Headline

France Joins UK, Canada To Tighten Immigration Rules On Nigerians

Published

2 years ago

December 22, 2023

France has joined a list of countries that have imposed immigration restrictions on international students (including Nigerians) with new legislation that will stop them from bringing their families to the country.

The law passed by the parliament on Friday provides a new toughening immigration policy that makes it more difficult for migrants to bring family members to France and delays their access to welfare benefits.

It also banned detaining minors in detention centres while leaders of a third of French regions said they would not comply with certain measures in the law.

A controversial provision discriminates between citizens and migrants, even those living in the country legally, in determining eligibility for benefits.

This new immigration policy means that just like the United Kingdom which imposed a no-dependant restriction on international students in May, Nigerian students are expected to look elsewhere for their Japa plans.

The UK government’s decision came in response to the alarming surge in net migration, which has reached a staggering one million individuals. A situation that meant Conservative MPs had to call on the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to address urgently and regain control over immigration figures.

Already, Nigerian students, who have been among the largest contributors to the UK’s international student community, have started to look at other alternatives in the Europe zone with France considered. But with this new development, their options are shrinking.

The other route – skilled worker visa, seen as a better option to the UK, has experienced some reshuffling as well.

Earlier in December, new Home Secretary, James Cleverly, unveiled a set of new rules that raised the minimum salary requirement for obtaining a skilled worker visa from £26,000 to £38,700.

The figure itself is more than the existing median average salary of a full-time worker in Britain.

He exempted health and social care workers but said they would be prevented from bringing family dependents.

Also, overseas care workers will no longer be allowed to bring dependents (partners and children), while migrants have to pay a 66 percent NHS surcharge increase.

According to Cleverly, all of these were done to ensure immigrants “bring dependents whom they can support financially”

Canada

Apart from France and the UK, the government of Canada in December announced that starting from January 2024, international students must show a new proof of funds, ₦16,050,000.0000 ($20,000).

The new cost is more than double the current requirement of $10,000, an amount brought in during the early 2000s that has not been adjusted since.

For 2024, a single applicant will need to show they have $20,635, representing 75% of LICO, in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs.

The government however announced the extension of the waiver on the 20-hour per week work cap for international students until April 30, 2024.

This extension applies only to students already present in Canada and those who submitted a study permit application as of December 7th, 2023.

The measure was first introduced on November 15, 2022, and was set to last until December 31, 2023. It allows students to work more than the usual 20 hours per week while class is in session.

Headline

US Appeal Court Rules Against Trump Birthright Citizenship Order

Published

19 hours ago

July 24, 2025

Editor

A US appeals court on Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship was unconstitutional and backed the decision of a lower court to block the nationwide order.

The order has been mired in legal back-and-forth for months, and is currently halted by a federal court amid multiple legal proceedings.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that lone judges had likely exceeded their powers by issuing nationwide injunctions against a string of Trump’s policies, including his move to end birthright citizenship.

Several district judges had blocked Trump’s attempt to end the longstanding rule, guaranteed in the US Constitution, that anyone born on US soil is automatically an American citizen.

But the Ninth District Court of Appeals ruled that an injunction issued by a district judge based in Seattle was not a case of judicial overreach.

“We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction in order to give the States complete relief,” Judge Ronald Gould wrote.

According to Gould’s ruling, limiting an injunction to the state level would be as ineffective as not blocking the order at all, because of complications that could arise if people move between states with different citizenship rules.

The appeals court also concluded that Trump’s birthright order went against the wording of the US Constitution.

“The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order’s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree,” Gould wrote.

Trump’s executive order decrees that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become citizens — a radical reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

The current Supreme Court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, avoided ruling last month on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order and only addressed the issue of nationwide injunctions, which was nevertheless claimed by Trump as a “giant win.”

The Supreme Court also left open the possibility that executive orders could be blocked via broad class-action lawsuits against the government.

A federal judge earlier this month granted class-action status to any child who would potentially be denied citizenship under Trump’s order, and issued a preliminary halt to it as legal proceedings carry on.

AFP

Headline

49 Feared Dead As Passenger Plane Crashes In Russia

Published

19 hours ago

July 24, 2025

Editor

A passenger plane carrying 49 people crashed in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur on Thursday, authorities said.

The aircraft, a twin-engine Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar, regional governor Vassily Orlov said on Telegram.

A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a mountainside about 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Tynda.

The helicopter saw no evidence of survivors from above, local rescuers said.

The Amur region’s civil defence agency said it was dispatching rescuers to the scene.

“At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby,” it said.

AFP

Headline

19 Dead As Bangladesh Fighter Jet Crashes Into School

Published

3 days ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

A Bangladeshi training fighter jet crashed into a school in the capital Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more in the country’s deadliest aviation accident in decades.

An AFP photographer at the scene saw fire and rescue officials taking away the injured students on stretchers, while military personnel helped clear the wreckage.

A military statement said 19 people were killed, including the pilot, and 20 others were critically wounded.

At least 51 people, mostly students, were undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, its director Mohammad Nasir Uddin told AFP.

The Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft crashed moments after students were let out of class at 1:00 pm (0700 GMT) at the Milestone School and College.

A witness said he heard a huge blast that felt like an earthquake.

“We have two playgrounds, one for the senior students and one for the juniors,” said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, who is enrolled at the school.

“We were on the playground for the seniors. There were two fighter planes… Suddenly one of the two planes crashed here (in the junior playground),” he told AFP.

“It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later.”

The interim government of Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday.

Grieving parents and relatives of the victims thronged the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute.

Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears on learning that his young cousin had been killed.

“We frantically searched for my cousin in different hospitals,” Hossain told AFP.

“He was an eighth grader at the school. Finally, we found his body.”

Yunus expressed “deep grief and sorrow” over the incident in a post on X.

“The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,” he said.

“This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.”

The crash was the worst aviation accident in the country in several decades.

The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board.

Last month, a commercial aircraft crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people.