Category: Immigration
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Tax changes to affect many Kiwis on 1 April
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Changes to student Loan, KiwiSaver and Working-for-Families scheme are likely to affect thousands of New Zealanders on 1 April. A number of these changes take effect from 1 April 2012 for student loan borrowers, KiwiSaver members and people receiving Working for Families Tax Credits. The changes to student loans are designed to…
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New Zealand to increase cigarette export to Australia
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While fewer New Zealanders are smokers today than a decade ago, a cigarette manufacturer in New Zealand has attracted criticism for its plan to increase production of cigarettes for exports across the ditch. Imperial Tobacco’s Petone factory near New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington will quadruple its cigarette production with a two-year…
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Pets used as pawns in domestic violence
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As many as 33% women surveyed in New Zealand stayed in violent relationships because they feared their pets would be killed or tortured. Of these, one quarter said their children had witnessed violence against animals. ‘Pets as Pawns’ study underlines the strong link between animal cruelty and domestic and family…
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Ethnic forum to discuss social entrepreneurship
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An Auckland forum discussing ethnic diversity will focus on the potential of social entrepreneurship to create change and harness the skills and experience within communities. The keynote speaker for the free EthnicA Auckland conference is Sir Ray Avery, the 2010 New Zealander of the Year. Sir Ray is perhaps best…
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Why St Patrick’s is not just Irish
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Watching Irish teenagers buying green hats and balloons for St Patrick’s Day is an amazing feeling here in Alberta – the western province of Canada which has a history of immigrant Irishmen coming to work and build a life for their children and for future generations. Looking at these teenagers…
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Sleepy Canadian town gets relief for tortured women
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When you come to Banff – a small, frozen town i the middle of 7000 sqkm Banff National Park, tourism is the first thing on your mind. It’s a sleepy town of just 7500 people in Canada’s western province of Alberta, caterig to a heavy inflow of keen skiers. Domestic…
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India to set up unit to monitor departing Indians
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India is planning to set up an authority to monitor the activities of Indians leaving the country for overseas work. India’s minister for Overseas Indian Affairs,  Vayalar Ravi, plans to bring a legislation in the next parliamentary session to set up an authority to facilitate migration of its citizens to other countries,…
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New IRS form to affect US NRIs
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Indians living in the US, like other foreigners, will be monitored even more closely for their overseas assets, with the new provisions being introduced by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS has introduced an additional form – Form 8938 – which is a Statement of Specified Foreign Financial…
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OPINION: New Zealand needs more immigrants
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The country’s birth rate has reduced, death rate has increased, and it has recorded one of the lowest rates of population increase overall. It is time for New Zealand to open doors for migrants. Of course, the country can debate on what colour the new residents should be. But the…
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Facebook helps new migrant settle in
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A new migrant to New Zealand found Facebook very useful in the process of settling in a new country. Iris Pabayo, who recently migrated to New Zealand from Philippines, found contacts through Facebook. “The highlight of our settlement journey to New Zealand is Facebook,” says Pabayo, who has been in…
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Man admits setting wife on fire
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An Indo-Fijian origin man has pleaded guilty in a New Zealand court to a charge of murdering his wife last year. Diwesh Kumar Sharma was arrested from Fiji by New Zealand Police, on charges of murdering his wife, 28-year old Ranjeeta Sharrma, by setting her on fire in an attack.…
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UK pays $3.2m to wrongfully held refugees
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In what could be the largest immigration detention payout, the British government has paid a million pounds in compensation, and another million pounds in cash (a total of $3.2million), to teenage refugees it had wrongfully detained before 2005, the Guardian reported. The two million pound payout involved detention of 40…
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Forum to discuss human rights of Indian migrants
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New Delhi is hosting an international conference on human rights concerns of Indian Diaspora on 24 and 25 February. Hosted by Human Rights Defence India (HRDI), a New Delhi-based organisation, the conference on ‘Human Rights Concerns of Indian Diaspora’, will be inaugurated by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of Living Foundation.  He…
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Admissions to Indian institutes for NRI kids open soon
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Admissions process will soon begin for NRI children keen to pursue undergraduate studies in India for the academic year 2012-13. Indian government runs a special scheme -Â Direct Admission of Students Abroad (DASA), Â for undergraduate courses in engineering for foreign nationals and persons of Indian origin (PIOs), non-resident Indians (NRIs). These…
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Police launch tool to predict domestic violence
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A tool which predicts the likelihood of re-assault in relationships will become a key part of the New Zealand Police’s response to family violence this year. As many as 39% of New Zealand women suffer physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to a study…
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Online Australia visa from Brazil, Argentina
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Getting visitors visa to Australia has become faster and more secure for tourists from Brazil and Argentina who can now apply online for visa to Australia. Applicants from Brazil and Argentina now have the ability to check the progress of their application electronically, says a spokesman for the Department of Immigration…
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NRIs don’t need to report property deals to RBI
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India’s federal bank says people of Indian origin (PIOs) and non resident Indians (NRIs) are not required to report property deals in India to the bank. This is likely to encourage further investment by NRIs in India. NRIs and PIOs don’t need to inform the Reserve Bank of India about…
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Of sex, alcohol and a shattered dream
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A dentist from India who migrated to Australia for a better future could not have bargained for a worse nightmare that involved alcohol, sex and misjudgment – none of which was his fault. In what started like a typical story of a qualified migrant driving a taxi in Australia, ended…
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FBI must track hate crimes – Sikh group
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A US-based Sikh group is requesting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track hate-crimes against Sikhs, in the wake of the recent desecration of a Gurdwara (a Sikh place of worship) building by vandals in Michigan. The  under-construction Gurdwara was defaced with anti-Muslim graffiti on 5 February, with racial epithets, drawings of…
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Asians most discriminated against – survey
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Asians have been voted as the most discriminated community in a survey of New Zealanders. As many as 75% respondents named Asians as the most discriminated against group in New Zealand in the survey conducted for the Human Rights Commission’s annual review of racial discrimination. More disturbingly, this figure has remained…