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
By today, most businesses around the country will have reopened following the festive break. With energy levels topped up and a whole new year to
The UK needs a world class migration system to attract the brightest and the best from across the world… That is why I am so
The Tier 1 (Investor) visa allows foreign citizens to get permission to live in the UK in return for an investment of £2 million in
The Upper Tribunal has shot down a scheme under which people looking for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa would borrow money from one company and
The Conservative Party has won the general election and a mandate for its policy of an “Australian-style points based system” for immigration, whatever that means.
Today sees the start of industrial action, including strikes, across 60 universities. Members of the University and Colleges Union are striking over pensions, pay and
You wait ages for a new visa route and three come along at the same time… Hot on the heels of the announcements earlier this
For politicians with an agenda to push and votes to win, talking up an “Australian-style points based system” seems like a catchy, quick-fix solution to
A right of residence in the UK can be purchased with a six-figure investment. Until a few years ago, the amount required was £1m. While
With the Brexit psychodrama continuing to monopolise airtime and public attention, it would be easy to overlook the government’s recent announcement of a new visa
Just when you thought the rule excluding chefs at take-away restaurants from the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List had been tested to destruction, there arrives
September and October are important and busy enrolment periods for Tier 4 student visa sponsors. Immigration compliance teams had enough to contend with this academic
The Immigration Act 2016 authorises immigration officers to temporarily close down businesses persistently employing illegal workers. The provision is one of several that make up
The two-year post study work visa has returned from the dead, apparently. Multiple statements, from the Prime Minister, the Business Secretary, the Department for Education
A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was published yesterday, 9 September 2019. This post will cover changes to work and student visa routes,
The long suffering Migration Advisory Committee, or ‘MAC’ to its friends, has been commissioned to carry out yet another review. Back in June 2019 the
Boris Johnson announced seemingly sweeping changes to the UK immigration system for scientists on 8 August 2019. Behind the usual rhetoric about attracting the “brightest
This autumn will see a decided shift in immigration policy toward being more welcoming to non-EU academics, scientists and researchers; a group commonly defined by
“I have a client,” said the tax lawyer with splayed finger tips connected, “and this client may or may not have deposited half a million
The Home Office regularly updates the guidance documents that it issues to approved visa sponsors, and those thinking of becoming one, under Tiers 2, 4
The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa route was closed in March 2019. At the same time, two new immigration routes — Innovator and Start-up — came
Where a company sponsors a worker from overseas to fill a vacancy in the UK they must only do so if that vacancy is “genuine”.
The government has asked a group of independent academic experts to look again at the Migration Advisory Committee’s proposal for a £30,000 minimum salary for
Since 20 May 2019, people from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA have been able to enter the UK using
An influential government advisory group has recommended a major expansion of the list of jobs that get priority for work visas. The Migration Advisory Committee
Hot on the heels of the decision in Sajjad comes another mind-bending Home Office decision on Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa extensions, this time relating to
At the risk of sounding negative in the middle of Brexit, there’s a lot wrong with the new innovator visa route. The main problem being
At the end of March 2019, the UK government launched its new innovator visa for overseas entrepreneurs and closed the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category to
One of the requirements for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrants extending their visas in the UK is to show they have invested £200,000 that they previously
From 29 March 2019 the government’s new ‘start-up’ visa finally opened for new applicants. Announced last June, the visa is intended as a replacement to
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...
By today, most businesses around the country will have reopened following the festive break. With energy levels topped up and a whole new year to embrace, if the business — large or small — hasn’t already done so, now is the time to put Brexit immigration plans into full swing....
The UK needs a world class migration system to attract the brightest and the best from across the world… That is why I am so pleased today to be able to publish this points-based system for the UK. – Home Secretary Charles Clarke, March 2006 We will introduce an Australian...
The Upper Tribunal has shot down a scheme under which people looking for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa would borrow money from one company and invest in a closely related company. In a judicial review against the Home Office for refusing the Tier 1 (Investor) applications of two Chinese citizens...
The Conservative Party has won the general election and a mandate for its policy of an “Australian-style points based system” for immigration, whatever that means. The party manifesto leaves readers none the wiser. We can reveal that more details do exist. Last weekend, a rash of media stories emerged stating...
Today sees the start of industrial action, including strikes, across 60 universities. Members of the University and Colleges Union are striking over pensions, pay and conditions for the next eight days, with other forms of action planned when they return to work. During the strikes of February 2018, there was...
You wait ages for a new visa route and three come along at the same time… Hot on the heels of the announcements earlier this summer of new visas for graduates and for scientists comes today’s news that the Conservatives are planning to introduce a “NHS visa” as part of...
For politicians with an agenda to push and votes to win, talking up an “Australian-style points based system” seems like a catchy, quick-fix solution to public anxiety over immigration. During the referendum campaign it was a popular trope of the leave campaign, trotted out endlessly, with little explanation as to...
A right of residence in the UK can be purchased with a six-figure investment. Until a few years ago, the amount required was £1m. While new investment visas can no longer be obtained at that price — the minimum investment has doubled — existing holders of a Tier 1 (Investor)...
With the Brexit psychodrama continuing to monopolise airtime and public attention, it would be easy to overlook the government’s recent announcement of a new visa route for foreign students in the UK. Providing a bit of relief from the general doom and gloom, it promises a return to the halcyon...
Just when you thought the rule excluding chefs at take-away restaurants from the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List had been tested to destruction, there arrives yet another valiant attempt to navigate this uber-niche corner of a corner of the Immigration Rules in R (Imam) v Secretary of State for the...
September and October are important and busy enrolment periods for Tier 4 student visa sponsors. Immigration compliance teams had enough to contend with this academic year with the introduction of passport eGates, which means having to find evidence of each student’s date of entry to the UK where they have...
The Immigration Act 2016 authorises immigration officers to temporarily close down businesses persistently employing illegal workers. The provision is one of several that make up the hostile environment policy, which has been rebranded the “compliant environment”. The objective of the policy is to encourage those without permission to live and...
The two-year post study work visa has returned from the dead, apparently. Multiple statements, from the Prime Minister, the Business Secretary, the Department for Education and, last and least, the Home Office have been released announcing the resurrection of a visa originally introduced in 2004 and killed off by Theresa...
A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was published yesterday, 9 September 2019. This post will cover changes to work and student visa routes, while a separate post deals with changes to the EU Settlement Scheme and other changes brought about by Brexit. Except where indicated otherwise, these changes...
The long suffering Migration Advisory Committee, or ‘MAC’ to its friends, has been commissioned to carry out yet another review. Back in June 2019 the MAC were asked by one Home Secretary to think again about salary thresholds for skilled workers. This time they are being asked by a different...
Boris Johnson announced seemingly sweeping changes to the UK immigration system for scientists on 8 August 2019. Behind the usual rhetoric about attracting the “brightest and the best”, the reality is a lot less dramatic and potentially a lot less meaningful for the future of science in the UK. If...
This autumn will see a decided shift in immigration policy toward being more welcoming to non-EU academics, scientists and researchers; a group commonly defined by the somewhat worn-out phrase, “the brightest and the best”, first coined by David Cameron in October 2011. The upcoming rule changes will see the removal...
“I have a client,” said the tax lawyer with splayed finger tips connected, “and this client may or may not have deposited half a million pounds into a bank account in the Cayman Islands in the 1980s”. The room erupted with hearty laughs and knowing nods across the boardroom table....
The Home Office regularly updates the guidance documents that it issues to approved visa sponsors, and those thinking of becoming one, under Tiers 2, 4 and 5 of the Points Based System. Tier 4 covers sponsors of international students and Tiers 2 and 5 relate to those coming to the...
The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa route was closed in March 2019. At the same time, two new immigration routes — Innovator and Start-up — came into being. But entry to either scheme rests on the notoriously difficult task of getting an endorsement. Innovator – just too big a risk? I...
The government has asked a group of independent academic experts to look again at the Migration Advisory Committee’s proposal for a £30,000 minimum salary for a UK work visa post-Brexit. It has commissioned the, er, Migration Advisory Committee. In September 2018, the MAC published a major report on the future...
Since 20 May 2019, people from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA have been able to enter the UK using ePassport gates (‘eGates’). British and EU citizens have been able to use eGates since 2008. The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, said at the time that...
An influential government advisory group has recommended a major expansion of the list of jobs that get priority for work visas. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a crack team of economists that advises the government on immigration, published its recommendation for a new Shortage Occupation List yesterday. Assuming it is...
Hot on the heels of the decision in Sajjad comes another mind-bending Home Office decision on Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa extensions, this time relating to job creation. In R (Khajuria) v SSHD [2019] EWHC 1226, an Indian entrepreneur had created the jobs necessary to extend her visa but her application...
At the risk of sounding negative in the middle of Brexit, there’s a lot wrong with the new innovator visa route. The main problem being that it is effectively closed to migrants, certainly those overseas. Previous articles on the innovator route have focused on how the scheme works — and...
At the end of March 2019, the UK government launched its new innovator visa for overseas entrepreneurs and closed the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category to new applicants. The innovator visa is aimed at “more experienced business people” who have £50,000 to invest in an innovative business which could be scaled...
One of the requirements for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrants extending their visas in the UK is to show they have invested £200,000 that they previously showed was available for investment in their initial applications. The important case of R (Sajjad) v SSHD [2019] EWCA Civ 720 is about the ways...
From 29 March 2019 the government’s new ‘start-up’ visa finally opened for new applicants. Announced last June, the visa is intended as a replacement to the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) route but carries with it the expectation that it will, as Sajid Javid declared at the time, ensure that the...
