In response to a consultation carried out last year, the UK Border Agency will shortly implement new rules to force migrants to settle their NHS debts. Migrants who fail to settle outstanding bills of £1000 or more will not be allowed to remain in the UK until the debt has been cleared, nor will migrants
Specialist jobs that are no longer required in the UK will be removed from a government-approved list. The UK Government has accepted recommendations from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) that will see the number of jobs covered by the list drop by 40,000, bringing the total down from 230,000 to 190,000. Only a minority
In a drastic step to curb bogus Tier 4 student visa applications, the UK Border Agency has published a list of financial institutions which they consider do not verify financial statements to their satisfaction. The UK Border Agency will use the list when verifying maintenance funds under Tier 4 of the points-based system. An applicant
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) recently handed down judgment in the case of Ruiz Zambrano. This judgement creates a right to reside and work for the sole carer of a dependent British citizen when that carer has no other right of residence in the UK and removing the carer from the
With effect from 6 April 2011 all Tier 2 (General) and Tier 2 (ICT) migrants applying for settlement will need to provide a letter from their employer that issued the Certificate of Sponsorship that led to the applicant’s last grant of leave certifying that: They still require the applicant for the employment in question, and
The UK Government has made yet another set of changes to the points-based system, this time targeting the Tier 4 (students) and Tier 1 (Post-study work) categories. The changes, effective April next year are a direct consequence of a major public consultation exercise which was carried out in order to reform the existing Tier 4
The UK Border Agency have announced that on 6 April 2011 every sponsor’s CoS (certificate of sponsorship) allocation for Tier 2 (General) and/or ICT will be set to zero unless they complete and return the spreadsheet sent to them by the UK Border Agency. Sponsors must make their request for allocation of ‘unrestricted’ CoS and
The rich and entrepreneurial foreigners are being given an extra incentive to come to the UK as per the new rules announced by the UK Border Agency. A plethora of changes have been announced; one major change the UK Government has made is making settlement quicker for those individuals who are willing to pump in
Athletes, Coaches and Officials looking to head to the UK to take part in the 2012 London Olympics’ test events may apply for an Olympic/Paralympic Games visit visa now and take advantage of the scheme by obtaining a visa valid for almost two years. The UK Border Agency has confirmed that the Olympic/Paralympic Games visit
The eagerly awaited Olympics 2012 has seen east London undergo a major transformation in the recent years. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron recently unveiled plans to further redevelop the Olympic Park area of east London into a high-tech global hub on the lines of California’s Silicon Valley. The ambitious initiative of having Britain’s own
The UK Government has announced that individuals earning more than £150,000 a year will be exempt from the yearly cap on economic migration. Scientists from outside the EU will also be given priority because of worries that the cap would make British research universities uncompetitive. In stark contrast, the UK Government has set aside a
The UK Border Agency has elaborated the annual limit criteria for Tier 2, which will take effect on 6 April 2011. What’s new? Unlike at present where businesses are given an annual allocation, employers will now have to apply for a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from the UK Border Agency for a specific post. The
The Migration Advisory Committee has recommended a new shorter list of occupations eligible for migration under Tier 2 of the points-based system, raising the threshold for Tier 2 visas to ‘graduate level’. Among the occupations which would still qualify for entry under Tier 2 of the points-based system are nurses, teaching professionals, civil engineers and
The UK Border Agency has published a revised guidance for calculating the five year continuous period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK. The following guidelines have been provided when counting absences from the UK. Calculating continuous period in the UK Any short absences abroad would be ignored if it is clear that
The Indian Government has recently announced that they will merge the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards into a single facility in the near future. At present, OCI and PIO cards are separate, giving different rights and visa durations to their holders. An OCI card has the following benefits:-
