Latest Immigration News

December 2008

22.12.08

Smooth celebrates client's success at AIT

People who might have been refused leave to remain after applying to the Home Office for a post study work visa should not despair; there's still hope! Just this week one student who, having been denied after submitting his Tier 1 post study application, had the decision overturned at an appeal hearing.

18.12.08

New ID cards available in Sheffield

The Home Office has announced that foreign nationals can now enrol for ID cards in Sheffield. It is hoped the new ID cards will lock migrants to one identity and help businesses crack down on illegal working.

16.12.08

UK jobs still available to migrants

Last week, Financialadvice.co.uk reported that the UK government is in a desperate race to refloat the UK economy before we see a major collapse in the employment market. Recent announcements by various recruitment agencies have revealed new vacancies are becoming more and more scarce with many companies looking to cut back on their recruitment costs and employment base.

12.12.08

The 'Smooth' take on recent immigration stories

PublicTechnology.net has reported that the Training Development Agency (TDA) for schools has launched a YouTube campaign to encourage more people to become science teachers. The campaign is aimed at the British public to attract more people into teaching and in particular to the Sciences. What it highlights is that there is a shortage of suitably qualified Science Teachers in UK schools - a gap that can be closed by foreign nationals. The new Points Based System (PBS) will make it easier for schools to sponsor non-EU teachers once they have received their A rating on the new Sponsorship Registration Scheme.

November 2008

28.11.08

Could the new PBS pull us through the financial storm?

The current economic downturn in the UK has lead the number of Eastern Europeans applying for UK working visas to drop to it’s lowest since 2005. This, along with the new Points-Based System (PBS) placing stricter rules on employing migrant workers is making the void of skilled workers in the UK even bigger.

27.11.08

Tier 2 goes live despite concerns over ill-prepared employers

The launch of Tiers 2 and 5 of the new points based system has been a hot topic over 2008 and was recently opposed by the Tories as it was thought many employers were not sufficiently prepared. However, last night the UK Government voted in favour of these changes, meaning the launch went ahead as planned yesterday.

26.11.08

ID cards and nincompoops

This week, the BBC reported the UK Government’s controversial ID card scheme is now live. The first people to receive the cards will be non-EU students and husbands, wives or partners of permanent residents who apply to extend their stay. Officials say these two categories are those who are most likely of abusing immigration rules. The cards will include the individual's name and picture, their nationality, immigration status and two fingerprints.

24.11.08

LOTW: A review of interesting UK immigration stories from the week

Last week saw some interesting, useful and rather arrogant UK immigration stories emerge.
The first of these was reported on iol.co.za and looked at the efforts of the Home Affairs Department in South Africa to stop the UK Government imposing visa requirements on SA residents in the future.

24.11.08

Number of offices granting UK visas to be halved

APAnews.net has reported that the UK Government is implementing a programme that will see the number of high commissions around the world granting UK visas reduced from 100 to about 50 in the next few years.

23.11.08

Shortage occupation list just a smokescreen?

There's been a lot of discussion online about the Government’s claims there are now 200,000 fewer jobs available to non-EU migrant workers, thanks to the cuts to the 'shortage occupation list'.

18.11.08