Visa Services

Since 23 January 2009 the Embassy of the Russian Federation in London has outsourced its visa application processing to M/S VFS Services (UK) Ltd who run the Russia Visa Application Centre... Read more »

A clause in the Crime and Courts Bill published on 10 May 2012 will remove the full right of appeal for those applying to enter the UK as a family visitor. Subject to Parliamentary approval... Read more »

Glaringly absent from the recent extensive statement of changes to the Immigration Rules called HC 1888 was the figure for the limit on Tier 2 (General) applications for the year 6 April 2012 to... Read more »

In June of 2011 Immigration Minister Damian Green announced radical plans for the phasing out of the route to settlement (the right to live in the United Kingdom permanently) in the United Kingdom... Read more »

The Asylum and Immigration Chamber of the Upper Tribunal’s determination in Naved (Student – fairness – notice of points) [2012] UKUT 14 (IAC) focuses on the effects of section 85A of the... Read more »

Earlier this week Immigration Rules came into force widening the scope of the Tier 5 (Youth Mobility) immigration route. "Youth Mobility” is one half of Tier 5 (the other being Tier 5 (Temporary... Read more »

In its judgment in Dereci and others (CJEU C-256/11, 15 Nov 2011) the Court of Justice of the European Union has clarified the scope of its judgment earlier this year in Ruiz Zambrano [2011] EUECJ... Read more »

The United Kingdom Border Agency announced last week (November 16 2011) that that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) had recommended that the minimum salary to be demonstrated by people settled... Read more »

As we reported on this site, on 12 October 2011 the Supreme Court issued a judgment ( Quila and Bibi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] UKSC 45) to the effect that a change in the... Read more »

Does the UKBA have any discretion to consider an application under the Points Based System if the applicant failed to meet the strict requirements of the Agency’s "policy guidance”? If it does,... Read more »

Back in May of 2011 the government got round to implementing section 85A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. (It actually could have done so at any point from when Parliament... Read more »

The United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA)’s Shortage Occupation list consists of a range of jobs which it is accepted that there not enough skilled workers in the UK to fill. Employers who... Read more »

House of Commons paper 1511, the fifth statement of changes in the Immigration Rules so far this year (2011), includes a disparate set of changes to the immigration regimes relating to: ... Read more »

The Upper Tribunal’s Asylum and Immigration Chamber’s determination in Bhanushali (re-using same CAS: new rules) India [2011] UKUT 00411(IAC), issued on 5 October 2011 is a salutary indication... Read more »

Is X’s brother-in-law a member of X’s family? The answer matters because, by the Immigration Appeals (Family Visitor) Regulations 2003, only those who applied for a visa to visit one of their "family... Read more »

The Court of Appeal's judgment in AJ v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWCA Civ 1081 (21 September 2011) highlights the ongoing impact of the Supreme Court's judgment in ZH (Tanzania)... Read more »

The United Kingdom Border Agency’s consultation entitled Employment-related settlement, Tier 5 and Overseas domestic worker closed last week. Its consultation on " family migration ” is due... Read more »

Readers familiar with this site will know that keeping up with the requirements for leave to enter or remain under the points based system is not easy. Four separate statements of changes in the Immigration... Read more »

Strictly speaking the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Migrant subcategory of Tier 1 of the points based system has been open since April of 2011. It was brought into existence by Statement of Changes... Read more »

Last Wednesday (July 13 2011) the Immigration Minister Damian Green announced the latest of the United Kingdom Border Agency’s public consultations. This time the focus is upon "family migration”... Read more »