I am announcing that those displaced by conflict and violence will now also be able to benefit from access to our global points-based immigration system.
All being well, the government’s advice to work from home should be lifted from 21 June. With offices filling up, and city streets bustling, normal
The Home Office published a New Plan for Immigration “strategy statement” earlier today. It is mostly about legal immigration and economic migrants, as opposed to
A £100 million scheme for loaning migrants the money for an Investor visa was legal after all, the Court of Appeal has ruled. The case
The UK and India signed a non-binding agreement on migration this week. The basic ingredients are to beef up cooperation on removing unauthorised migrants in
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has confirmed that with lockdown easing, it is resuming sponsor licence compliance visits. Initial visits will be focused on organisations
The Home Office published a new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules today. It is 108 pages long and the changes take effect on
Among the key points highlighted by the Treasury from today’s Budget is “reforms to the immigration system [to] help ambitious UK businesses attract the brightest
No doubt you will have read about the mudslinging between the UK and EU over the lack of a visa-free deal for touring musicians and
The Court of Appeal has held that there is no right based on procedural fairness for a migrant to be offered a chance to cure
Building on CJ’s briefing on the Tier 1 (Investor) route last year, this article contains five top tips for the preparation of an Investor application.
The end of free movement has, for better or worse, given rise to a number of new visa routes catering for workers looking to establish
A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was published on 31 December 2020 and took effect at 11pm that night. (We weren’t working
The Home Office recently introduced a set of new validity requirements for visa applications under the Points Based Immigration System, such as the Skilled Worker
Since 1 December 2020, migrants who would previously have applied for settlement in the UK (aka “indefinite leave to remain”) under the Tier 2 (General)
The new Points Based Immigration System — replacing the old Points Based System that was introduced in 2008 — went live yesterday. The government is
The UK’s new immigration system is hurtling towards us at a rate of knots. As of 1 January 2021, newly arrived EU citizens coming to
In the recent case of Topadar v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 1525 the Court of Appeal considered two questions:
The Home Office has decided not to take forward the recommendations for a new Shortage Occupation List made by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in
The Immigration Rules covering student visas were substantially revised in early September 2020, with the changes coming into force on 5 October. As Nath has
For work-based immigration, last week’s statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was in many ways rather anticlimactic. The last two years have seen a
The Supreme Court held today in R (Pathan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 41 that the Home Office’s treatment of a
Many years ago, when I planned to come to the UK for higher education, I never imagined that I would be falsely labelled as a
Under the government’s new Points-Based Immigration System, the minimum salary required to sponsor an overseas worker will be £25,600, unless the worker has a PhD
Whilst we are all awaiting new Immigration Rules for the Skilled Worker route, which will replace Tier 2 (General) in the new Points-Based Immigration System,
Is a statement of changes even a statement of changes nowadays if it doesn’t introduce a new appendix to the Immigration Rules? On 10 September
There is something reassuringly self-explanatory about the representative of an overseas business visa. Compared to the crop of new visas that have emerged over the
Immigration lawyers up and down the land leapt out of bed this Monday morning, eager to glut out on the promised detail of the UK’s
A science and research plan published today suggests increased central government scrutiny on Home Office work visa rules and operations. The plan promises a new
On 19 May 2020, a number of media outlets reported that there will be no face-to-face lectures at Cambridge University until summer 2021. The university
With the UK still reeling from COVID-19, a mega recession looms. The statistics are sobering; 8 million workers on the government furlough scheme, 2.6 million
If you can say one thing about the Home Office, it’s that they have questionable priorities! In the middle of a pandemic, with thousands of
This week we finally got to see more detail about the 2021 Points Based Immigration System. The government’s announcement confirms that every organisation in the
The government has released a few more details of what it calls a “points based system” for immigration to the UK after Brexit. To balance
Reaction to the Migration Advisory Committee’s latest report, released on 28 January, has largely focused on the MAC’s lukewarm response to the government’s desire for
The first of no doubt countless statements of changes of 2020 was published yesterday, 30 January 2020. The main purpose of this set of changes
Monday’s announcement of a new ‘Global Talent’ visa, a rebranded and expanded version of Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent), will come as particularly welcome news for
The government should think twice about re-introducing a points based immigration system after Brexit, and lower the minimum salary necessary to get a work visa,
The headnote of Rana (s. 85A; Educational Loans Scheme) Bangladesh [2019] UKUT 396 (IAC) deals with two matters: 1. There was nothing in s 85A
Prior to the closure of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route, the main requirement was evidence that an applicant had access to funds for investment in
I am announcing that those displaced by conflict and violence will now also be able to benefit from access to our global points-based immigration system. To enable skilled displaced people who have had to flee their homes to come to the UK safely and legally through established routes. We will...
All being well, the government’s advice to work from home should be lifted from 21 June. With offices filling up, and city streets bustling, normal working life is already starting to resume. But remote working patterns are clearly popular with workers and employers, and are likely to be around for...
The Home Office published a New Plan for Immigration “strategy statement” earlier today. It is mostly about legal immigration and economic migrants, as opposed to the New Plan for Immigration document published in March that focused on illegal immigration and asylum seekers. Home Secretary Priti Patel marked its publication with...
A £100 million scheme for loaning migrants the money for an Investor visa was legal after all, the Court of Appeal has ruled. The case is R (Wang & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 679. It overturned a previous Upper Tribunal decision that...
The UK and India signed a non-binding agreement on migration this week. The basic ingredients are to beef up cooperation on removing unauthorised migrants in exchange for a minor liberalisation on youth mobility-type visas and some warm words on encouraging temporary migration more generally. Such a deal has been on...
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has confirmed that with lockdown easing, it is resuming sponsor licence compliance visits. Initial visits will be focused on organisations that have a pending sponsor licence application. Confirming the resumption of visits in a recent message on the Sponsorship Management System, UKVI was keen to...
The Home Office published a new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules today. It is 108 pages long and the changes take effect on 6 April 2021 unless otherwise specified. Most relate to the work and study routes branded as the Points Based Immigration System, although there are various...
Among the key points highlighted by the Treasury from today’s Budget is “reforms to the immigration system [to] help ambitious UK businesses attract the brightest and best international talent”. As a policy prescription, this is up there with motherhood and apple pie; even the most ardent restrictionists are in favour...
No doubt you will have read about the mudslinging between the UK and EU over the lack of a visa-free deal for touring musicians and entertainers. This has been retweeted and attacked by seemingly every artist you’ve heard of, and even been debated in Parliament. The claims are that the...
Building on CJ’s briefing on the Tier 1 (Investor) route last year, this article contains five top tips for the preparation of an Investor application. Before we begin, it is worth recalling the relevant Immigration Rules on entry clearance for Investors. Table 7 of Appendix A to the Immigration Rules...
The end of free movement has, for better or worse, given rise to a number of new visa routes catering for workers looking to establish themselves in the UK. Joining their ranks is the frontier worker permit which opened to new applicants on 10 December 2020. Although only open to...
The Home Office recently introduced a set of new validity requirements for visa applications under the Points Based Immigration System, such as the Skilled Worker route. This is significant because an invalid application doesn’t extend your permission to be in the UK while it is being considered (what’s called “section...
Since 1 December 2020, migrants who would previously have applied for settlement in the UK (aka “indefinite leave to remain”) under the Tier 2 (General) route now need to apply under the new Skilled Worker route. In this article we explain the requirements for settlement as a Skilled Worker and...
The new Points Based Immigration System — replacing the old Points Based System that was introduced in 2008 — went live yesterday. The government is hailing it as a “simple, effective and flexible system”, although there are early reports of teething troubles and the feeling of most immigration practitioners is...
In the recent case of Topadar v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 1525 the Court of Appeal considered two questions: At what point is an immigration application decided by the Home Office? Is it procedurally unfair for the Home Office to refuse an application due...
The Home Office has decided not to take forward the recommendations for a new Shortage Occupation List made by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in September. This has caused concern in many sectors, not least the fishing industry, which would have benefitted from deckhands being reclassified as skilled workers had...
The Immigration Rules covering student visas were substantially revised in early September 2020, with the changes coming into force on 5 October. As Nath has noted, this means that the student routes were not as affected as other categories by the major statement of changes (HC 813) on 22 October,...
For work-based immigration, last week’s statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was in many ways rather anticlimactic. The last two years have seen a series of reports and policy statements setting out the government’s plans for a ‘new’ Points-Based Immigration System. The major changes therefore come as no great...
The Supreme Court held today in R (Pathan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 41 that the Home Office’s treatment of a Tier 2 skilled worker, Mr Pathan, was unfair. Mr Pathan had applied for an extension of his visa as a sponsored worker in good time...
Under the government’s new Points-Based Immigration System, the minimum salary required to sponsor an overseas worker will be £25,600, unless the worker has a PhD — or is being hired for a role that appears on the Shortage Occupation List. The minimum salary for a shortage job will instead be...
Whilst we are all awaiting new Immigration Rules for the Skilled Worker route, which will replace Tier 2 (General) in the new Points-Based Immigration System, some good news is starting to emerge. The cooling-off period, which has seen many a skilled migrant having to spend a year outside the UK...
Is a statement of changes even a statement of changes nowadays if it doesn’t introduce a new appendix to the Immigration Rules? On 10 September 2020, the government laid the first statement of changes of its infamous “new Point-Based Immigration System”. It includes the addition of five new appendices. The...
There is something reassuringly self-explanatory about the representative of an overseas business visa. Compared to the crop of new visas that have emerged over the last year, with their irritatingly zeitgeisty names such as “innovator” and “global talent”, it is a visa that does exactly what it says on the...
Immigration lawyers up and down the land leapt out of bed this Monday morning, eager to glut out on the promised detail of the UK’s new points-based immigration system. How disappointed we all are. The snappily titled UK’s Points-Based Immigration System — Further Details may look glossy, but the 130-page...
A science and research plan published today suggests increased central government scrutiny on Home Office work visa rules and operations. The plan promises a new “Office for Talent” operating out of 10 Downing Street, which “will make it easier for those with the most talent, potential, energy and creativity to...
On 19 May 2020, a number of media outlets reported that there will be no face-to-face lectures at Cambridge University until summer 2021. The university issued a statement the next day in which it said there had been “partial reporting of only one aspect of our plans”. It clarified that:...
With the UK still reeling from COVID-19, a mega recession looms. The statistics are sobering; 8 million workers on the government furlough scheme, 2.6 million claims for Universal Credit since the lockdown began and the economy already suffering its biggest contraction since the financial crash in 2008. The economic outlook...
If you can say one thing about the Home Office, it’s that they have questionable priorities! In the middle of a pandemic, with thousands of migrants not knowing whether or not they will have to leave the UK in just over two weeks, the department has decided to publish a...
This week we finally got to see more detail about the 2021 Points Based Immigration System. The government’s announcement confirms that every organisation in the UK — from businesses to charities, schools to local shops — will need to become an “approved sponsor” to employ EU citizens who are new...
The government has released a few more details of what it calls a “points based system” for immigration to the UK after Brexit. To balance out the impending end of free movement of workers from the European Union, it would allow employers to sponsor migrant workers at lower salaries and...
Reaction to the Migration Advisory Committee’s latest report, released on 28 January, has largely focused on the MAC’s lukewarm response to the government’s desire for an Australia-style points based immigration system. Very little attention has so far been paid to the MAC’s conclusions on the salary thresholds that underpin the...
The first of no doubt countless statements of changes of 2020 was published yesterday, 30 January 2020. The main purpose of this set of changes to the Immigration Rules is to introduce the new Global Talent category, announced by the government earlier this week. The changes will take effect on 20...
Monday’s announcement of a new ‘Global Talent’ visa, a rebranded and expanded version of Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent), will come as particularly welcome news for universities and the research sector. But the detail may leave some people scratching their heads. The specifics have now landed via today’s statement of changes...
The government should think twice about re-introducing a points based immigration system after Brexit, and lower the minimum salary necessary to get a work visa, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended. In a report published today, the MAC says that the existing Tier 2 (General) work visa system should...
The headnote of Rana (s. 85A; Educational Loans Scheme) Bangladesh [2019] UKUT 396 (IAC) deals with two matters: 1. There was nothing in s 85A of the 2002 Act preventing the Secretary of State from adducing evidence. 2. The requirement to show that a loan was “part of an Academic...
Prior to the closure of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route, the main requirement was evidence that an applicant had access to funds for investment in their proposed venture. The Immigration Rules permitted applicants to rely on their own funds, or alternatively on funds that have recently been transferred to them...
