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Three Afghan nationals who worked as interpreters for British forces serving in Afghanistan have issued a high court claim for judicial review against the Secretary of State. The legal action forms part of a dispute over whether such interpreters should have the opportunity to settle in the UK. The immigration issues of non-British citizens who have served with or alongside Her Majesty's Forces have caused controversy in the past. In 2008 a campaign to allow a greater number of Ghurka... Read more »

Since 1 April, a concession has been in place from the UKBA for non-visa nationals wishing to enter the country through temporary employment as sheep shearers , without an employment visa. In 2009, with the introduction of the Points-Based System, businesses across the UK were struggling to shepherd a smooth path into the country for the skilled shearers, many of whom were coming from Australia and New Zealand. There was outcry from the wool industry at the time... Read more »

In an effort to discourage bulk booking of Public Enquiry Office (PEO) appointments by those with the intent of selling on appointments at a premium, the UKBA has introduced a £100 booking fee. A booking hotline has been set up which applicants and representatives must call before 3:30pm the next working day after booking the appointment in order to pay the fee. Failure to call and pay the fee before this deadline will result in the appointment being cancelled. An acknowledgement... Read more »

International students are permitted to enter the UK to study at London Metropolitan University. Currently, there is a limit on the number of international students that the university can enrol. In line with Home Office policy, the university is now subject to a probationary period in order to build a track record of compliance with the new students as they enrol. The Home Office has overturned a ban on London Metropolitan University admitting students from outside... Read more »

Why does the UKBA persist in not putting phone or fax numbers on most of its correspondence? It must be a matter of deliberate policy to stop people asking what are no doubt perceived as irritating questions. However, no other sensible organisation functions in this way. It reinforces the image of a faceless, uncaring institution that isn't interested in getting the right answer, just in keeping people (customers) off its back. The result in many cases is to increase the workload rather... Read more »

Are you a Tier 2 sponsor? Then bring yourself up to date with the latest changes to the Immigration Rules . Read more »

A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules comes into effect on 6 April. See our update on how this will affect applying for a Restricted Certificate of Sponsorship . Read more »

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper outlined Labour's new approach to immigration last Thursday in an attempt to seize the initiative from a Coalition fraying at the edges and struggling to reach a consensus on its own policy. Despite the Prime Minister stressing that the party would not "lurch to the right" in the wake of the Eastleigh by-election, the rhetoric from some ministers has seemingly been at odds with this statement. Home Secretary Theresa May has announced plans to... Read more »

In a dark period of credit downgrades and humiliating by-elections the drop in net migration looked like a glimmer of hope for the coalition. The pledge to bring net migration down to 'the tens of thousands' has filtered through from a Conservative Party manifesto to the forefront of immigration policy. After humiliating rises in 2010 the Office for National Statistics revealed that net migration had fallen by a third to 163,000. Immigration Minister Mark Harper stated that "our tough reforms... Read more »

Currently Romanian and Bulgarian nationals are entitled to two principal routes to work in the UK: the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme and the Sectors Based Scheme. The first allows for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to undertake short-term seasonal agricultural work in the UK and the second allows Romanian and Bulgarian nationals to do low-skilled work in the food manufacturing process. They can, however, come in as self-employed persons, which doesn't technically require an official... Read more »

Home Secretary Theresa May has accused judges of making the UK more dangerous by ignoring rules aimed at deporting more foreign criminals. Last year, MPs approved new guidance for judges making clear a criminal's right to a family life had limits. The guidance made clear the right to a family life - set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - was only qualified. The change was designed to end a string of cases where it was used to justify granting foreign criminals... Read more »

The 3rd Edition of the Life in the UK booklet became available on 27 Jan 2013; the new Life in the UK Test will be introduced from 25 March 2013. This is the test that those seeking settled status in the UK and/or British citizenship must pass. This will be the first revision since 2007. The new test represents a change of focus and a move away from what were in many instances "questions for visitors" on topics such as public transport, credit cards, water meters and how to locate... Read more »

Judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body. In other words, judicial reviews are a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made, rather than the rights and wrongs of the conclusion reached. It is not really concerned with the conclusions of that process and whether those were 'right', as long as the right procedures have been followed and whether the body concerned acted properly and within its... Read more »

In early January there was widespread national media coverage of the fact that the UKBA had employed a contractor (Capita) to track down illegal immigrants. Capita had then sent text messages to thousands of people stating: " Message from the UK Border Agency: You are required to leave the UK as you no longer have the right to remain ". This became headline news both because of the abruptness of the message (considered by many to be spam) and the fact that many of those who received... Read more »

The Home Office yesterday announced urgent changes to the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) rules, which took effect as of today, 31 January 2013 . The following changes are applicable to all Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) applications that have not yet been decided and apply to applicants who seek entry clearance or leave to remain in the UK as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant for the first time. Changes to note are as follows: The introduction of a 'genuine entrepreneur test' which, it... Read more »

Attending the Public Enquiry Office can be a daunting experience, if for no other reason than the outcome is so important. But the process itself need not be daunting: After managing to book an appointment at the Public Enquiry Office in Croydon for Tatyana and her family, I'm on my way to Croydon with the application bundle. About twenty minutes from London Victoria Station the train pulls into East Croydon Station. It's snowing so I walk quickly to Lunar House, the building that... Read more »

Gherson has represented many clients in appeals to the First-tier and Upper Immigration Tribunals . Recently we have started to see a worrying trend in withdrawals of the UKBA decision days or minutes prior to the hearing. We have been told that the Home Office Presenting Officer’s unit that represents the UK Border Agency at appeals has a new policy that, where they consider the refusal to be indefensible, they withdraw the decision and refer the matter back to the... Read more »

We recently dealt with a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) application, which was initially refused. The applicant's dependant partner was also refused, as a result. We sought a review, which was successful. However, the UK visa section overseas refused to review the case of the dependant on the grounds that his was not a points-based application, so review was not a remedy available to him. This created a most peculiar and unfair result. The applicant's visa was granted, but... Read more »

The mechanisms for creating UK immigration law and the nature of the laws themselves have changed immeasurably over the centuries. The changes have mostly reflected changes in British history, global development and public perceptions of immigration. Immigration control has been a power exercised by kings, queens, ministers and parliament. In recent times the progress towards a truly democratic immigration system has begun to stall. Too much focus has been placed on people’s perceptions... Read more »

Theresa May's 12 December speech follows many robust government statements on curbing immigration. However, it may presage a slight change of tack. Our concern has been that in reducing immigration, the new rules have often engaged the wrong target, causing undesirable collateral damage. There now appears to be recognition of this. The speech mentions specifically "measures we are taking to make us more discerning when it comes to stopping the wrong people from coming here and even more... Read more »