Immigration newsletter 13 Sep 2012

Some UK visas can take months to be processed by UK Immigration or you may have to attend in person at the public enquiry office to have your application processed.  We are OISC registered and if you are already in the UK can submit your UK visa application to UKBA to be dealt with on the same day! Please note that we only have a limited number of slots at UKBA each week, so it is best to apply as far in advance as possible. Call the London Office on 0344 991 9222 for further details. 

There are several vacancies available in Australia that need to be filled immediately. Employers in Perth, Western Australia are seeking metal fabricators, boilermakers and carpenters. Australian work visas are available for the right candidates.

Australia is a very popular immigration destination for skilled tradespeople and professionals from the UK.  There are over one million immigrants in Australia from Britain. If you are interested in Australian immigration you can apply for a skilled migration visa if sponsored by an employer or territory or if you are nominated in an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List.

You should contact us now at ozvisa@workpermit.com to discuss your various Australian visa options. 

There is a shortage of nurses throughout Canada, according to that country’s immigration ministry.  The shortage is especially severe in Quebec where there are vacancies for nurses of many kinds.

Canada will need 60,000 more nurses by 2022. Nurses in Montreal  can expect to be paid US$28-40 per hour.

If you are interested, workpermit.com can help. Send your CV to workpermit.com.

The UKBA says it is taking longer than usual to process applications for UK visas made in Thailand. It warns Thais that its office in Bangkok is very busy and urges them to apply early. You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before travelling to the UK.

Chris Bowen MP, the Australian immigration minister, has announced a change to the visa rules that will enable the parents of naturalized Australian citizens and permanent residents to obtain a 5-year tourist visa. Parents who are waiting for a parent visa, for which there is a long waiting list, can apply.

The new visa will allow parents to visit Australia as often as they like with a maximum stay of 12 months. The changes will come into effect by the end of 2012.

Applicants must have access to adequate funds and have health insurance.

London Metropolitan University has stated that it intends to take legal action to challenge the revocation of its licence to teach international students. On 29th August 2012, the UKBA revoked the University’s Highly Trusted Sponsor status, thereby preventing it from teaching students from outside the European Economic Area.

The 2,600 international students already studying will have to find an alternative university or leave the UK.

A UKBA spokeswoman said it would strongly contest any legal challenge.’

The UK parliament’s Commons Public Accounts Committee has published a report which is fiercely critical of the UK Border Agency.

The report states that the UKBA introduced the Tier 4 student visa in 2009 before putting proper controls in place,’ Margaret Hodge, the Committee’s chairwoman, said the result was ‘chaos.’

Mrs Hodge said that the UKBA has been changing the rules to try to recover ever since, but this has merely made matters worse.  It has created a system which is difficult to understand for universities and students alike.

Mrs Hodge said that the UKBA’s errors have opened the system to abuse. She said there are many people working in the UK while on student visas and that the UKBA is ‘ignoring’ the situation.  

A record number of people left Syria as refugees in August 2012, The United Nations High Commission for Refugees says that 103,000 Syrian refugees left the country in August.

The UNHCR believes that the total number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, is now well over 230,000. 

Damian Green MP, until 5th September the UK’s Immigration Minister, has been removed from his post in a cabinet reshuffle. He has been replaced by Mark Harper, a Conservative MP. 

Mr Green became Immigration Minister when the Coalition government came to power in 2010. He had responsibility for reducing levels of immigration into the UK from about 260,000 to below 100,000 a year by 2015.  
 
It is not thought that Mr Harper’s appointment will change government policy.