Cardiff (UK) is the best city for immigrants to live in, according to the sixth survey on the quality of life of European cities conducted by the European Commission that covers 83 cities across the European Union (EU), European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, the United Kingdom, the western Balkans and Türkiye. Cardiff with a satisfaction score of 95 per cent was followed by the cities of Lisbon (90 per cent) and Braga (89 per cent) in Portugal that were ranked second & third in the 'The City is a good place for immigrants from other countries to live’ segment.
Groningen (Netherlands) 88 per cent; Gdańsk (Poland) 87 per cent; Barcelona (Spain) 87 per cent, Tyneside conurbation (UK) 87 per cent, Hamburg (Germany) 87 per cent, Helsinki (Finland) 86 per cent and Glasgow (UK) were in the Top 10 list of best cities for immigrants.
Of the 83 surveyed countries, Skopje (Macedonia) with a 33 per cent satisfaction score was at the bottom of the list. Paris (France) and Rome (Italy) were surprisingly in the bottom 10 cities, with both cities scoring a low of 54 per cent. Rome and Italy ranked lower than Belgrade (Serbia) 55 per cent and Ljubljana (Slovenia) 57 per cent.
How good is a city for LGBTIQ people to live in?
Around 8 out of 10 residents (76 per cent) participating in the survey consider their city to be a good place for LGBTIQ people to live. However, opinions differ between cities. In Zürich (Switzerland), almost everyone considers it a good place, while in Diyarbakir (Turkiye), only one out of five people think so. The top 10 best cities for LGBTIQ people to live in include Zurich, Reykjavik, Munich, Stockholm, Oslo, while Istanbul, Ankara and Belgrade fall in the bottom 10.
How good is a city for older people & families with children to live in?
Zurich is the best city for older people; Malaga and Luxembourg also feature in the Top 10 while Istanbul, Rome, Sofia, Belgrade, Naples are listed in the bottom 10. In Cardiff (UK), Oulu (Finland), Braga (Portugal) and Leipzig (Germany), at least 95 per cent of residents think that their city is a good place for families with young children to live.
62,410 international students get Canadian PR in 2023: According to the November 2023 data from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), 62,410 international students (technically, international graduates) became permanent residents (PR) of Canada. This number represented an increase of 9,670 from the 52,740 international graduates who became permanent residents in 2022.
The above numbers represent students who pursued permanent residence through the pathway of building eligibility through work experience post graduation (which is enabled by the Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)). Under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), 23,150 international students received PR in 2023.
Denmark proposes change to permanent residence permit and family reunification of spouses rules: The Ministry of Immigration and Integration has drafted a proposal to change the rules regarding permanent residence permit and family reunification of spouses. The proposal has been sent to the relevant authorities and organisations for comments.
The drafted proposal contains a tightening of the requirements to get a permanent residence permit and family reunification of spouses. The draft tightens the requirement that the applicant may not have been convicted of certain crimes, so that also a charge or indictment of certain crimes in the future will hinder the applicant from getting a permanent residence. The same applies to the transferred requirements for permanent residence permit, which the applicant must meet, when applying for family reunification of spouses if the spouse in Denmark is a foreigner but not a refugee.
In accordance with the drafted proposal, the new rules will apply on applications for permanent residence permit and for family reunification of spouses submitted from the time where the proposal may be presented to the Danish parliament, unless a decision is made in such cases before the time of entry into force.
New Zealand witnessed unprecedented demand for visitor visas in 2023: In 2023, New Zealand witnessed an unprecedented demand for visitor visas — more than 519,400 visitor visa applications were submitted and 81 per cent were approved. More than 1.4 million NZeTA were submitted and 99.89 per cent were approved. In 2023, 90,067 student visas were decided — 75 per cent of these were approved.
New Zealand introduced new visas in 2023:
- Recovery Visa to support the country’s clean up after the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle
- Skilled Migrant Category to support the country’s workforce
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