Immigration newsletter 16 Mar 2011

We remind you yet again that if you are in the UK and wish to apply for a Tier 1 General highly skilled Visa you only have a few weeks left. This will mainly affect people on Tier 2 visas and those on Tier 1 post study work visas. Independent Skilled immigration to the UK will in effect end on 5 April 2011.

The Migration Advisory Committee set up by the previous UK Government in 2007 to advise on immigration issues has recommended that eight job titles be removed from the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). This is relevant for applications under the Tier 2 visa for Skilled Workers, the UK's employer-sponsored immigration visa.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) also recommended last month that 71 occupations be removed from the list of occupations that may qualify under the Tier 2 visa category for skilled workers.

Skilled immigration to the UK, Canada and Australia has become increasingly difficult in recent years. Singapore and Hong Kong already have large Indian communities. More and more Indians are looking at Singapore and Hong Kong as immigration destinations. There is a long history of mass immigration of Indians to Singapore and Hong Kong which started during the time of the British Empire about two hundred years ago.

The UK government has announced that it will remove 8 occupations from the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). If an occupation is on the shortage occupation list it is easier for an employer to employ a migrant under Tier 2 of the UK's points based immigration system.

If an occupation is on the shortage occupation list the UK feels there are not enough resident vacancies to fill the available vacancies.

"When the 8 occupations are removed from the list, the number of jobs available to migrants under the list will be reduced from 500,000 to around 230,000," the UK Border Agency said in a statement.

A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) finds that the UK's points based system is not delivering its full "value for money potential". The study also found that, while adaptable, the system needs to improve customer service and its management information processes.

"Implementing the radical changes planned for the System in 2011-12 will enable the Agency to reconsider its priorities and improve customer service and its assurance over control systems," said Amyas Morse, head of NAO.

New legislation, if enacted, will make obtaining a work visa in the US much easier for immigrant entrepreneurs.

The StartUp Visa Act of 2011 would allow an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two year visa as long as he or she can show that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to invest in the immigrant's venture or can show that the business has generated at least $100,000 in annual sales from the US.