6.1 billion in 2000 to 9.3
billion in 2050. World population growth has slowed to 1.2 percent or 77
million a year. For more information:
(www.un.org/esa/population/wpp2000.htm)
According to the UN, there are 1.2 billion residents of more developed
countries and 4.9 billion in developing nations, including 660 million in
the 48 least developed nations. By 2050, there are expected to be 1.2
billion in the more developed countries-no change-and 8.2 billion in
developing nations, meaning that all of the next 50 years' population
growth will occur in what are now developing nations.
By 2050, India is projected to be the most populous country, with 1.6
billion residents, one-sixth of the world's population. In 1950, six of
the 12 most populous countries were in the developed world; by 2050, the
US will be the only developed country in the top 12, with 400 million
residents. Ukraine and Russia are projected to have the largest
population declines, down 40 and 28 percent between 2000 and 2050.
Life expectancy in the more developed countries is projected to increase
from 75 to 82, and in other countries from 63 to 75. In more developed
countries, there are already more residents 60 and older than children;
there are expected to be two older persons for each child by 2050.
The World Bank, using different criteria, says there are 900 million
residents in high-income countries, and 5.1 billion in low and middle
income countries. Much of the difference arises from the UN
classification of the ex-USSR as a more developed country, while the
World Bank classifies the ex-USSR with low and middle income countries.
Some speculate that the changing balance of the global population will
affect the global power balance. In 1950, 32 percent of the world's
population lived in developed countries; by 2050, it will be just 12 per
cent.
Joseph Chamie, the director of the United Nations population division,
compared Europe and Africa: "After World War II, Europe accounted for 22
percent of the world population and Africa eight percent. Today they are
about the same, about 13 percent, but by 2050 Africa is expected to be
three times larger than Europe." I n 1900, ten of the 20 largest cities
in the world were European; in 2000, none were.
Population growth in Africa is projected to be so fast that deaths from
AIDS will only slow, not reverse it.
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