According to Reuters, Spain 's Socialist government last week said opposition calls for immigrants to learn Spanish and respect Spanish customs were xenophobic, raising immigration issues ahead of next month's national election.

Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday immigrants should sign a legally binding contract promising to integrate into Spanish society, a move compared here to plans backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy in France .

'Who's going to say which customs are right or not?' Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said at a news conference, calling the proposals 'smoke with a whiff of xenophobia'.

Rajoy said immigrants would have to leave the country if they cannot find work after a year and will be expelled if they commit crimes. The end of a building boom is leaving Spain with a large population of unemployed foreigners for the first time.

Both major parties favor continuing immigration into Spain , and neither wants to see any reduction. The majority of economic immigrants are Moroccans, Latin Americans and Eastern Europeans.  

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New immigration rules will stop doctors from outside the EU applying for postgraduate training posts in the UK , it has been announced.  The Press Association of UK reports that the country’s Home Office has laid out new regulations to prevent overseas doctors applying for foundation and specialty training posts.

The regulations stem from criticism that homegrown doctors are unable to find jobs once they graduate from UK medical schools.
The rules, which will first affect recruitment in 2009, would see a drop of between 3,000 and 5,000 overseas applications next year, official estimates suggest.

The rules apply to doctors currently not resident in the UK - it will not affect doctors with medical jobs already present in the country.  The Government estimates that around 10,000 non-EU medical graduates are currently in the UK .

Figures suggest that up to 1,100 UK doctors could still miss out on a training post in 2009 and beyond owing to the number of overseas doctors.  The Government said therefore it was launching a consultation on guidance which says doctors currently in the UK on HSMP can only get a job here if there is no UK or EU doctor suitable for the role.

The Court of Appeal ruled in November that such guidance was unlawful. The Government appealed against that decision and the case is due to be heard by the House of Lords, with a decision expected in May.  

Around 1,300 UK graduates missed out on a training post last year.