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Free movement proposed between Canada, U.K, Australia, New Zealand

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Komo

Banned
As a Canadian, I am for this, but so long as it includes every other country in the world as well. I don't see how it makes much of any sense otherwise. I want my country to have equal opportunities for all.

This is the best case scenario, but for now I think it's best to create as much unity as possible, so I'd encourage the current campaign as it's a big step in the right direction
 

Derwind

Member
Most agreements start between 2 countries. And countries with very similar histories and cultures obiously have fewer hurdles between migration between them. It is generally going to be easier for a Canadian to live in the US or Australia then someone from a non English speaking country.

Unless theyre from Quebec. So it should obviously be excluded.

Thats really a cop-out, a broader reform in immigration helps more than favouring a few select countries for really shallow reasons. Thats how I feel about this.

People immigrating to Canada aren't automatically going to have trouble assimilating and creating success for themselves. In fact, the opposite tends to happen and multiculturism has a net positive effect in the country.

Just because you say this precedent will help other less fortunate countries, doesn't mean that will ever be the case.

I'd much rather work on immigration laws that are already in place and make it easier for others as a whole.

Of course a country should discriminate on how immigration varies for different source countries. If you are close culturally/economically/educationally/health, and can have reciprocal social systems, then open travel or immigration makes perfect sense.

A potential immigrant from Canada to NZ would have an equivalent level of education, health, language etc compared to someone coming from Sudan or Thailand.

I support the AU/NZ/CA/UK free movement, as I do for the EU as well. Opening up first world countries to everyone, regardless of culture, education and skills, health, language etc is a terrible idea and one that will never happen.

I simply disagree, if your going to discriminate a potential applicant into a country, I don't think it should be for the reasons you've stated.
 

FUME5

Member
I dunno, I've seen a lot of bumper stickers and signs like this:

eWPlzex.jpg


So I guess we're at capacity?

On a serious note, I highly doubt it will ever happen.
 

Darren870

Member
I simply disagree, if your going to discriminate a potential applicant into a country, I don't think it should be for the reasons you've stated.

So lets say Joe from Myanmar comes over to the UK. Open boarders and all. Joe can't find a job since he doesn't speak English. Who is responsible for helping Joe out and making sure he has a roof over his head and is fed until he can find work?

Oh no! 2 months later Joe gets hit by a car when he was j-walking. Joe now has a broken leg and has to go to the hospital for a few weeks. They also notice Joe has a weird clot in his other leg. They need to check this out as well. Who is responsible for this? Who foots this bill? Joe still hasn't been working but he did come to the UK.
 
This is the best case scenario, but for now I think it's best to create as much unity as possible, so I'd encourage the current campaign as it's a big step in the right direction

Our population would double overnight...

The reason Canadian immigration is so successful is -because- we limit it to highly educated immigrants that already have a job offer. If we just let anyone in they would cause problems. Just look at Sweden, their immigration policy is humanitarian instead of economical, and their welfare and other social programs are getting hammered and it's tearing the social fabric.

Brits/Aussies/Kiwis are cool in my book though, their social systems are much the same as ours and cultures are close to identical. There are huge economc benefits too for all countries. Brtain's immigration policy is a bit whack though, and people could use the UK as a springboard to Canada, which is the only reason I'm hesitant.
 
I would love this. As an Aussie, Canada/UK/NZ are definitely places I'd move to for a while, we share very similar cultures etc so it wouldn't be a big 'culture shock'.
 

markot

Banned
Thats really a cop-out, a broader reform in immigration helps more than favouring a few select countries for really shallow reasons. Thats how I feel about this.

People immigrating to Canada aren't automatically going to have trouble assimilating and creating success for themselves. In fact, the opposite tends to happen and multiculturism has a net positive effect in the country.

Just because you say this precedent will help other less fortunate countries, doesn't mean that will ever be the case.

I'd much rather work on immigration laws that are already in place and make it easier for others as a whole.



I simply disagree, if your going to discriminate a potential applicant into a country, I don't think it should be for the reasons you've stated.

Because we already discriminate against people in immigration matters?

People who are skilled go to the front of the 'queue'. Thats discrimination. People who speak english are preferred, cause they can enter into society immediately... etc...

This is an idea of making immigration between 4 countries that are very similary in many ways, easier for citizens of those countries. Yes it discriminates, but all immigration laws do. Australia already has agreements with NZ, the USA probably with Canada... These are realities. The idea that we have to open the door to everyone if we open it to people from countries A, B and C is silly.

Yes in an ideal world we wouldnt have any limits. But the world isnt ideal, there are still big differences. And no one is saying stop immigration from other nations, just that people from certain places should have it easier given similiarities between destination and departure area.

One can make assumptions, a citizen of the UK is likely to speak english for one, so why test it? Theyll understand the democratic system in these countries, the cultures and values.
 

CLEEK

Member
I simply disagree, if your going to discriminate a potential applicant into a country, I don't think it should be for the reasons you've stated.

You don't think a country should be able to prevent immigration for people who;

* Can't speak the language
* Don't know or share your history or culture or political or judicial system
* Don't have an education
* Don't have a valuable skill or employment prospects
* Have poor health / infectious diseases

That would not result in integration and cultural assimilation. It would just put a huge burden on the social and health services, and likely result in ghettos forming and an immigrant underclass forming.
 

Dr.Guru of Peru

played the long game
So lets say Joe from Myanmar comes over to the UK. Open boarders and all. Joe can't find a job since he doesn't speak English. Who is responsible for helping Joe out and making sure he has a roof over his head and is fed until he can find work?

Oh no! 2 months later Joe gets hit by a car when he was j-walking. Joe now has a broken leg and has to go to the hospital for a few weeks. They also notice Joe has a weird clot in his other leg. They need to check this out as well. Who is responsible for this? Who foots this bill? Joe still hasn't been working but he did come to the UK.

I dunno, probably the same guy who pays for you?
 

Dr.Guru of Peru

played the long game
Because we already discriminate against people in immigration matters?

People who are skilled go to the front of the 'queue'. Thats discrimination. People who speak english are preferred, cause they can enter into society immediately... etc...

This is an idea of making immigration between 4 countries that are very similary in many ways, easier for citizens of those countries. Yes it discriminates, but all immigration laws do. Australia already has agreements with NZ, the USA probably with Canada... These are realities. The idea that we have to open the door to everyone if we open it to people from countries A, B and C is silly.

Yes in an ideal world we wouldnt have any limits. But the world isnt ideal, there are still big differences. And no one is saying stop immigration from other nations, just that people from certain places should have it easier given similiarities between destination and departure area.

One can make assumptions, a citizen of the UK is likely to speak english for one, so why test it? Theyll understand the democratic system in these countries, the cultures and values.
lol
 
What does this have to do with 1st world countries? Like someone said, New Zealand and Australia already have an agreement.

NZers are basically second class citizens in Australia though:

In 2001, two years before my family moved from Auckland to Adelaide, the then Howard government changed the visa rights for New Zealanders who moved to Australia. Previously, Kiwis were immediately eligible for Australian residency. But after 2001, every New Zealander who crossed the Tasman was placed on a non-protected special category visa (SCV), a temporary visa that is unique to New Zealanders and can be altered at any time. We can live here, work here, and access Medicare. But beyond that, services are limited. If people on SCVs want permanent residency and the benefits attached to it, there are few available options. Permanent residency is granted when people meet criteria that make them valuable to the Australian community – and that usually means having a long-term relationship with an Australian citizen, being highly skilled, or being a wealthy under-50 year-old with plans to invest in an Australian company. For many people, especially young New Zealanders who moved here as kids, the criteria are hard to meet and the consequences of staying on a SCV can be severe.

While Australians living in New Zealand can access most social services, including single parenting payments and student loans, Kiwis in Australia do not get HECS, youth allowance, or even Centrelink job seeker support. If we have a bad month, it can quickly become a bad year, decade, or lifetime.

I’ve had a lot of luck. I’m part Maori, and my tribe, Tainui, helped to pay for my university degrees. During university I lived on a combination of part-time jobs, my parents, and the occasional emergency loan. For the past three years, I’ve had enough work to stay financially independent. But others are struggling.

In 2013, Erina Anderson founded Iwi n Aus, a volunteer lobby group working to shed light on the difficulties New Zealanders face in Australia. Erina spends a lot of time speaking with Kiwis in precarious situations, and recently met a woman who moved to Queensland with her husband in 2003. The husband was awarded citizenship in order to work in the Australian Army, but his wife and their three children were only given special category visas. Last year, the woman’s husband returned from military deployment wanting a separation from his wife. He kicked her out of the house and, when she sought help from social services and a women's refuge, she was denied access because she is not a permanent resident. “This was a woman who’d been awarded medals for all of the community work she did in the army barracks,” Erina says. “But she’s been homeless for the past year. It’s not until something goes wrong that you realise how vulnerable and neglected New Zealanders in Australia are”.

Earlier this year, a prime time current affairs programme ran a story that characterised Kiwis as “dole bludgers”, people coming to Australia to steal jobs and hack into the welfare system. Amongst other things, it ignored the difficulties faced by people who migrate because their parents or partners choose to do so. As a recent university graduate, I spend a lot of time searching for grants, scholarships, internships – the opportunities advertised to us from puberty through to graduation. But despite my ties to Australia, I’m often ineligible because I’m not a not a permanent resident.

It’s definitely a first world problem, but it’s indicative of something bigger. When migrants in Australia hit dead ends, the advice from government bodies, social services, and strangers who comment on Facebook threads is: if you can’t find the services you need here, go back home.

But “home” isn’t always the place you’ll find on your passport. For the ex-army wife sleeping rough, the choice to return to New Zealand is complicated by the fact that she has three children in Australia who she’s unwilling to abandon. For me, Australia is just my home: it’s where I went to school, met my partner, and have spent years building my life. But if things ever got tough – if I lost my job, or had an accident – then this home would start looking pretty inhospitable.
http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...landers-in-australia-neglected-and-vulnerable

Edit: The fact that their media still try to portray NZers as "dole bludgers" is probably the funniest/sadist bit, given that as far as I remember, studies show otherwise.
 

Derwind

Member
So lets say Joe from Myanmar comes over to the UK. Open boarders and all. Joe can't find a job since he doesn't speak English. Who is responsible for helping Joe out and making sure he has a roof over his head and is fed until he can find work?

Oh no! 2 months later Joe gets hit by a car when he was j-walking. Joe now has a broken leg and has to go to the hospital for a few weeks. They also notice Joe has a weird clot in his other leg. They need to check this out as well. Who is responsible for this? Who foots this bill? Joe still hasn't been working but he did come to the UK.

If we're talking about the same thing, Joe from Myanmar would presumably looking for a permenant residency/citizenship, in that period of time he'd most likely have been trying to learn the language in the first place. Secondly, I'm pretty damn sure even if your a non-resident (at least in Canada) you will recieve basic medical assistance. I'm not sure why it'd matter who foot the bill but I'm speaking from the position of reformed immigration laws within my own country, I don't have any interest in the thought of open borders which is my whole point.

Start with working on bettering the immigration policy.

You don't think a country should be able to prevent immigration for people who;

* Can't speak the language
* Don't know or share your history or culture or political or judicial system
* Don't have an education
* Don't have a valuable skill or employment prospects

* Have poor health / infectious diseases

That would not result in integration and cultural assimilation. It would just put a huge burden on the social and health services, and likely result in ghettos forming and an immigrant underclass forming.

Bull fucking shit on the bolded and I don't want to even dignify an answer to you last point.

There are many highly skilled and highly educated individuals whom immigrate to Canada whose foreign education and foreign work experience are not at all recgonized.

I'm talking about Doctors, Engineers, BioChemists...

And those are the ones whove successfully immigrated and yes they integrate.

And I'd love to see the precentage of Austrilian or UKers who know the extensive history and culture of Canada, to our political leaders, Federally and Provincially. Many Canadians dont even pretend to know or care. So fuck off with that bullshit.
 

Darren870

Member
I dunno, probably the same guy who pays for you?

Yea, my government would (assuming I was a UK Citizen in this scenario). Why should the UK all of a sudden then have to pay for other immigrants if there was an open boarder policy? The social systems would collapse and fast.

If we're talking about the same thing, Joe from Myanmar would presumably looking for a permenant residency/citizenship, in that period of time he'd most likely have been trying to learn the language in the first place. Secondly, I'm pretty damn sure even if your a non-resident (at least in Canada) you will recieve basic medical assistance. I'm not sure why it'd matter who foot the bill but I'm speaking from the position of reformed immigration laws within my own country, I don't have any interest in the thought of open borders which is my whole point.

Start with working on bettering the immigration policy.

I don't even understand what you are arguing then. People from other nations can come to the commonwealth countries. The boarder isn't open for anyone though, you need to know English and have a skill that the country is in need for at that moment. And health care is a big issue as it comes out of the tax payers money. You can't have everyone just coming in and using a system that they aren't contributing to. That was my point.

To me it seemed like you thought boarders should be open for everyone "just because". Probably misread (my apologies)
 

legend166

Member
Lol there is Quebec but I doubt anyone would wanna move there, so really they only have to gain from this. xD

Our countries are mainly white people so racists won't care.


Anyway, I'm already an Australian citizen, so that gets me to NZ. I'm eligible for a British passport (Dad was born there) so that gets me in to England. All I need is Canada!
 

Ventara

Member
Honestly, I'm against open borders with another country. It'd only work if we're the exact same in government, economics and culture. Similar isn't enough. Issues will arise and it'll become a mess to fix.
 

Qblivion

Member
I'm seriously rethinking my career path since it isn't one that would easily allow me to work in another country. I really want to leave america but it seems so fucking hard.
 

Darren870

Member
I'm seriously rethinking my career path since it isn't one that would easily allow me to work in another country. I really want to leave america but it seems so fucking hard.

There are plenty of options to leave the US if you are under 30. If you aren't under 30 there are other options, you just need to look.

What is your career path?
 
I was just on a ski vacation. The mountains are almost entirely staffed by Aussies and Kiwis. It has been like this for decades as well. I can see something like this working really well for them.
 

Qblivion

Member
There are plenty of options to leave the US if you are under 30. If you aren't under 30 there are other options, you just need to look.

What is your career path?

Automotive mechanic. Still in school for it, but I do have student loans, so I either need to finish it and get a job in the field or switch majors. I am 25 right now.
 

Derwind

Member
To me it seemed like you thought boarders should be open for everyone "just because". Probably misread (my apologies)

I specifically stated in one of my earliest posts, I'm more concerned with address immigration issues on a broader scale than the notion of free boarders catering to a select few Countries. Immigration isn't at all where it should be.
 

markot

Banned
If we're talking about the same thing, Joe from Myanmar would presumably looking for a permenant residency/citizenship, in that period of time he'd most likely have been trying to learn the language in the first place. Secondly, I'm pretty damn sure even if your a non-resident (at least in Canada) you will recieve basic medical assistance. I'm not sure why it'd matter who foot the bill but I'm speaking from the position of reformed immigration laws within my own country, I don't have any interest in the thought of open borders which is my whole point.

Start with working on bettering the immigration policy.

What does 'bettering immigration policy' even mean?

All nations discriminate in immigration, if 2 applicants are applying to the UK, one from Hong Kong, with excellent english skills and skills in IT needed in the UK, he will take precedence over someone from the USA who is a cashier.

Countries need to limit immigration for a wide variety of reasons, so they become picky about who can and who cant enter. People who tick off more of the boxes have a better chance then people who dont. Rich people have a better chance then poor. So why shoudlnt 'citizen of UK...' or whatever count to a degree? I dont think it should allow 'free' movement, because countries should have the right to limit entry to however many people it sees fit
 

Derwind

Member
What does 'bettering immigration policy' even mean?

All nations discriminate in immigration, if 2 applicants are applying to the UK, one from Hong Kong, with excellent english skills and skills in IT needed in the UK, he will take precedence over someone from the USA who is a cashier.

Countries need to limit immigration for a wide variety of reasons, so they become picky about who can and who cant enter. People who tick off more of the boxes have a better chance then people who dont. Rich people have a better chance then poor. So why shoudlnt 'citizen of UK...' or whatever count to a degree? I dont think it should allow 'free' movement, because countries should have the right to limit entry to however many people it sees fit

How about we start working on trying to recognize foreign education and work experience. Or at least work on making it much easier for people to get back into the career they've built for themselves.

Those are a few issues maybe we could work on.
 

Madness

Member
As a Canadian I would be all for it. We all speak English (well most of us), we all share the same Queen and have similar histories. If countries in Europe can do it, why not us?

As a Canadian, I would be against it. Maybe this would have worked in the past, when the primary people's of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK were white British or Anglo-Saxon descendents. But these days, the countries are very different.

Every year support for the Monarchy is down, high immigration rates are also changing the futures of these countries. Countries in Europe are united by a shared land area. Much like Canada and the US have visa-free travel. Additionally, they did it because they wanted a share Eurozone. But as you can see, do people in the UK really like all the Polish in their country now? Do the people in Switzerland like all the other people like Germans and Italians who now live there? No.

Remember we already have visa free travel between Canada, Australia, UK so it's not an issue of tourism and work permits are usually easily granted. This is allowing foreign nationals to come whenever and work anytime you like and stay indefinitely.
 

Heshinsi

"playing" dumb? unpossible
Because we already discriminate against people in immigration matters?

People who are skilled go to the front of the 'queue'. Thats discrimination. People who speak english are preferred, cause they can enter into society immediately... etc...

This is an idea of making immigration between 4 countries that are very similary in many ways, easier for citizens of those countries. Yes it discriminates, but all immigration laws do. Australia already has agreements with NZ, the USA probably with Canada... These are realities. The idea that we have to open the door to everyone if we open it to people from countries A, B and C is silly.

Yes in an ideal world we wouldnt have any limits. But the world isnt ideal, there are still big differences. And no one is saying stop immigration from other nations, just that people from certain places should have it easier given similiarities between destination and departure area.

One can make assumptions, a citizen of the UK is likely to speak english for one, so why test it? Theyll understand the democratic system in these countries, the cultures and values.

Hahahaha The bastards make us pull out passports to drive over the land border. The only things that freely cross over the 49th parallel are the animals and their pollution :)
 

Darren870

Member
Automotive mechanic. Still in school for it, but I do have student loans, so I either need to finish it and get a job in the field or switch majors. I am 25 right now.

I don't know about your industry enough. But if you are under 30 you can work in a few countries for a year. Especially during school or right after.

http://www.anyworkanywhere.com/whvuscit.html

Might be good to look into what type of specialized skills they are looking for in terms of auto mechanics. Rigs and Mines are always good places to look at what kind of skills are required.


I specifically stated in one of my earliest posts, I'm more concerned with address immigration issues on a broader scale than the notion of free boarders catering to a select few Countries. Immigration isn't at all where it should be.

Sorry, I have no idea what better immigration policy you want to see. Or what needs to be addressed on a broader scale. What issues do you see?

How about we start working on trying to recognize foreign education and work experience. Or at least work on making it much easier for people to get back into the career they've built for themselves.

Those are a few issues maybe we could work on.

Huh? Canada has visas and work permits for skilled work. That would fall under work experience and education? Wouldn't it?
 

markot

Banned
How about we start working on trying to recognize foreign education and work experience. Or at least work on making it much easier for people to get back into the career they've built for themselves.

Those are a few issues maybe we could work on.

Because standards can be very different between nations? Which is another point here, standards and educational levels are generally the same accross all of these nations.
 

Derwind

Member
Huh? Canada has visas and work permits for skilled work. That would fall under work experience and education? Wouldn't it?

That would really depend, if your work permit is granted they usually recognize your skill or education.

But there are a lot of landed immigrants who've gotten permenant residency whose foreign skills, work experience and education are not recognize. A lot of this I feel is due to buerarcy rather than any other valid reason to discriminate their foreign training.
 

CLEEK

Member
Bull fucking shit on the bolded and I don't want to even dignify an answer to you last point.

There are many highly skilled and highly educated individuals whom immigrate to Canada whose foreign education and foreign work experience are not at all recgonized.

I'm talking about Doctors, Engineers, BioChemists...

And those are the ones whove successfully immigrated and yes they integrate.

And I'd love to see the precentage of Austrilian or UKers who know the extensive history and culture of Canada, to our political leaders, Federally and Provincially. Many Canadians dont even pretend to know or care. So fuck off with that bullshit.

Of course there are highly skilled people from overseas. The immigration process in AU/NZ/UK/CA already allows them to migrate. Usually on a point system. The more valuable you are to the destination country, the easier time you'll have with getting a visa.

And there is a reason why a qualification from one country isn't recognised in another. It's because it's not to the same standard. My wife is a nurse, and she works with a bunch of doctors who had to requalify once they moved to Aus, because the level of training, skills and modern medicine knowledge they had in their original country wasn't high enough to be a doctor in Aus. It's to protect the lives of patients and has nothing to do with xenophobia.

But that's moot anyway, as we're talking about open travel, which you seem to think should be open between all countries. That's just crazy.
 

Deadbeat

Banned
I dunno, probably the same guy who pays for you?
Which is himself btw since he has a job and pays taxes.
And there is a reason why a qualification from one country isn't recognised in another. It's because it's not to the same standard. My wife is a nurse, and she works with a bunch of doctors who had to requalify once they moved to Aus, because the level of training, skills and modern medicine knowledge they had in their original country wasn't high enough to be a doctor in Aus. It's to protect the lives of patients and has nothing to do with xenophobia.
Bingo. But good luck explaining that to bleeding hearts.
 
As a Canadian I love this idea. I never understood why we still even have this thing called the commonwealth when for all intents and purposes its practically useless due to all the arbitrary restrictions placed on it
 

Savitar

Member
Be a pretty damn cool idea if it was able to pull off and I'm sure each country could benefit nicely from it if done right.
 
Our countries are mainly white people so racists won't care.


Anyway, I'm already an Australian citizen, so that gets me to NZ. I'm eligible for a British passport (Dad was born there) so that gets me in to England. All I need is Canada!

Canada's had infighting with white people for a long time :p Quebeckers don't like people who speak English as a first language very much. But like I said, I doubt many non-Canadians will move to Quebec.
 
Our population would double overnight...

The reason Canadian immigration is so successful is -because- we limit it to highly educated immigrants that already have a job offer. If we just let anyone in they would cause problems. Just look at Sweden, their immigration policy is humanitarian instead of economical, and their welfare and other social programs are getting hammered and it's tearing the social fabric.

Brits/Aussies/Kiwis are cool in my book though, their social systems are much the same as ours and cultures are close to identical. There are huge economc benefits too for all countries. Brtain's immigration policy is a bit whack though, and people could use the UK as a springboard to Canada, which is the only reason I'm hesitant.

You are forgetting that it's as easy to imigrate to Australia as to UK, there is backdoors everywhere.
 

Syncytia

Member
I hope you're ready to pay $2,350 the State Department for the privilege.

Wow at that cost. Also at being taxed on foreign income. But at least this, I guess
If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien of the United States and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income. However, you may qualify to exclude from income up to an amount of your foreign earnings that is adjusted annually for inflation ($92,900 for 2011, $95,100 for 2012, $97,600 for 2013, $99,200 for 2014 and $100,800 for 2015). In addition, you can exclude or deduct certain foreign housing amounts.
 

Darren870

Member
Wow at that cost. Also at being taxed on foreign income. But at least this, I guess

Don't even get me started on this. I'm doing my US tax return now. I haven't worked in the US in 5 years....

I didn't even go to the US in 2014. :(

I would never give up my US citizenship though!!
 

Moppeh

Banned
As a Canadian, yes plz.

Wouldn't fucking go to Super Hellacious Spiderland (Australia) but the UK would be dope as fuuuuuck.
 
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