UK eliminates backlog on work permit applications

Britain's Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) has caught up with their backlog of work permit applications. This is good news for United Kingdom employers who hire migrant workers from outside the European Union or European Economic Area.

As of 07 November 2007, the BIA is considering applications within 5 days of receipt. At the end of October, BIA was making decisions on 70 percent of applications within 5 working days and 88 percent of applications within 15 working days.

However, review requests are currently taking 5 weeks to decide.

"We have taken steps to reduce the backlog of cases on the reviews team and hope to have resolved this by the end of November," the BIA said in a release.

Please see out UK work permit section for more information on obtaining work permits for employment within the United Kingdom.