The lack of standardisation between countries over expat job and education qualifications is a regular problem for expats looking for work overseas.
The problem looks set to ease as two of the most popular destinations from British expats have agreed to start working from the same rule book and are urging other nations to join them.
Australia and Canada have had foreign qualification recognition meetings and decided to try to set out a structure that lets expats and governments easily check out documents in support of visa applications.
The biggest issue is translating documents between different languages.
This can be costly and time-consuming for expats and government immigration departments.
Skills network
Both nations reckon mutual recognition agreements between countries are the answer to the problem.
In the same way nations negotiate tax and trade treaties, Canada and Australia want governments to set up a network of agreements that let immigration officials easily decipher and score qualifications.
Both governments also feel professional regulatory bodies in different countries can collaborate to draw up cross-border qualifications based on studying in one country and working in another.
To lead the way, Engineers Canada and Certified General Accountants Canada signed qualification recognition agreements with Engineers Australia and Certified Practicing Accountants.
“Both countries want to improve foreign credential recognition and help expats have a better experience in our nations,” said Canada’s Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. “We share many similarities in dealing with expats and understanding their qualifications.”
Meanwhile, Australia is making the via application process easier for professionals going to the country for short stays.
Lost talent
One of the issues expats have with Australia are the hundreds of classes of visas that are available and how difficult this can make the application procedure.
Now, the government has pledged to slash the number of classes by half within two years – from 457 down to a more manageable number.
The Australian government feels the nation is losing talent to other countries with simplified visa structures and equal opportunities and is changing the rules to attract more professional expat candidates for top-level posts.
Technology workers are a specific class of professional in demand worldwide, and while Germany and the USA fast track visa applications for computer and IT experts, Australia sometimes bogs them down with immigration queries.
Brendan O’Conner, the Australian minister responsible for immigration, said: “We are determined to cut the bureaucracy and make it easier for visitors to see which visa they need for working here. That applies to short and long term working, but the current arrangements for tourists will not change.”
