The "go home or face arrest" campaign has been widely criticised. The Home Office was forced to defend the week long £10,000 campaign in six London boroughs which we commented on last week....
Following the announcement in May for tougher rules to be introduced to tackle immigration the government continues with its policy to reduce the overall numbers. To this end, the Home Office this week launched a novel one-week pilot scheme to encourage illegal migrants to leave the UK voluntarily. Vans were driving around Hounslow, Barking & Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, Brent and Redbridge displa...
Sir Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2010 after they developed the material graphene at the University of Manchester. According to the University of Manchester`s website: "Graphene is a two dimensional material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb or chicken wire structure. It is the thinnest material known and yet is...
Chancellor George Osborne, speaking on the Today programme, explained that the UK does still welcome the brightest and best to the UK. Mr Osborne argued that if there is a perception that they are not welcome, those perceptions must be tackled. He referred in particular to the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) category as a way to fast track world leading scientists to the UK....
The Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) category of the Points Based System is a visa for people from outside Europe who are internationally recognised as world leaders in science, humanities, engineering and the arts who want work in the UK. While the threshold or standard of criteria to be met to qualify under this category may be high, the benefit is that applicants who can show genuine expertise i...
According to the Yorkshire Post, 10 members of staff at Leeds Professional College were arrested on 4th December 2012 on suspicion of immigration offences. Adrian Watkins of the UK Border Agency`s (UKBA) financial and criminal investigation unit told the Yorkshire Post that the arrests related to students failing to attend classes, working illegally or disappearing. Leeds Professional College w...
John Vine, Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration published his report on 29th November 2012 on Tier 4 of the UK Border Agency`s (UKBA) Points Based System....
A private Indian university has announced plans to open a campus for 15,000 foreign students in London. According to the Independent today, Amity University has said it hopes to attract the brightest students and academics from around the world to its new residential campus in the UK. It is understood that if the proposals go ahead the campus could cost up to £100 million. The plans have receive...
Amid growing pressures within the Government, David Cameron met with the Home Secretary Theresa May in late October to see if the net migration target could gracefully be abandoned....
The list of jobs which cannot be filled by domestic workers because of a lack of sufficient skill (a.k.a. the shortage occupation list) is now contained in Appendix K of the Immigration Rules to give the shortage list legal effect following the Supreme Court decision in Alvi....
An independent inquiry by the Higher Education Commission predicts that the combination of increasing fees, banks less willing to fund post graduate study, and students less willing to take on further debt for post graduate study will significantly reduce the demand for postgraduate education....
Economists and demographers commented following the 2011 census data that the increasing life expectancy of the UK population and the declining number of births means that there will be fewer workers to shoulder the burden of supporting the elderly. In order to maintain current population levels, an average fertility rate of 2.1 is required. However, the current fertility rate excluding female i...
Some overseas students have been queuing all night in order to comply with a requirement on their student visa to register with the police with 7 days. Failure to do so is a breach of their immigration conditions and could result in their removal from the UK. Due to the large number of students commencing studies at this time of the year, the police are struggling to cope with the demand....
David Cameron appeared on the Late Show with Letterman last night to promote British business following the Olympics. The Prime Minister soon became unsettled when Letterman asked him questions from the Citizenship test that migrants to the UK are required to sit. Having answered a few questions incorrectly, the Prime Minister is quoted as saying "...You have found me out", "...That is bad" and "...
The universities minister, David Willetts, has announced at the universities conference that the Government will set up a £2m hardship fund to help "legitimate overseas students" at London Metropolitan University, following the university`s sponsorship licence being revoked last month....
London Metropolitan University has had its sponsorship licence revoked by the UK Border Agency, meaning it is now unable to sponsor and teach new and existing international students from outside the EU. The UKBA has apparently said it had "failed to address serious and systemic failings" and the latest audit revealed problems with 61% of files. The UKBA suspended the university`s Highly Trusted S...
On 21st July 2012, the UK Border Agency identified a number of students working illegally in a Tesco warehouse. The students now face being removed from the UK. Overseas nationals who come to the UK on a student visa are permitted to work for up to 20 hours a week during term time. The number of hours the students are allowed to work depends on the level of course which the student has come to u...
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, international migration into OECD countries declined during 2008 and 2009, with a further dip in 2010....
As more businesses look to transact business abroad and enter lucrative new markets, inevitably senior personnel with knowledge and understanding of those markets will be recruited from overseas to work in the UK to spearhead development....
In a three month period between 1st July 2011 to 30th September 2011, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) issued civil penalties to employers amounting to £2,934,500. The total amount of fines may reduce if employers bring successful appeals or challenges to the fines imposed....