26th February, 2009

We at The Smooth Group were tickled when we came across this article on the Yorkshire Post website recently.

One of their journalists, John Ledger, had set out to find the answers to what he thought were three straight forward questions: How does the points-based system for UK visas work? How many points does a rugby player need to be granted a visa? And is there a sliding scale of points deductions for criminal and civil offences? His research stemmed from the recent refusal of UK visas to several Aussie rugby players including Greg Bird and Michael Crocker.

To find the information he was looking for he went to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) website but ended up more confused than ever. John then made a call to the Home Office’s press office for clarification but was told to go back to the website as the info was all there. After another visit to the website he found some of the info he was looking for but not all, so called the press office again. He was told to go back to the website. He insisted the info wasn’t there and suggested he and the press office look through it together. Surprise, surprise, they couldn't find what he was looking for.

John Ledger had just gone through what most employers, as well as colleges and universities, around the country have been going through since the PBS was introduced. The UKBA website is tricky.