UK Immigration: British Government to Crackdown on Student Visas

This is some rather surprising move – seeing the inherent failures in the current student visa policies, Alan Johnson, the British Home Secretary, announced that the number of student visas would be cut by the tens of thousands and introduce new English language requirements.

The general problem with student visas is that currently there are no limits and thousands of students come into Britain registered to bogus schools for qualifications that they don’t deserve to be in Britain for. More often than not, the schools turn out to be a sham but the people have already entered the UK and entered the illegal workforce.

They just disappear into the general population, making it difficult to track them down and deport them.

From the Guardian today:

Those seeking to study in the country will have to speak passable English, while students enrolling on short courses are banned from bringing dependants.

The new rules, which do not require legislation, come into effect immediately. The changes follow criticism of the government’s point-based system, that was introduced last year.

Prospective students will have to speak English to a level just below GCSE standard, treating English as a foreign language, rather than the beginner level as at present. In a move designed to protect jobs for British youngsters, students taking “below degree-level” courses will only be permitted to work for 10 hours a week, instead of the current 20.

Those on courses lasting less than six months will not be allowed to bring dependants, while the dependants of students on below degree-level courses will not be allowed to work. Student visas for below degree-level courses with a work placement will also only be granted for institutions that are on a new register, the highly trusted sponsors list.

There’s no word yet on what the new visa limits will be. Generally, we’re against quotas when it comes to UK immigration. However, this is a policy that makes sense. Far too many people are coming to the UK under the guise of studying when they’re not genuine. It’s ruins it for the rest of us.

This is policy by the Home Office should hopefully curtail a large amount of illegal immigration and hopefully take pressure off of the need to introduce quotas to other Tiers of the Points Based System.

United Kingdom Officially Emerges from the Recession – Econopocalypse Ends

While many people in Britain may not feel it quite yet, statistically Britain officially came out of the recession today, well in the 4th quarter at least.

There was growth – but not much. But it’s a sign of good things to come.

It was the longest recession since 1995 and was the worst since The War. But Britain made it through and although the economy is still gaining it’s footing – things are looking up for Britain.

This will be good for Gordon Brown if Labour can spin this in their favor.

We’ve seen the recovery ourselves. One only has to look at our Analytics and see where our traffic is coming from and what people are looking for.

People are traveling to Britain again – our travel articles are the most popular. Ads related to Britain are being clicked – people are buying things.

Looking at the UK immigration picture, hopefully a rebounding economy will take the pressure off the British government to cap and reduce highly skilled immigration. We continually monitor the UK job boards and there are lots of empty jobs that need to be filled.

The future is bright.

UK economy emerges from recession

UK Immigration: New Charges for Immigration and Nationality Service from the UK BIA

The big news in UK immigration matters this past week was the announcment of a new fee structure for all immigrants, whether you’re applying for a visa for the first time or are already in Britain and need to renew your work visa or apply for British citizenship.

Most of the fee updates are peicemeal – some are only a few pounds more than they were previously. Which isn’t so bad. Though, one must consider that the fees are quite high to begin with.

The most interesting thing to take from the report released today is that they are creating a new visa renewal service for the very rich who can afford it.

For a mere £15,000, you’ll no longer have to bear with the humiliation of having to renew your papers. Instead someone from the Home Office will come to you in person, sort out the forms, take your biometrics and be on their way.

We call it gold plated immigration. Nice service if you can afford it!

To see all of the new fees structure, download the proposal here.

UK Immigration: The Top 10 In Demand Highly Skilled Professions

I came across this in the Telegaph – it’s a list of occupations that are in short supply in the UK and are thus easier to get a work visa for. To save you having to go through the whole slideshow, here’s a breakdown of the most in demand professions in the UK job market.

• Health and Social Care – Doctors, Nurses, etc
• Pharmaceuticals – Researchers, etc
• Corporate Governance
• Education – Teachers, Headmasters, etc
• IT – Information Technology
• Social Housing Management
• Credit Control
• Commissioning and procurement
• Litigation
• Energy – Green energy, solar, wind, etc

So, if you’re in one of those fields, it’s much easier for you to qualify for a Tier 2 UK work visa. If that’s not your field – this is something you can keep in mind if you’re considering going back to school or retraining.

See the original Telegraph article here.

UK Immigration: UK Conservatives Want to Tighten Immigration if Elected

I’ve written at length about Immigration to the UK on this site before. It’s the only political topic related to Britain we believe it is OK for us to comment about since we are not UK voters. There has been some disturbing news of late and it’s worth parsing down and analysing for those that dream of moving to Britain one day.

As most Anglophile conscious readers know, the UK has an election coming up. It has to happen by June. It could happen earlier. We won’t know when until Prime Minister Gordon Brown decides to call it. An election time is an exciting time for Anglophiles to watch the British political system at work. However, it’s most unsettling right now because, as expected due to the econopocalypse, immigration is the hot button election issue.

The fact that it is such an issue is absurd because those in charge are only taking stands on immigration because it sells with voters who are scared about their job prospects and the advent of ‘multicultural Britain.’ Basically trashing immigrants sells to ‘middle England’ – the predominantly white middle aged populace that pretty much decides the outcome of the election.

David Cameron, whom I have a lot of respect for, has decided that the Tories will take a stand on immigration if they get elected and introduce Quotas that will limit the number of migrants to the UK.

As if the dizzying array of red tape required to immigrate to Britain wasn’t enough to deter people, they would like to create arbitrary limits to stem the flow of people into Britain.

There are many reasons why UK Immigration caps are a bad idea. Here’s a few:

1. Britain Can’t Limit EU Migrants to the UK – Citizens of the EU can live and work freely in the UK and this is by far the largest group of immigrants right now. They would be exempt from a cap in immigration unless Britain decides to quit the EU – which won’t happen.
2. Spousal Visas – Almost 40,000 people a year come to Britain because they’ve married a British citizen and are entitled to settle in Britain. A cap would have to exclude them too.
3. Returning Expats – They can’t block British Citizens who’ve left Britain for sunnier climes from coming back.

So, when you look at the numbers of people that a cap would affect, it would only actually affect 20% of immigrants to Britain. That 20% is the people from outside the EU who must already qualify to high standards to apply under the Points Based System.

Immigration Caps would punish highly skilled migrants who wish to settle in the UK and make an economic contribution to the development of Britain.

To add insult to injury, net migration to Britain is down over the past few years, mostly due to the economy and EU nationals returning to their home countries.

So, why do the UK conservatives think immigration caps are necessary? They simply aren’t. It’s a blatant grab for votes that plays on anti-immigration fears.

Look, we know there is a huge problem with illegal immigration in the UK. That’s not what this policy is designed for. This policy will be designed to punish the hardworking, qualified people who are trying to come to the UK legally. Creating arbitrary limits on immigration will not stop illegal immigration to the UK.

Britain will not stop illegal immigration by punishing us.

The new British Points Based System has been a great success in political terms. It’s done a good job of reducing the pool of migrants, making sure those truly qualified get to Britain and generating fees for the home office. The PBS is already a de facto immigration quota system. More quotas are not necessary.

If the Tories do get elected, my only hope is that those planning to immigrate to the UK can speed up their plans to get in before the Tories can get around to introducing new legislation, which will take some time.

I’m sure this issue will develop as the election season goes on and we will keep you updated.

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