New Laws Make Moving To Australia Tougher

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

New laws in Australia have made things tougher for skilled Brits wanting to work Down Under.

The Australian government has clamped down on the popular 457 visa which allows foreign workers to move to the country for up to four years.

The visa is especially popular with British managers, professionals, technicians and trades people who want a new life in Australia along with their families.

Almost half of those on the visa eventually end up settling in Australia permanently.

Recent restrictions however have meant even those already living in Australia on the 457 visa are finding life harder.

A tax incentive called the 'Living Away From Home Allowance' has been scrapped, and some states charge visa holders to put their children through schools which are free for locals.

Adam Marshall moved to Sydney three years ago

Adam Marshall and his family moved to Sydney on the visa three years ago. He told Sky News: "It's not been a great financial move for us really.

"If I'd known how much it was going to cost in real terms I'm not sure whether we would have made the move. It's hard to say in retrospect because we love living here."

The previous Labour government brought in the changes claiming the visa was being abused by some employers looking for cheaper foreign workers.

New legislation now requires companies to spend longer looking for Australians to fill vacancies, and application fees for the visa have increased dramatically.

A hard-hitting TV campaign was recently launched by Australia's Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) featuring workers which the union claims have had their livelihoods threatened by abuses of the 457 visa system.

The union's national secretary Dave Noonan said: "We've had lots of workers who are Australian citizens or residents who tell us they have been applying for work, they are skilled people and they haven't been able to get work and they know this same employer is bringing in people on 457s."

Many employers however disagree, and hope the new conservative government led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott will relax the legislation.

IT and computing are areas which have traditionally sourced highly skilled employees from abroad using the 457 visa.

Peter Acheson, who runs Australia's biggest IT recruitment company Peoplebank, told Sky News the crackdown on the 457 visa is stifling business.

"I think it's ironic, there is all the talk about the digital economy, the future of the online world which is IT driven, yet on the other hand we are saying we are going to make it difficult for Australia to source IT people.

"I think that's highly ironic and ultimately Australia is going to be the loser out of this I think unless the legislation is changed."

A recent survey by Migration Council Australia questioned 3800 visa holders and 1600 businesses.

The report revealed that 457 workers have a high level of job satisfaction, demonstrating that they are integrating well into the Australian workforce.

Migration Council Australia's chief executive Carla Wilshire said the findings showed that the 457 visa programme is critical in keeping Australia competitive in an era when industry is global and 98% of innovation happens outside of Australia.

She said: "Four out of five multinational companies are using 457 visa holders to train and develop Australian workers.

"The survey results reinforce the message that skills-transfer and knowledge from 457 visa holders play an important role in building Australia's human capital.

"Temporary migration does not just fill skills shortages, it addresses skills deficits and plays a central part in workplace development at the enterprise level."

:: Immigration UK: A week of special coverage on Sky from October 14 to 18 - watch on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad

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Immigration: 'One In Five Marriages A Sham'

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

Up to one in five marriages conducted in civil ceremonies in parts of the country may be bogus, one of Britain's most senior registrars has warned.

In an interview with Sky News, Mark Rimmer, the chairman of the Local Registration Services Association, said 20% of weddings in urban areas were suspicious - the worst it has ever been.

Home Office figures show the number of reported cases has tripled in the last three years to 1,800.

But Mr Rimmer said the number of sham marriages - which were likely an attempt to gain residence in the UK - reported to the authorities was "the tip of the iceberg" and that official figures are a "drop in the ocean" compared with the full scale of the problem.

He said the issue is now worse than in 2004 when the first legislation to combat the phenomenon was introduced and that registrars are having to conduct ceremonies they suspect to be bogus "through gritted teeth".

"We have seen huge increases in potential sham marriages presenting themselves to us, we now have more reports from registrars going to the Home Office, but I think that is the tip of a very large iceberg, and effectively the real scale of the problem is far greater than that that is reported to the Home Office officially.

"Most registration officers are not immigration officers, they came into this business to facilitate marriage. So therefore they don't want to be cynical.

"Unfortunately therefore what happens is the ones that are absolutely blatant get reported and there are some that are borderline that slip through without being reported - and that is the iceberg under the water and that's huge - it is absolutely huge.

"In an area like anywhere in London it is multiple times per week ... it would not be unreasonable to say that 20% of all our marriages are suspicious or have some elements of suspicion about them.

"So one in five in London, probably in the other big cities as well it will be a similar problem. Obviously in county areas in the countryside it is not as big a problem, but certainly in the urban areas, with high areas of ethnicity it is significant."

As part of an investigation into the issue, Sky News witnessed a raid last month by Home Office officials on a suspected sham marriage between a Nigerian man and a Portuguese woman.

The 32-year-old groom was arrested and has since been deported, while the 22-year-old woman is on bail under criminal investigation.

Mr Rimmer suggested that overall 15,000 of the 173,000 civil weddings that take place each year in England and Wales could be bogus - almost 10 times the official level.

Officials found the process very frustrating, he told Sky News.

"You go into a marriage thinking that you are going to a proper relationship - sealing and cementing someone's relationship - yet you know that this is purely a financial transaction, you can imagine how frustrating that can be. Very often the ceremony is done through gritted teeth," he said.

Both David Cameron and Theresa May have repeatedly pledged to tackle sham marriages.

In a speech in October 2011, Mr Cameron pledged to "end the ridiculous situation where a registrar who knows a marriage is a sham still has to perform the ceremony".

But Mr Rimmer said the situation was worse than ever after a series of legal challenges.

He said: "Sham marriages have been a problem for many, many years. And the previous government introduced legislation to combat it back in 2004.

Sky News joined officials on a raid in September Pic: Dermot Carlin

"As a result of that legislation, it did put a cap on the problem for the first year or so, but unfortunately the legislation was subject to challenge and the government lost on a couple of occasions in the high court.

"Eventually it was watered down to a degree it became meaningless and eventually was repealed in 2010. Since 2010, we have had the problem re-emerging and it is even worse than the problem was in 2004."

In July 2008 the Law Lords ruled that Home Office rules under which foreign nationals needed official permission to marry breached human rights.

Mr Rimmer added that while the rules for British citizens bringing foreign partners into the country to marry have been tightened, EU citizens are still free to abuse the laws.

He said: "The law relating to British nationals getting married is becoming more and more rigid. So therefore there are probationary periods if you marry a British national during which time the Border Agency/Home Office can check up as to whether that relationship is still in existence.

"There is not the same check with European Union nationals, so therefore the scams are usually perpetrated by European nationals other than Brits, because it is more advantageous to do so.

Brodie Clark, former head of the UK Border Agency

"Some nationalities in Europe being trafficked in for the sex industry - are being sold on to go through bogus marriages, so these people are victims in themselves, under duress.

"These sham marriages are a direct result of organised crime, this is organised criminality, a lot of racketeers making millions of pounds out of the racket - this is actually not something that is like a green card - this is massive criminality on an industrial scale."

Mr Rimmer said his organisation is working with ministers to introduce new legislation that could help reduce the number of sham marriages by including ceremonies held in the Church of England.

Brodie Clarke, former head of the UK Border Force, told Sky News it is impossible for officials to police every marriage.

He said: "They can't be everywhere. We do need to depend on the public and have sought that support from registrars to say if there's something suspicious here, please report it. And that would then trigger the attendance of somebody or an examination by somebody from UKBA to look at those circumstances.

"So it can't be done just by uniformed people in the Home Office - it needs partnerships of all. That's the only way this is going to pull together and work.

"But those demands and requirements of partners have to be reasonable and they have to be able to deliver on those demands and requirements - and that's a challenge, I think, for government to make that work."

Immigration Minister Mark Harper told Sky News: "Sham marriages have for too long been an easy target for migrants seeking to circumvent our immigration rules, often assisted by organised criminals.

"Registrars are frustrated when they marry couples who are obviously sham. We need more effective tools to deal with it.

"By extending the marriage and civil partnership notice period to 28 days in England and Wales and allowing this to be increased to 70 days in some circumstances we will make time to investigate, prosecute and remove those involved in sham marriages."

:: Watch Sky News at 9.30am - Immigration debate with Alp Mehmet, deputy chairman of Migration Watch, and Dr Jenny Phillimore, Professor of Migration and Superdiversity

:: Immigration UK: A week of special coverage on Sky from October 14 to 18 - watch on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad

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Madeleine McCann Suspect's E-Fit Released

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal are asking for the public's help to identify a man who is of "vital importance".

Two separate witnesses in the Praia da Luz area have described seeing him on the evening of Thursday, May 3, 2007 - the night Madeleine went missing.

Their statements have been used to compose two e-fit images that will feature in a BBC Crimewatch appeal tonight. 

The e-fit images are believed to be of the same man

Scotland Yard detectives' recent investigations have given them a far greater understanding of the times when the abduction could have taken place and this has made the statements from the witnesses far more significant.

The man they want to contact is described as white, aged between 20 and 40 years old, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean shaven.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the senior investigating officer, said: "Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us.

"We have witnesses placing him in the resort area around the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

"This is far from our only line of enquiry, and there will be e-fits released of other sightings as well, who we are equally keen to trace. These people were seen on the day of Madeleine's disappearance and the days leading up to it."

He added that detectives have been able to "make massive steps forward" by drawing together all the material gathered to date and reviewing it as a whole.

"We continue to put Madeleine at the heart of our investigation and I would urge people to watch Crimewatch tonight and if you can help identify this man or have any information about our new appeal points please contact us.

A TV reconstruction will be aired tonight

"Praia da Luz is a popular holiday destination for many nationalities so our requests for help need to be repeated in many different countries. I will be travelling to Holland, Germany and Ireland to seek the support of the public there.

"If you were in and around the Praia da Luz resort on Thursday, May 3, 2007, but you have not yet spoken to police, and you think you may have information, please pass it on.

"I would also like to ask for the help of the local community in Praia da Luz. Portugal is a key country for us to trace any outstanding witnesses and our appeals will be repeated there.

"We still have a lot of material to investigate and much work to do. Your information could be the vital piece we need to finally answer what happened to Madeleine."

In a clip from tonight's Crimewatch Madeleine's mother, Kate McCann says: "We're not the ones that have done something wrong here.

Detectives have taken 'massive steps forward'

"It's the person who's gone into that apartment and taken a little girl away from her family."

Scotland Yard detectives, who have interviewed 442 people as part of their review-turned-investigation, hope to track down as many people as possible who were present in the Portuguese town at the time.

Since launching its own investigation, 41 people of interest have been identified, including 15 UK nationals.

Detectives have issued 31 international letters of request to mostly European countries in relation to some of these people, as well as accessing phone records.

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Immigration: Britons Want 'Drastic Action'

By Joey Jones, Deputy Political Editor

More than two thirds of the British public believe the UK population is too large and the Government needs to take "drastic action" to reduce immigration, a Sky News poll has found.

Some 67% of people questioned do not believe the coalition's attempt to reduce net migration to 100,000 a year is sufficient and think more should be done.

More than a quarter of those polled (27%) believe the wave of immigration Britain has experienced in the last decade has brought no positive benefit to the nation.

And more than half (52%) say they will be more likely to vote for a party that promises to "significantly" reduce the level of migration.

The poll of 1,508 adults was conducted for Sky News by Survation

Interestingly, the poll - conducted by Sky News as part of a week-long examination of the issue of immigration - found the people most concerned about the impact of immigration are the ones least likely to have been exposed to migrants.

For example, 71% of people who live in the countryside think drastic action is needed, compared with 53% in urban areas.

And 71% of people who don't know any immigrants well support drastic action, compared with 58% who say they know immigrants well.

The UK population is set to rise from 62 million in 2010 to 73 million by 2035.

Approximately two thirds of the increased population is likely to come from increased immigration.

Between 2001 and 2011 the population of England and Wales grew by 3.7 million - the biggest increase in 200 years - with 2.1 million immigrants accounting for the majority of the increase.

Two thirds of the rising population is likely to come from immigration

The poll of 1,508 adults - conducted for Sky News by Survation - found widespread concern among the public about the impact immigration has had on public services.

The majority of those questioned believe the NHS, education system, and housing and welfare systems have been negatively affected by immigration.

And almost three quarters (74%) are concerned about the prospect of Romanians and Bulgarians being allowed free entry to Britain later this year.

Almost two thirds of those who took part in the poll (64%) believe employers should be given tax breaks for employing young, unemployed Britons.

And over half (52%) say companies should be forced to offer jobs to UK-born workers first.

Some 42% of those questioned believe the current debate about immigration in the UK is being unfairly shut down by accusations of racism.

A similar number, 40%, feel they will be labelled a bigot if they raise the issue in public.

In some good news for the coalition, almost two thirds of people (63%) support a new rule for British people to have a minimum income of £18,600 if they want to bring a non-EU spouse into the country.

A similar number, 65%, agree with a Home Office proposal that travellers from certain countries judged to be "high-risk" should pay a £1,000 bond to be allowed to visit Britain.

:: Immigration UK: A week of special coverage on Sky from October 14 to 18 - watch on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad

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Cyclone Phailin Slams Into India's East Coast

A powerful cyclone has ripped through India's east coast, killing at least five people and forcing more than half a million into shelters.

Cyclone Phailin, with winds up to 130mph, made landfall on Saturday night near the town of Golpalpur in Orissa state and is moving inland.

The storm, covering an area larger than France, lost some of its strength before hitting the coast, but it remains India's strongest since a typhoon killed 10,000 people in the same region 14 years ago.

Four people were killed by falling trees, while another died when the walls of her home collapsed.

Officials said the storm has already caused cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links.

A satellite image of the cyclone

The evacuation of around 450,000 people in Orissa and 100,000 in Andhra Pradesh state is one of the biggest exercises in the country's history.

Many people have fled low-lying villages for shelters, but others have refused to leave their homes.

"My son had to stay back with his wife because of the cattle and belongings ... I don't know if they are safe," said 70-year-old Kaushalya Jena, who has taken refuge in a makeshift shelter.

In Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, government workers and volunteers have been putting together hundreds of thousands of food packages for relief camps.

Floods have already ripped down power lines

The state's top official, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said: "I request everyone to not panic. Please assist the government. Everyone from the village to the state headquarters have been put on alert."

The army's National Disaster Response Force said 1,700 of its troops have been sent to both states.

"As soon as the fury of the cyclone abates our boys will start their work," said the force's director general Krishna Chaudhary.

"The teams have medical first responders (for first aid), heavy cutting equipment, life-saving equipment that responds to breathing and even to warmth. In the case of cyclones there is a likelihood of collapsed buildings."

People walk among debris from a broken wall brought down by a wave

While the full extent of the damage cannot yet be measured, India's meteorological department said the cyclone posed a danger to a 95-miles stretch of coastline.

Forecasters have likened its size and intensity to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

Dr Liz Bentley from the Royal Meteorological Society told Sky News: "This particular part of the coastline is very low-lying so it (Phailin) will penetrate quite well in land.

"It is like a mini-tsunami hitting that - not caused in the same way as a tsunami but it's the same effect."

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Madeleine McCann Timeline Of Events 'Wrong'

British detectives working on the Madeleine McCann investigation have revealed that key details in the timeline of her disappearance were wrong.

The revised details will be documented in a new Crimewatch appeal on the case to be broadcast on Monday.

Speaking ahead of the BBC programme, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "The timeline we have now established has given new significance to sightings and movements of people in and around Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

"Our work to date has significantly changed the timeline and the accepted version of events that has been in the public domain to date.

"It has allowed us to work with Crimewatch to build the most detailed reconstruction as yet, and highlight very specific appeal points.

"I hope that when the public see our investigative strands drawn together within the overall context of that appeal, it will bring in new information that moves our investigation forward."

The timeline of Madeleine's disappearance has 'significantly changed'

The full reconstruction of the events six years ago when Madeleine went missing starts with a scene of Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry playing tennis.

Madeleine, dressed in pink shorts, T-shirt and hat, then runs across the court, holding a batch of tennis balls.

In another clip, the McCanns are asked how often they think of their daughter, who went missing when she was three years old on May 3, 2007 from a holiday apartment as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.

Mr McCann says: "When it's a special occasion, when you should be your happiest and Madeleine's not there, that's when it really hits home. Obviously, Madeleine's birthday goes without saying."

Mrs McCann adds: "It's when you have big family occasions really. That's it isn't it? 'Family occasion' and you haven't got your complete family."

During the programme, DCI Redwood discusses how the police have approached the inquiry.

Gerry and Kate McCann tell Crimewatch their anguish is undiminished

He says: "Primarily what we sought to do from the beginning is try and draw everything back to zero if you like. Try and take everything back to the beginning and re-analyse and reassess everything, accepting nothing.

"The careful and critical analysis of the timeline has been absolutely key.

"Primarily, we're focused on the area between 8.30pm and 10pm. We know at 8.30pm that was the time Mr and Mrs McCann went down to the tapas area for their dinner and we know that around at 10pm that was when Mrs McCann found that Madeleine was missing."

A number of e-fits are also to be shown in the appeal in a bid to "identify the men and eliminate innocent sightings".

Scotland Yard detectives, who have interviewed 442 people as part of their review-turned-investigation, hope to track down as many people present in the Portuguese town at the time.

Since launching its own investigation, 41 people of interest have been identified by the Met Police, including 15 UK nationals.

Madeleine seen on the day before she went missing in May 2007

Detectives have issued 31 international letters of request to mostly European countries in relation to some of the persons of interest as well as accessing phone records.

A large but "manageable" list of phone numbers identified as being in Praia da Luz - though not necessarily used to make phone calls - has been drawn up by detectives with a "significant" number unattributed to any named person.

British detectives launched a fresh investigation in July this year - two years into a review of the case.

The Met Police now has a team of six Portuguese detectives based in Faro who are carrying out inquiries on its behalf.

The Portuguese investigation is officially closed but authorities there are backing the Scotland Yard inquiry and officers from both countries are working together in pursuing new leads.

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Cyclone Phailin: Thousands Flee In East India

More than 250,000 villagers have fled their homes as a huge cyclone gathers strength and heads towards India's east coast.

Cyclone Phailin - which is already so large it has nearly filled the Bay of Bengal - is expected to be the fiercest storm to hit India since a devastating cyclone killed 10,000 people 14 years ago.

Large waves have already been pounding beaches in the state of Andhra Pradesh before the storm is due to hit.

Villagers along the coast were evacuated to schools in the north of the state and in neighbouring Odisha, while panic buying drove up food prices.

Authorities have been evacuating villagers along the coast to government-run shelters and schools in three districts of Andhra Pradesh state and five districts of Orissa state.

People in the coastal village of Podampata watch as waves gather force

But many villagers said they had not been told to evacuate, and others were refusing to leave their homes.

"Of course I'm scared, but where will I move with my family?" said Kuramayya, 38, a fisherman from the village of Bandharuvanipeta, while 12ft waves crashed behind him. "We can't leave our boats behind."

Satellite images showed Phailin some 310 miles (500km) off the coast and likely to make landfall tonight (3pm-6pm UK time), with widespread flooding expected.

Some forecasters likened its size and intensity to hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

The Indian Meteorological Department said Phailin would hit between Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and the port of Paradip in Odisha state and predicted storm surges 10ft above normal tides.

The storm is due to hit Andhra Pradesh and Odisha Pic: Tropical Storm Risk

It described it as a "very severe cyclonic storm" with winds of 130-135 mph but resisted upgrading it to a stronger "super cyclone".

However, London-based storm tracking experts Tropical Storm Risk said Phailin was a super cyclone and placed it in the most powerful Category 5 of storms.

That was the same strength of storm that battered Odisha in 1999, killing thousands.

"Phailin will be no less than the 1999 super cyclone," said Odisha state's Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra.

He said half a million people were expected to move to shelters in the state.

Indian authorities warned of extensive damage to crops and buildings, and disruption to power, water and rail services.

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