Immigration newsletter 17 Aug 2011

If you are a spectator, athlete, or media professional, there are a few things you should know about visiting the UK for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

If you are a spectator you may need to obtain a visitor's visa to enter the UK. Processing times for visas are usually 15 working days; However, you can apply for a visa up to three months before your planned date of travel.

Thousands of people pursuing asylum and immigration cases were left without support after the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) charity went into unannounced administration on 8 July 2011. This means in effect that at least for the time being IAS is closed. If you are a client of the Immigration Advisory Service you should contact the Immigration Advisory Service for details on what to do next. You should not visit Immigration Advisory Service offices.

Family members of temporary workers in British Columbia will be granted permission to work under a new pilot project launched on 15 August 2011.

The announcement was made by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and a Minister from British Columbia Pat Bell.

An Indian woman living in the UK is unable to bring her husband to live with her in the UK due to a new law which requires spouse immigrants to speak English. The couple is now bringing a legal challenge to this law in the UK courts.

British citizen Rashida Chapti applied for her husband of 34 years, Vali Chapti to come and stay with her permanently in the UK. They have six children together.

European Union Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom is heading a European Agenda for Integration. The EU feels that there is a need for better integration of Europe's immigrants.

"The benefits of migration can only be fully achieved if we have good and effective integration," Malmstrom said.

Germany is experiencing a marked decline in available workers in areas such as IT and engineering; The country is now considering immigration as a solution to this problem.

Germany has some of the strictest immigration rules in the EU. If a German firm wants to hire a non-EU worker, they must prove that they cannot find a suitable candidate from within the EU. Moreover, the non-EU workers must be paid more than 66,000 euros a year, twice the average German salary.