Immigration newsletter 02 Apr 2014

Do you have a professional level contract in the UK paying at least £180 per day? If so, we can help you find a sponsor and obtain a UK Tier 2 (General) skilled worker visa. It is easier to switch if you already have a Tier 1 PSW visa or Tier 4 student visa or Tier 2 Visa. The UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur scheme may also be an option. Why not contact the London office for further details.

UK Immigration Solicitor needed - Call the UK office on 0344 991 9222

Some UK visa fees to rise by 37% on 6th April - Apply NOW!

The fees for many UK visas will rise on 6th April. Most visa fees for main applicants will rise by 4% but fees for dependent spouses and children will rise by nearly 40%. Previously, there was a 25% discount on visas for dependants but this has been abolished.

This means that a visa for a dependant of a Tier 2 General visa applicant will rise from £434 to £601. You could save hundreds of pounds by applying today. Why not give us a call on 0344 991 9222 now?

Australian immigration minister announces 457 visa investigation

The Australian government has announced an investigation into alleged abuse of the 457 temporary work visa.

A panel will investigate whether the requirement that positions should be advertised in Australia before being offered to foreign workers should be scrapped.

Australian unions complain that the members of the panel are drawn from business and some are known opponents of the testing requirement.

The Unions have urged the government to place a union representative on the panel but it has refused.

US L-1B visa refusal rates increase

A report by an influential US think-tank says that refusal rates for L-1B intra company transfer visas have risen yearly for the last decade and seem still to be rising. According to the National Foundation for American Policy, 9% of L-1B visa applications were refused in 2003. This had risen to 34% by 2013.

The report says that the L-1B rules have not changed so US immigration must be interpreting them more strictly.

The report says that this change has been bad for the US economy.

UK will issue fewer than 200 Tier 1 Exceptional Talent tech visas per year

UK immigration has announced that only 200 Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visas will be available for IT workers each year.

The Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa was first introduced in 2011. In December 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that some Exceptional Talent visas would be issued to IT professionals because of a skills shortage in the IT sector.

But it is extremely difficult to qualify for the exceptional talent visa and many people predict that far fewer than 200 IT Exceptional talent visas will be issued annually. Even if all 200 visas were issued this would make little difference to the tech sector. In 2011, seven people qualified for Exceptional Talent visas.

If it was easier for IT companies to sponsor employees for Tier 2 (General) skilled worker visas this would make more of a difference.

UK immigration 'must not sell citizenship' say MPs

A committee of MPs has warned the UK's Coalition government against selling Tier 1 (Investor) visas at auction.

Last month, the government's independent Migration Advisory Committee suggested that the government should auction off 100 'premium' investor visas each year with a reserve price of £2.5m. These visas would allow their holders to qualify for UK citizenship within months.

But the Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons urged the government to reject this advice. The committee's chairman, Keith Vaz, said the proposal was ‘a recipe for disaster’.

Chinese investor visa applicants to sue Canadian immigration

A group of Chinese citizens are considering suing the Canadian government after it terminated the Immigrant Investor Program in February. It is estimated that some 65,000 people were waiting for visas when the program was scrapped.

Lawyers representing some of the applicants say they had already bought property in Vancouver and had a legitimate expectation that they would receive visas.

The IIP allowed wealthy foreigners who lent CAN$800,000 to the Canadian government to apply for permanent resident visas. Principal applicants were allowed to bring their dependent family with them.