The first minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell, is determined to bring Scotland back on the map as a country where foreign skilled professionals would want to live and work. Without immigrants, the Scottish population is expected to decline drastically over the coming years.

McConnell's Fresh Talent initiative aims at promoting Scotland enough to attract 8,000 foreign professionals each year from now to 2009. There are also plans to grant visa extensions to foreign students who wish to stay after graduation. The first minister is presently discussing with the UK Home Office on a number of immigration initiatives.

Still, Scottish opposition leaders say McConnell's Fresh Talent will not solve the declining population problem in the country. They say Scotland is in need of 10,000 new immigrants every year just to keep the population steady.

Source: Workpermit.com

Looks like some other will take the path taken by the Netherlands some weeks ago...

D.

hahahaha! the question is how well they can equip the immigrants. How good it will be to see the density of population in all countries in this world remain same :-) this is becoming interesting! isn't it? even china is offering benefit packages and work permit for skilled workers. I see a cosmopolitan world soon!! do you?

(It just seems to me that...) One of the larger problems that are facing in this world is that Capital (IE: investors money) is FREE to travel at the speed of light across the world and to exploit opportunities between "Have" nations and "Have not" nations, BUT PEOPLE ARE NOT.
Nation States want to cling to the notion that PEOPLE should NOT BE ALLOWED to move and travel so freely. Of course arguments CAN be made about disease, and global pockets of over supply or undersupply, but I DO SEE that that the Nations ARE SLOWLY moving towards a "Cosmo" model.

All of this of course is motivated by by WHO BENEFITS WHOM...you will never see Chinese peasants being allowed to travel (for example only) to Germany or America for "work"...but IF THEY HAVE A SKILL SET THAT CAN BE EXPLOITED BY CORPORATIONS and the WEALTHY...THEN and only THEN will they be allowed!
This is the UGLY underside of GLOBAL CAPITALIZATION nobody talks about!
This will lead to further HUGE inequities in Global wealth and opportunities, because wealth does NOT GENERALLY chase after "poverty" (unless it can be exploited!)

Interesting opportunity, specially if you are studying at an Scottish university. Which is not my case :-(

But I understand that it is also helpful for people applying for UK work permits...

There is a complete PDF explaining the Fresh Talent campaign at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/afttm.pdf

PD: What happened in the Netherlands some weeks ago?

Hi gus,

some weeks ago the Netherlands launch their GC Program - Like also for 5 years specially oriented to IT people.

The only difference is the fact that their, people don't need WP so they can change jobs easily.

D.

Thanks for the info NoBody,

searching in http://news.google.com I found a lot of news regarding green card and inmigration in the last weeks... it seems that a lot of countries are launching green card campaigns.

maybe in 2005 I can get a greencard and left Paraguay (south america).

Some interesting links:

Brussels looks at 'green cards' for migrants
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/a6ea06e0-4d2d-11d9-b3be-00000e2511c8.html

EU considers U.S.-style green cards
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CqB5ZueidzxvYB3bLlwDYzwvUy2fYzhm

China pondering its own 'green card' system
http://houston.china-consulate.org/eng/sgxw/t57886.htm

and now Ireland is moving in the GC direction...

FAS recommends Green Card for non-EU workers
http://www.rte.ie/business/2004/1220/fas.html

FAS proposes non-EU Green Card system
http://www.businessworld.ie/livenews.htm?a=1071253;s=rollingnews.htm