Latest news with #ImmigrationMinistry
RNZ News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Foreigners overstaying visas 'a significant concern'
Fiji Immigration. Nadi International Airport. Photo: Fiji Immigration The Fijian Immigration Ministry is concerned about foreign nationals overstaying their visa permits. In a statement on Tuesday, the acting permanent secretary for immigration Lesikimauata Korovavala said Fiji has seen a rise in the number of foreigners seeking employment opportunities in the country. According to Fiji's immigration laws, foreigners who do not have proper authorisation are not permitted to be employed. Korovavala said that, while the Immigration Office acknowledges the need to attract skilled professionals, "compliance with immigration laws remains a key priority to ensure a well-regulated system." The Fijian government has identified the outbound exodus of Fijians as a major challenge to meeting the nation's labour demand. The government is considering revising laws to allow more overseas workers as a solution to address the outward migration and skills shortages. However, Korovavala said the number of foreign nationals without proper documentation "is of significant concern". "In light of this, all individuals currently residing in Fiji without a valid permit are strongly encouraged to take immediate steps to regularise their immigration status." Korovavala said this would prevent complications related to their departure from and re-entry into the country. The Immigration Ministry warns it will take action against those who are staying in the country unlawfully. He also urged Fijian employers to comply with immigration regulations. Last month, Immigration Minister Viliame Naupoto told parliament that the Immigration Department issued over 7500 work permits between August 2023 and January 2025. In November 2024, eight Bangladeshi workers absconded from their employers . Pio Tikoduadua, the immigration minister at the time, appealed to the migrant workers to "declare themselves to police", while the Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh they would be deported. Between January and July 2024, Bangladeshi nationals received 700 out of 1300 work permits.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Quebec announces cap on international post-secondary students
The Quebec government is reducing the number of international students that can enrol in Quebec's post-secondary institutions in the fall by 20 per cent. The Immigration Ministry published the maximum number of applications it will process this year from new international students in Wednesday's edition of the province's Official Gazette. The quotas, which are broken down by institution and degree type, significantly reduce the number of international students that will be admitted into the province's collegiate network this fall. The government also stabilizes enrolment of international students into Quebec's universities according to 2024 levels. Student visas are issued by the federal government, however, in Quebec, students from abroad must also obtain a Québec Acceptance Certificate, known as a CAQ, from the provincial government. Prospective students need to obtain their CAQ before applying for a study permit. In 2024, the Education Ministry processed 48,748 CAQ applications by international students entering the collegiate network, according to data from the ministry obtained by Radio-Canada. That number is now capped at 29,200. The quota for universities stands at 63,299 applications. Including vocational colleges, Quebec will process a maximum of 124,760 applications between Feb. 26, 2025 and 2026 — 20 per cent less than last year. The Quebec government adopted a bill in December 2024, giving the Education Ministry the power to restrict enrolment of international students, in an effort to reduce overall immigration to the province. The number of international students in Quebec jumped by 140 per cent — from 50,000 to nearly 120,000 — between 2014 and 2023, according to a news release published Wednesday by the Immigration Ministry. Parti Québécois MNA Joël Arseneau told reporters Wednesday morning that he welcomes the new quotas but wish they had come sooner. "It is in the direction of what we proposed last fall, but it's too little too late because [it's] more than doubled, they want to reduce it a bit," he said referring to the number of international students in the province. The interim leader of Quebec's Liberal Party Marc Tanguay, for his part, says that something has to be done about people who take advantage of Quebec's education system to immigrate into Canada, without closing the door on skilled labour. Many of the new quotas target Quebec's private colleges which have been used in the past as a pathway to immigration into the province. "Those who are not respecting the rules, they have to be stopped. That being said, to say that we will not continue our race to have people who are very skilled, talented, want to learn here, learn French and to live here in Quebec, I think we have to be careful and to be able to welcome them," said Tanguay. According to Université de Montréal rector Daniel Jutras, the quotas send the wrong message, he told Radio-Canada's Tout un matin. "International students have been placed in the same basket as those who maybe abuse the system and we're treating those people in the same way as someone who maybe is coming to Quebec to pursue a PhD in IT or a masters in social work," he said.
CBC
26-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Quebec announces cap on international post-secondary students
The Quebec government is reducing the number of international students that can enrol in Quebec's post-secondary institutions in the fall by 20 per cent. The Immigration Ministry published the maximum number of applications it will process this year from new international students in Wednesday's edition of the province's Official Gazette. The quotas, which are broken down by institution and degree type, significantly reduce the number of international students that will be admitted into the province's collegiate network this fall. The government also stabilizes enrolment of international students into Quebec's universities according to 2024 levels. Student visas are issued by the federal government, however, in Quebec, students from abroad must also obtain a Québec Acceptance Certificate, known as a CAQ, from the provincial government. Prospective students need to obtain their CAQ before applying for a study permit. In 2024, the Education Ministry processed 48,748 CAQ applications by international students entering the collegiate network, according to data from the ministry obtained by Radio-Canada. That number is now capped at 29,200. The quota for universities stands at 63,299 applications. Including vocational colleges, Quebec will process a maximum of 124,760 applications between Feb. 26, 2025 and 2026 — 20 per cent less than last year. The Quebec government adopted a bill in December 2024, giving the Education Ministry the power to restrict enrolment of international students, in an effort to reduce overall immigration to the province. The number of international students in Quebec jumped by 140 per cent — from 50,000 to nearly 120,000 — between 2014 and 2023, according to a news release published Wednesday by the Immigration Ministry. Parti Québécois MNA Joël Arseneau told reporters Wednesday morning that he welcomes the new quotas but wish they had come sooner. "It is in the direction of what we proposed last fall, but it's too little too late because [it's] more than doubled, they want to reduce it a bit," he said referring to the number of international students in the province. The interim leader of Quebec's Liberal Party Marc Tanguay, for his part, says that something has to be done about people who take advantage of Quebec's education system to immigrate into Canada, without closing the door on skilled labour. Many of the new quotas target Quebec's private colleges which have been used in the past as a pathway to immigration into the province. "Those who are not respecting the rules, they have to be stopped. That being said, to say that we will not continue our race to have people who are very skilled, talented, want to learn here, learn French and to live here in Quebec, I think we have to be careful and to be able to welcome them," said Tanguay. According to Université de Montréal rector Daniel Jutras, the quotas send the wrong message, he told Radio-Canada's Tout un matin.
