Immigration Laws

Immigration refers to the entrance of an individual into a new country for establishing permanent residence. The Motives for immigration may be usually economic, political and religious. The needs for better Education, unemployment, poverty, natural disasters are also important factors promoting immigration. A high rate of immigration is normally accompanied by militant and violent calls for a restriction on immigration or even deportation by nationalist groups.

Immigration Laws are national government policies that aim at controlling migration of people into countries. It is with regard to foreign citizens. Immigration law is usually related to nationality law. Nationality law governs the legal status of the citizens. Immigration laws are different for each country. They may also undergo variations based on the political situations at the time.

The immigration laws governing a country’s citizens are usually controlled by International Laws. It is mandatory for all countries to allow entry of their own citizens according to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political rights. Some countries maintain strict regulations and rules regulating the right of entry of people, the time duration of stay and the right to become a part of the Government. All of the countries generally have laws designating naturalization. Naturalization is the procedure by which immigrants become citizens of a country.

Immigrant receiving countries are the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. For people entering a foreign country, there are 2 types of visas: Immigrant visas and Non-immigrant visas. Non immigrant visas are for tourists, business visitors, students and workers and are temporary visas. US non-immigrant visas are issued at US embassies and consultancies abroad. Immigrant visas, also known as Green cards, will grant permission for the holder to reside and work in the country permanently. The holders of immigrant visas are legally permanent citizens.

The basic body governing immigration laws in the United States is the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA, created in 1952, is divided into titles, chapters and even sections. In the United Kingdom, overseas citizens enjoy similar rights as British citizens. British citizenship can be obtained by anyone born in Britain or in British overseas territories. People whose any one parent is British also are entitled to get British citizenship.