We are within spitting distance of the next general election, an event that has been as ignored and distanced from by the people that wield the sword of power as it has been the antithesis for ‘Dave’ and his cronies for the last few years.


This is the main event – the shadowy characters of the Tory party have been waiting for this since Cameron was convincingly voted ahead of David Davis by a margin of 2:1 in 2005, this is the chance to wrestle the pendulum of public opinion back onto their side. For the political party that was tarnished for what at the time seemed like it would last more than the 13-years it has now been stands a real chance of achieving the top spot.


So does anyone care? Or should that be what’s the difference?


For what we are faced with is a Conservative party that looks for all intents and purposes a fake ‘people’ party, just as New Labour proved to be.
Who can forget the cheesy smiles and the Brit poppers, in Tony’s lav. snorting their naughty powders, while the party churned out the theme tune that things can only get better? Well they did, they couldn’t get much worse, but for all of 5-minutes. We now know the Labour party as much for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (and the belligerence that was pursued) as much as we do for Mo Mowlam and the Irish peace process.


However, what we see before us is a less convincing caricature of the early years of the terrible twosome, just as Vic and Bob are a slightly familiar aperitif of Morecombe and Wise, so too are Dave and George a not so funny Tony and Gord.
For the haphazard stock-brokers son, educated at Eton and wishing to regain power for the Tories is a lot more unconvincing as the man of the people than the effervescent Blair of the 90’s succeeded in portraying.

UK Immigration and the general election

A recent study put the subject of UK immigration as in the top 3 considerations of voters when choosing a party to vote for. This was flawlessly anticipated by the suspected staff batterer currently running the country, with a raft of measures to counteract the predictable attempts by the Conservatives to embarrass the Government just before Christmas. This included a clampdown on fraudulent student visas, a new points-based system for UK visas and probationary periods for new migrants. This has had the effect that both parties’ are near enough identical when in comes to UK immigration policy.
The only noticeable difference is that the Tories have introduced a proviso that if they win the general election they would limit numbers into the country to considerably less than has been proposed by Labour. The limit being touted would be 50,000 non-EU immigrants a year, this they claim would ensure that the country’s population does not surpass the 70million mark by 2030 (the much reported figure a few months ago if UK immigration continues at the same pace).


The consequence of this on economic growth is not yet known, and it is doubtful the powers at ‘Dave’ HQ have thought that far ahead.
This new policy is clearly aimed at addressing a perceived chink in Labour’s foreign policy, although the effect of such might just backfire.


The actions of the Conservatives in making this exaggerated move might appeal to a few that are unclear on the subject, and I am not dis-regarding the real need of a lot of people that are finding it difficult to secure jobs, however, what about all the people that can look beyond spin? This isn’t Australia, our elections are not won on anti-immigration rhetoric, we are an open (most people) and friendly (some people) country that is much more multi-cultural and diverse, this history dates back to the 50’s. Our country is made up of immigrants that now call themselves British.


We need a debate on this issue as soon as possible, otherwise some might just be taken in by the Conservatives naïve attempt to capitalise on the BNP vote. What we need in this country now, at a time when jobs are scarce and the economy suffering, is a more controlled approach to UK immigration – and not a political party that we know from history will say anything to get what they want and who have implemented a better salesman than Gordon Brown.

If you are currently working in the UK on a UK work visa you are no doubt abundantly aware of when this visa will run out. The process of immigration into the UK is structured in such a way that you would have to be lacking in vital minerals to not know a round about date of when your UK visa is going to expire. Are people that forgetful? It is possible I suppose. This as you could imagine is a common occurrence for those posturing in a position of authority within UK immigration, similar to the school teacher that questions the pupil on why he is late or the dog on why he chose that particular cellulose pulp, mainly derived from wood, to have for his breakfast. It is of course bound to happen sooner or later, the latter being the operative word for those in this predicament.

The situation, although easily avoided, is where some forgetful souls find themselves. In a foreign land and not legally entitled to be there. Arggghhh exclamation mark, exclamation mark. I am now officially a government statistic they say to all their friends that know of what they talketh. Nights are filled with a restless, morose, melancholy sleep, punctuated only by moments of sheer terror that the UK version of the KGB are knocking at the door and they aren’t here to discuss the matter.

It is very easy to fall into this trap, another common side effect of just this situation is to put your head under a considerable amount of sand or find God and spend an inordinate amount of time in the church, reasoning that it is the sacred orifice of the Lord and UK immigration cannot enter with intentions to remove anyone from the country within the parapet of the altar.

It’s Official

The official advice from the UK border agency, if you are to find yourself in this situation, is of course to contact them. This can fill many an ‘illegal immigrant’ with palpitations of the large vein (the one that runs from the side of the forehead and disappears only to re-appear down the side of the neck.) There are of course stories of people simply being whisked off the streets, in some sort of movie caper involving the Gestapo and fast moving cars, however, cases that involve the individual being deported are judged on their individual merits. An example would be to compare a person that had been living in the country illegally for 20 years to a person who has just realised their visa ran out a week ago, also neither will be bundled into a car without a word, well maybe just 2-words.

In this situation of prevention is better than cure, that’s to say when you arrive at a fork in the road without the mandatory automobile function of reverse, it would be advisable to seek a resolution as soon as possible. The use of UK immigration advisors in cases such as these can be a huge benefit to the client’s state of mind.

Liam Clifford, the Managing Director of Global Visas confirms this;

“You are likely to be re-assured of the exact realities your situation entails, either good or bad. This is good as you can then move forward in a manner that is not filled with worry or anxiety.”


Other crucial dates that are very rare to forget include; your wedding day, your birthday, the first day of a new job and the weekend

The UK immigration authorities have announced price increases for certain types of UK visas. Government involved in this matter will no doubt feel that these measures are needed and most immigration observers would more than likely agree.

The criticism I have lobbied at the Labour party from this very blog is that in regards to the UK immigration policy they have simply not provided extra funding for services and institutions that an increase in population would require. By this I mean public services such as the healthcare system and schools.

In this country we are very fortunate in that we have a fully-subsidised healthcare system, one in which if you are in need of medical treatment you have access to it. This system for a long time has come under criticism and indeed it was one of Labour’s main policies when they came to power in 1997, under the musings of D.Reams ‘Things can only get better’, to revive it from the inadequate service some felt it had become. It could easily be argued that ‘New Labour’ has achieved the goal of improving the healthcare system in this country, and no doubt Mr Brown would draw on five dozen reports to prove just that, citing statistics to show that waiting lists have decreased, nosocomial infections caused by hospital visits have declined and patient care standards have been raised.

However I would counter that argument in that the main gripe the average Joe Bloggs has about immigration in this country is that it drains public services. It’s not rocket science, if you have an increase in population the amount of people using public services also increases.

2004 saw the introductions of Poland and the Baltic states into the EU, subsequently citizens from these countries were afforded the right to work in the UK, without the need to apply for a UK work visa. This saw a huge surge in people from these nations coming to the UK to live and work. Labour’s immigration policy has also recently come under scrutiny for being too liberal in who they allowed into the country. This has meant that since the Labour party took office the level of immigration into the UK has been steadily rising, official statistics published last month even claiming that the population will reach 70million by 2028 if the migration patterns of the last 10 years continue. I am not professing to know categorically that the budget for public spending has not increased by some measure, it more than likely has, what is self-evident however is the feeling among voters that public services are now under-funded for the amount of people we now have living in the country.

I am a firm believer in the notion that UK immigration is a positive for the country, even asylum seekers whose first generation can speak little English, the children of these migrants will grow up in a country that provides them every opportunity to achieve whatever their goals might be, I have no doubt that many will grow up to become the next generation of Doctors and key-workers, and if not such lofty aspirations for these individuals, who would otherwise be persecuted in their own country, economically active members of our unique nation.

The new UK visa measures go some way in appeasing voters and providing much needed funds for the services that need it most. As the deadline for a general election looms, and UK immigration looks set to be a major sticking point for the current government, it will be interesting from my perspective to see what other measures Mr Brown will introduce to rescue his UK immigration plans from the death-throes of a Tory party that smells blood.

Students are facing difficulties obtaining UK visas

The points-based UK immigration system aimed at rooting out terrorists blamed for delaying visas for genuine students.

Britain is losing tens of thousands of overseas students – worth £8.5bn a year to the economy – because of errors and obstructive behaviour by immigration officials, a report will say this week.

The controversial points-based immigration system, introduced in March, was designed to crack down on fake students and prevent terrorists from entering the country.

But a study has found that UK immigration officials working for the Border Agency in embassies and high commissions are misinterpreting the new rules and refusing UK visas to genuine students. Some have been so obstructive; they have deterred bona-fide students from coming to Britain.

According to Home Office figures, overseas students contribute £8.5bn a year to the British economy and their fees amount to 8% of the total income of British universities. Turning them away threatens a huge source of revenue and could threaten universities’ financial stability. It could also undermine the country’s international reputation for higher education.

The study, by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), questioned 2,777 international students who applied for a student visa between July and September. It found that two-fifths of the students had experienced difficulties or encountered “errors or obstructions” that had put them off studying in Britain or resulted in them being refused visas.

One had been refused a UK visa for putting her nationality as “Nigeria” rather than “Nigerian”. Others had their passports lost by officials or sent to the wrong addresses. Some had the wrong nationality stamped on their forms. At least 10% had been refused a visa the first time, but were successful at later attempts. UK immigration minister Phil Woolas last month admitted that more than 23,000 overseas students had been forced to re-apply for their visas in the last six months and had been granted them on the second or third attempt.

UKCISA, which represents the 340,000 international students at colleges and universities in Britain, said this represented “an enormous cost and inconvenience for students” and “undermined the UK’s reputation for higher education”.

Its study found that in at least five cases, UK immigration officials prevented students from bringing their young children to Britain. The cost of bureaucracy is also putting off potential students. Some 65% found the cost of a student visa – at £145, compared with £99 two years ago – excessive, while just under one in six of the students had to pay an extra £200 to ensure they had the correct paperwork. Two-fifths said immigration officials had been slow and inefficient, while 59% had problems with the application form and guidance.

The majority said they had no way of tracking the progress of their visa UK application or even knowing whether it had reached Britain. One student said: “Nearly everyone got rejected the first time because we did not choose the correct drop-down box in the online application form.” Another said: “I had my bank statements all translated into English, but two words were not translated and they forced me to spend another £60 to re-translate the whole document.”

The new rules require students to prove they have enough money to live in Britain. But 49% had difficulty proving that they had the funds to live in Britain.

One student said: “I come from a working-class family in the United States. The need to demonstrate the total funding for the year all at once was an enormous hardship and required my parents to empty out a retirement savings fund.”Dominic Scott, chief executive of UKCISA, said: “It looks as if the majority of students are being pretty patient and persistent, especially those who have had to apply for their visa for the UK more than once.

“Getting a student visa seems to have been like a hurdles race in which many get unnecessarily tripped up along the way. If we don’t make it work, tens of thousands of students will be looking at alternative and perhaps more welcoming destinations.”

Universities UK, the umbrella group for vice-chancellors, has said that 24% of universities missed their targets for international students this year, largely because of the student visas. A spokesman from the UK Border Agency said: “Whilst there will always be people who will try to abuse our immigration rules, we have robust systems in place to ensure that only those students who are genuinely coming to the UK to study can do so.

“The points-based system ensures that only those colleges and schools who provide quality education and take responsibility for their students are licensed to bring in foreign students.” Yesterday, the government’s senior adviser on migration called for an enquiry into more than 600 degree-awarding further education colleges to check that their overseas students are employed in highly skilled jobs in Britain after they graduate. Professor David Metcalf, chairman of the Home Office’s UK immigration advisory committee, said he was “stunned” to discover that more than 600 colleges could grant two-year work and residence visas to overseas students who had completed their courses.

Claims that increases in UK immigration have a negative effect on the job-market and that immigrants “take our jobs” and “cut our pay” are misplaced and wrong, according to research published by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

The economists say there is no evidence to suggest that large-scale immigration from eastern Europe into the UK since 2004 has had any substantial negative impact on either wages or employment. Indeed, they add that it is entirely possible there has been a small positive impact on both of these, or no impact at all.

The research model found that an increase of 1 percentage point in the proportion of UK immigrants of working-age in the population (for example from 10% to 11%) would reduce wages by about 0.3%, said Howard Reed, the IPPR’s chief economist.

He added: “This effect is extremely small. For someone on a wage of £6 an hour, just above the minimum wage working a 40-hour week, this suggests that a 1 percentage point increase in the share of migrants would reduce their weekly gross pay by around 70p – a tiny amount.”

The IPPR study found that, by comparison, leaving school between 17 and 19 rather than at the minimum leaving age of 16 increases wages by about 10%. For someone on £6 a week working a 40-hour week, this would equate to a weekly increase of £24 a week.

The study comes as renewed “British jobs for British workers” protests against UK immigration were staged this week outside power stations in Nottinghamshire and Kent.

The IPPR study, the Economic Impacts of Migration on the UK Labour Market, is based largely on data from the Labour Force Survey and Department for Work and Pensions figures on national insurance numbers from 2001 to 2007, as well as a review of the existing literature and economic theory.

The authors acknowledge that their conclusion is “optimistic” and point out that the data used for their research predates the recent downturn in the labour market. “If the recession that started in 2008 proves to be as severe as some of the more pessimistic commentators are predicting then it is likely that any impacts of migration on employment will be dwarfed by the large rise in the headline unemployment figures,” they write.

The authors say that if the downturn in the UK economy is particularly bad compared with other countries, it is possible that many workers who came to Britain from Poland and the other eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 will return. There is some initial evidence that this is already happening, they say.

They also concede that their study, although based on the best available data in the UK on immigration, was unable to assess the impact of migration on the labour market at a local level with any real rigour or detail. They conceded that it was entirely possible that there had been short-term negative impacts on wages and jobs from migration in particular local areas. “We simply do not know for sure,” they say.

Home Office UK immigration figures published this week showed a 47% drop in the number of economic migrants coming to Britain from Poland and other eastern European countries as the recession began to bite in the last three months of 2008.

The Law Society has negotiated major changes for Britain’s leading international law practices in plans that will mean firms can employ the world’s best and brightest legal workers from overseas.

The Society has witnessed many of its suggestions to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) replicated in the MAC’s official plans submitted to the Government this week in regards to the UK visa points-based system, which controls the amount of migrant workers entering into jobs in Britain.

The principle idea pointed out to MAC was that immigrants working within the UK’s international law sector are often highly qualified and receive a higher than average salary, therefore being able to make a significant input to the domestic economy. This is coupled with the desirable benefit that these workers do not pose a significant risk of abusing of the UK immigration system.

As a result of the Law Society’s recommendations the MAC has advised the Government to lift the restrictions on highly skilled workers within the Tier 1 points-based-system.

The president of the Law Society, Robert Heslett, said;

“Recruitment of the very best talent from the global marketplace underpins the success of leading international law firms that focus on developing talent to take advantage of opportunities in key emerging markets such as China and India.

“This strategic imperative means that non-EEA recruits, with foreign language skills and experience, are a vital component of a firm’s ability to remain competitive. The MAC proposals reflect the importance of allowing professionals with such skills to work for British law firms and in turn make a valuable contribution to our economy.”

The Law Society collaborated with some of Britain’s most prestigious international law firms in collecting a strong, evidence-lead submission to the MAC. Key subjects identified by the Society have been investigated and resolved in the MAC findings.

The MAC report, which centres on Tier 1 of the UK visa points-based-system, illustrates to Government the benefits of removing the requirement for highly-skilled migrant employees in Tier 1 to possess a Master’s degree.

In February 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that the rules for Tier 1 UK visas would be tightened so that only workers applying with a Master’s degree would have the number of points to qualify.

Because Master’s degrees are not standard in the legal sector the changes meant a disturbance of the market where experienced lawyers, fully able of creating large amounts of money for law firms were not allowed to enter the UK via the Tier 1 visa if they were not accredited with a Master’s degree.

The Law Society’s view that specialist qualifications should be held alongside and equivalent to a Master’s degree for the reasons of the UK visa points-based-system was also identified in the MAC report.

Robert Heslett says:

“There is little doubt that the current system needs to be less restrictive to ensure Britain remains the jurisdiction of choice.

“Aspects of the current PBS make it more difficult for City firms to attract the best legal talent from the global labour market. It reduces the mobility of lawyers within the international networks of UK-based firms, deters entrepreneurial overseas lawyers from doing business in Britain and may lead to clients taking their legal business to other jurisdictions.

“The opening of overseas legal markets is a priority for the Society, and the competitive position of UK exporters of legal services in respect of international markets is delicately balanced. Any perception that the domestic legal market is becoming more closed to overseas lawyers and law firms might result in further restrictions on the ability of UK lawyers to do business abroad.

“We will continue to promote improvements to the system which ensure that UK law firms are not placed at a competitive disadvantage.”

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UK immigration in control

A roadshow campaign by UK immigration officials around England has seen children fingerprinted, pensioners handcuffed and families locked into immigration service cell vans as part of a PR drive to dispel myths that surround immigration issues.

The series of events that took place at county fairs across southern England and was organised by the UK Border Agency.

Feedback from the initiative said that 239 visitors had improved their opinion of the work of the immigration service, while 13 said it was the same.

But migrant support groups were dubious as to the value of such a campaign. A spokesman for Refugee Action, quoted on the Guardian website, said: “We appreciate UK immigration officers do a hard job in difficult circumstances.

“But we remain to be convinced the way to dispel myths about immigration is to dress members of the immigration service up like extras from The Sweeney whilst running around fingerprinting children, handcuffing pensioners and locking families in arrest vans.”

The week-long PR push came in the same week that Baroness Scotland was fined by immigration officials over her involvement in employing a Tongan housekeeper who did not have a valid UK visa.

Habib Rahman speaks out on UK immigration

An immigration group has heavily criticised UK Border Agency powers following a report of a raid on the home of the former housekeeper of the attorney general, Baroness Scotland.

A report on the BBC News website said the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants accused UK officials of having “some police powers” that were “too much”.

The British police have given some police powers to border officials and they have misused their authority in a number of cases. The move followed changes to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 which provided extended powers to immigration officers.

The JCWI’s chief executive Habib Rahman said he was not in support of such raids being carried out by UK Border Agency officials.

Are immigration raids a step too far?

Should there be more intelligent ways of dealing with immigration issues?

Join the debate and tell Global Visas your views.

UK visa rule changes this month

The latest Statement of Changes in UK immigration rules was put before the government this week and these will be in effect from October 1 2009.

As of October, anyone wishing to apply for a UK visa could be affected by the changes. The changes include the following:

For anyone applying for a UK student Tier 4 visa of the points-based system, the launch of the electronic Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) will now be valid.

The UK Border Agency say: “This will strengthen the sponsorship arrangements for Tier 4 and provide educational institutions with a fast and straightforward electronic system to sponsor students.” As this transition takes places, the current visa letters will continue as an alternative to CAS. This is only a short-term fix.

A further change affects people applying for the Sole Representatives category. This will now be replaced by a new Representatives of Overseas Business category. The new category introduces a requirement to speak English, which will ensure that business representatives are able to make an effective contribution while they are here. There will also be minor technical changes made to various categories of the UK visa points-based system.

A full explanation of all the changes will be available from September 30 and Global Visas can of course provide expert guidance and advice on any aspect of the changes.

Phil Woolas wants your views on UK visa and immigration services

Those open-minded folk at the UK Border Agency have launched a public consultation on the fees it charges for its UK visa and immigration services.

They want to get people’s views on the fees they should charge for earned citizenship, which will be introduced in 2011. They also want to find out the public response on other new chargeable services that could be introduced in future to respond to customer demand and improve customer choice – for example, optional premium visa or immigration services at a higher fee.

As always, British Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas had something to say on the subject:

‘I believe that it is fair that those who benefit from using our immigration system should help fund it, and we will continue to use charges to recover part of our costs.

‘This consultation is part of an ongoing process to ensure we can run a modern and efficient system that welcomes legitimate migrants and balances the interests of both the users of the system and the UK taxpayer.

‘Already migrants contribute over £650 million towards our costs. This goes to fund the 25,000 staff who work in local communities, at the border and in 135 countries around the world.’

The Border Agency consultation is open for 12 weeks, until 1 December 2009. To take part, visit here.