With the recent reports on racial attacks on Indian students which had taken the nation aback, there was a significant decrease in the number of students going to Australia to pursue their higher education. According to a recent report from CNBC – TV18, when compared to the previous year, there has been a drop by about forty percent in the number of student visa applications from India.

With the above figures in place, the Department of Immigration in Australia is taking steps in order to assure the Indian students (the young students who are prospective candidates for studying in Australia) that the nation is safe.

According to Peter N Varghese, the Australian High Commissioner, several measures are being taken to ease the issue. As of now, the authorities are working on making the policies pertaining to immigration, a bit more relaxed. This is being done by conducting seminars across the world. Also, a special immigration policy is also being introduced for the students from India. More so, other factors that are catering to this problem are the global economy which is unstable along with the fluctuations in currency.

Apart from the measures being taken by the government, there are many institutions which are providing sponsorship in order to attract to students from India. This is because these students are the ones who cater to the higher education and lead to significant contribution to the economy of the nation. The High Commission has mentioned that it is sure of the increased number of visa applications from Indian students in the near future.

The Congressional cap on the H1-B visas has been slammed by the corporate world in the United States. The US government has been asked to permit the markets to decide on the numbers of skilled migrants from overseas (including India) to be eligible to work in the nation.

According to a latest report called as Regaining America’s Competitive Advantage: Making Our Immigration System Work, the greatness of the nation is in its openness towards new people and innovations. Not allowing such highly educated migrants to look out for opportunities who cater to further competition amongst the firms in the US would mean weakening and reducing the competitiveness of the employers in America. The plan that would suit the best for the nation is the one which caters to innovation and freedom instead of limitations. This report has been developed by the US Chamber of Commerce, American Council on International Personnel as well as the Representative Body of the American Businesses.

As per the above report, the best plan would lead to an easy way for the US firms to sponsor highly skilled migrants for green cards. This can be done by removing the labor certification as well as the immigration quotas which are based on employment where in an applicant has to be in queue for about six to twenty years.

At the same time, catering green cards to those who have graduated from institutions in the United States would also cater to retaining innovators by the employers in the US. All in all, it would be strengthening for the nation itself to keep the doors open for these highly skilled migrants. Freedom and not restriction has to be the choice.

In a written statement to a question asked in Rajya Sabha, the Minister for External Affairs, Mr. S.M. Krishna said that no student has come forth with complaints. About 20 representations have been received from students by the High Commission of India which is situated in Canberra along with the Consulates General in Sydney and Melbourne. These students have been affected due to the closure of colleges. Their representations have been for their fee refunds.

At the same time, alternate placements are being offered to such international students in similar colleges or institutions. Incase, similar placements are not being offered or available or are being accepted, the students have the option of getting their money refunded. Such cases of Indian students in Australia are being addressed with the relevant Australian authorities for the relocation or for the refund of the tuition fee.

However, despite the tuition fee being refunded, many of these students have lost out on a lot. Despite being placed in a similar course in some other institution, it might not be the same. This is especially when they walked into the nation with lots of hopes and aspirations.

Above all, since the DIAC has all the rights to change the rules without any prior notification, it is highly suggested that these students are better prepared for such mishaps which are quite unfortunate. More so, the advice of an immigration consultant dealing with student visas for Australia would give a better insight for students as to how to deal with such a situation.

International Post-Graduates Pilot Project facilitates British Columbia’s higher educational institutions in attracting top overseas students from across the world, which in turn helps the province to retain the best skills for its workforce. This category is a new addition to the British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program. Under the International Post-Graduates Pilot Project, those overseas students can apply who have masters/doctorate degrees obtained from authorized British Columbia educational institutions. However, the degree should be obtained within the past 2 years, with or without an employment offer.

The BC Provincial Nominee Program has restricted the category to overseas students from certain programs-

1. Natural sciences,
2. Applied sciences and
3. Health sciences.

Following are the study fields from where the BC PNP considers nominee applications:

• Agriculture
• Engineering
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Physical Sciences
• Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services
• Engineering Technology
• Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences
• Natural Resources Conservation and Research

Following are the requirements the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program expects all nominee applicants applying under the International Post-Graduates Pilot Project to meet:

• The applicants must have obtained the doctorate/masters degrees from accredited post-secondary British Columbia educational institution, which;
  • Has been set up under the legislative act of British Columbia; or
  • Has gone through the government quality evaluation and obtained government’s approval under the Act of Degree Authorization.
• The applicants must include a reference from the institutions where they obtained their degrees. The application should contain the reference’s contact details.

For more information about the International Post-Graduates Pilot Program, contact an Immigration and visa Consultant!

An angry immigration minister of New Zealand Jonathan Coleman is upset with delay in processing of students permit. There are about twenty five thousands applications of students which are yet to be assigned by the officer. The entire process of granting permit to the students is taking about eight weeks on an average. The minister is asking its department people to think of some ways which would speed up the things.

Some educational institutions have complained that there are some students who have been waiting for about five months for their permit. And even after waiting for such long time, they have not been contacted from immigration. Coleman in a press expressed his anger and said that this situation can not be accepted and one must come out with a solution. He got to know about the delay in the process when he spoke to export educational institution in a seminar in Auckland last week.

He further spoke that he is also angry with his department as they did not informed him about the situation. But he is looking forward to meet important people from his department to resolve this issue. New Zealand has to speed up and match the processing time of Australia at least otherwise they have a lot to lose. He is looking forward to hold a meeting with officials and come out with some real plan. Many students prefer New Zealand over Australia for their further studies but delay in process can discourage them to apply for New Zealand and this can create a bad image of New Zealand in education sector.

There are many education agents who are complaining that there are many students from South Korea and Japan who are waiting for their permit for last many months. And they were holding to their education on the basis of visitor’s visa. This is truly an obstacle for Australia to establish itself in overseas education sector. If they can not provide the visa properly then how can they assure good education?

A recent report has revealed that racial attacks on international students, especially Indians made Australia cost more than US dollars of 400 million. The loss is also propelled by the Australian government’s decision to shut down several privately owned education institutions in the nation, as well as the high value of Australian currency.

There has been a drop of up to twenty percent in the number of visas applied for higher education in Australia. According to reports, the number of study visas was down about 14,422 during the first 9 months of this financial year until March of 2010, from the figures of the same period a year ago. This marked a twenty percent drop from 69,827 to 55,405.

Many think that even though the steps taken by the Australian government to fulfill the country’s long-term goals seem logical, but there should be some changes for sake of the country’s benefits. The net result is that new government policies are causing abandonment of the international students to Australia.

There are also reports that the country’s education authorities are in disagreement with the immigration department, reason being the former did not want such tougher stance, in terms of the new amendments to the immigration policies. They rather wanted a softer stance which could have helped the troubled education industry to recover. The education industry in Australia has widely criticized the immigration department for its new amendments.

For any information on Australian immigration, contact an Immigration and Visa consultant!

New Zealand is attired with plenty of applauded educational institutions which make it perfect place to study and work for students who come here from all over the world. The country has become a perfect place attraction for aspiring students for two of its facets – one is decent society and another is quality education.

Besides being a superb place for various stupendous tourist activities, is a prospective destination for study too. Overseas students, be it from Asia, America, India or Australia always cherish the opportunity to study in amazing institutions in New Zealand.

Reaching New Zealand is not an issue at all. Many cities offer direct flights to the place, hence commuting as an issue should never be considered as a hurdle. There are various international airports located at Auckland and Christchurch, to name a few.

Okay let us talk about the education factor in New Zealand. The place offers safe learning ambiance along with brilliant career opportunities after finishing your courses. People interested in various aspects like academic, professional, training or even vocational courses can regard New Zealand as their perfect study destination. For this, the country is flocked with ace universities, colleges and polytechnics to take the best care of the students, not only from New Zealand, but from the entire globe.

High standards of education, recognized course material, ace facilities and study support granted for overseas students are some of the reasons to choose New Zealand. As the degrees are based upon the education system of Britain and holds a world wide recognition, one can always get enrolled in an under graduate program in New Zealand and then continue his post graduation in some other English speaking nation with an ease. Consult a study visa expert for info on the same.

Dance! Tell me something what could be the first thing you will do if you scored 95%?

Will you not be dancing out of sheer joy and happiness? When you were a kid, didn’t you dance in rain out of radiance and joy? In every pleasing occasion, we have the tradition to celebrate and express our joy through dance. We all dance in some way or the other to express ourselves. Dance is an expression of one’s self! Through dance, one tries to express one’s joy, sadness or I can say various emotions that we go through in our lives. There are various forms of dance styles like Indian classical, western classical, contemporary and many more. But whichever form of dance is there, ultimately it’s an expression of you when you listen to the music and let your body move naturally on that music. Great dancers like Pandit Birju Maharaj have reached to a level where they have not just mastered the technique in their art form but a high level of performance as well. Dancers like him inspire and motivate to go beyond body and reach out to high level of performance in their art form.

There are many dancers today and there are many dancing schools as well. In almost every road-side corner, you can find some dance classes running for sure but they all do not guarantee a good training. Before applying for the admission in any dance class, one should really make sure that the teachers in those schools or institutes are well trained. Because dance is not just about dancing with your body, it has more to do dancing with your heart and mind and if possible reach out to your soul as well. Many great dancers like Uday Shankar, Pandit Birju Maharaj and many more have really shown their excellence in both art and performance. Budding dancers who are struggling to make a career in this field should look really up to such artists for inspiration.

But reaching out to that level is not easy, as it requires consistent practice, extreme hard work and passion towards dance. These great artists have dedicated their entire lives for dance and then they have reached out such levels.

Dance as a career is not very conventional and there is no fixed way for it. Dancers really have to struggle at physical, emotional and mental level to realize their goals and dreams. They have to keep perfecting their technique and go beyond their body limitations which require extreme mental strength. Sometimes many dancers even give up as they fail to handle the pressure and end up pursuing some other career. Another drawback of this career is its limited period for a dancer to dance in his /her life. A dancer’s age becomes the biggest obstacle in his /her dancing career.

Despite all these disadvantages of this career, dancers still devote their lives to dance for their passion. Because they find immense pleasure and joy in pursuing it which is above all the comforts and money which any other career provides them. For them, it’s an expression of their happiness and also a way to connect with their self. So folks, what are you waiting for? Move your body towards the ultimate joy of your life!

Canada is one of the developed nations of the world. So, when it comes to the standards of education, they offer better infrastructure and education than other developing nations. With many perks and facilities, it is a great place for many international students to come, live and study.

In order to understand how the system of higher education works, it is important to look into the constitution dealing with this aspect. The territories and provinces hold the responsibility for dealing with the universities in the nation. As per the British North America Act brought about in 1867, the legislature in each Province was free to make laws pertaining to education. This act is now known as the Constitution Act since 1982.

This has led to a polarized system of education for each province. However, the only exception is for the Aboriginal people where in the Federal Canadian government is responsible for financial their higher education.

Canada has eighty three universities which have the authority of grant degrees and are independent in nature. These universities are spread across different provinces with seven in Montreal, five in Vancouver, three in Ottawa and many more. The largest of these institutions is the University of Quebec which has 87,000 students.

The body which consists of the Canadian universities is known as the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). There are two different types of post secondary institutions here namely colleges and universities. The colleges here are commonly known the Community Colleges and offer only diplomas. On the other hand, the universities offer various courses of study catering to undergraduate, post graduate as well as doctoral programs.

The major source of funding for these universities is the provincial governments. Some part is also catered by the Federal Government as well. Above all, Canada offers the perfect ambiance to live and study as well as contribute to the economy of the nation at a later stage.

According to reports, lakhs of overseas applicants come to the United States every year with intentions to study further. Overseas students, especially Indians find ample reasons to move to US Universities, with Harvard being one of them.

The University ranks first all over the globe and offers more than three thousand courses to students who come to study here from all over the world. The University applauds those students who are decked with high intellectual imagination, brilliant character and capacity to come out with better judgment.

The University was established in the 1636 and since then, it has retained its position of being one of the highly acclaimed institutions in the global arena. Students from all over the world find it their fortune to study in this prestigious institution and hence, go on to become some of the best individuals.

Now here is some useful information for those intending to immigrate here. F-1 Visa is something which can prove to be an extremely beneficial aspect for overseas applicants intending to apply for a student visa. An overseas student can come to the US and stay there till the time he remains a student. After the completion of the course, the student applicant has the freedom to reside in the US for a span of 1 year and get OPT (Optional Practical Training)

In order to receive a student visa, one needs to fulfill all the mandatory requirements and see to it that he or she gets admission in a recognized university before commencing further. Guidance from a Student Visa Expert would add on to the benefit.