This month there’s broadly positive news for those looking to move to an English-speaking country; the UK, Australia and Canada are all making changes to immigration rules to admit more skilled English speaking migrants. They still require an IELTS test, of course – but thankfully, in most countries, testing is back on. More details below:
Test takers in 100+ countries now able to attend centres around the world
It’s time to get the world talking! That’s the message from IELTS’ new “Your Future, Your Conversations” social media campaign as test centres reopen in more than 100 countries. Health and safety measures are in place in all test centres worldwide, including mandatory face masks for all test takers, centre staff and examiners.
You can check the full list of countries here.
With seven weeks until the UK’s Brexit ‘transition period’ ends, rule changes offer new opportunities for skilled, English speaking migrants
The UK’s negotiations over the terms of its exit from the EU will likely draw to a close in the next week. Yet the outcomes are still far from certain; because “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, the sticking points that remain mean a no-deal scenario is a real possibility.
If that does happen, English speaking healthcare professionals are likely to find more opportunities for work in the NHS. The number of EU healthcare professionals joining the health service has been steadily falling since 2015-16, leaving vacancies unfilled. A ‘no deal’ outcome is likely to exacerbate this trend.
For English speaking scientists, researchers and innovators, meanwhile, the UK government is preparing to make the visa and immigration process quicker and easier with the launch of the Office for Talent. The cross-departmental unit aims to ‘ensure excellent customer service across the immigration system’ for those at every stage in their scientific career – from students to established experts.
And for tech innovators, the five-year Tech Nation visa for exceptional talent, the longest working visa in Europe, will on 1 January open for applications from English speaking EU citizens, as well as those from around the world.
Australia opens up its notoriously strict immigration policy to English speaking migrants in 17 new professions
Nurses, doctors, midwives, psychiatrists, software engineers, mechanical engineers and computer programmers, among others, are all now eligible to apply for permanent residency in Australia in its 2020-2021 Skilled Migration scheme. The scheme aims to equip the country with the talent it needs to fight the pandemic and rebuild its economy; a total of 79,600 places are now available on the Skilled Migration scheme this year.
Despite a difficult year, Canadians are welcoming English and French-speaking migrants with open arms
It’s good news for English speakers looking to start a new life in Canada; a new study shows Canadian attitudes towards immigration continue to change for the better. The Environics Institute found that most Canadians now see immigration as a positive force for society and the economy.
The country’s planned intake of migrants is set to increase from 350,000 to 400,000 in 2021 and will continue to rise by around 10,000 a year until at least 2023.
Covid-19 restrictions continue to disrupt travel plans for international students, but New Zealand begins offering exceptions
International students due to study in Australia will not, unfortunately, yet be able to enter the country. In a bid to prioritise those Australian nationals still stuck abroad because of a lack of quarantine capacity at home, the government has put its plans to reopen the borders to students on hold.
In New Zealand, however, borders are soon to reopen to a small number of international postgraduate students from China, the UK, the US, India, Vietnam, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Italy and France.
Further Reading
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See you in December!