Monday 21 January 2013

Immigration Update: January 2013

Working in the UK

Home Secretary's Speech on Immigration - 12/12/2012

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, delivered a speech on 'An Immigration System that Works in the National Interest' on 12 December 2012.  

The key points made in this speech concerning working in the UK was as follows:
  • ICT numbers have remained steady.
  • A new 'exceptional talent' route has been created to attract the best experts, scientists, artists and performers.  However, take-up has been low so they will be working with UK trade and investment to encourage more exceptional people taking advantage of this route.
  • A further 1,000 places a year will be introduced for MBA graduates who want to stay in Britain and start up businesses.


New application forms

The UK Border Agency published new versions of the following Tier 1 application forms on 13 December 2012:
  • Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) form
  • Tier 1 (Investor) form
  • Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) form
  • Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) form
  • Tier 1 (General) form
These forms can be downloaded from the UKBA website.

UKBA will continue to accept applications made on the previous versions of these forms up to and including 3 January 2013.

UKBA will consider any application submitted on or after 13 December 2012 under the revised Immigration Rules regardless of which version of the application form is sent.


General Immigration Matters

Review of Immigration Detention Casework

A thematic report of immigration detention casework jointly published by John Vine, Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, called for immigration casework to be improved so people aren't detained for longer than necessary.

They argue that casework must be appropriately skilled and resourced, and should be subject to more effective quality assurance.

The report also recommended that an independent panel be established to review the cases of all individuals held for lengthy periods.

The full report can be downloaded here.



Changes to Biometric Residence Permits

From 1 December 2012, changes are being made to the requirement to provide the UK Border Agency with biometric information.

Applicants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland granted permission to stay for more than 6 months on or after 1 December 2012 must apply for a biometric residence permit if they haven't already done so.

UKBA will write to those affected by the change to advise them how they can apply for their biometric residence permit.



New application forms

The UK Border Agency published new versions of the following application forms on 13 December 2012:
  • NTL form
  • TOC form
  • SET(M) form
  • SET(BUS) form
  • SET(DV) form
  • SET(F) form
  • SET(O) form
  • DRF1 form
  • FLR(M) form
  • FLR(O) form
  • DLR(BUS) form
  • DLR(P) form
  • BRP(RC) form
  • DL (formerly HPDL) form
  • BR(1) form
  • BR(3) form
These forms should be downloaded from the UKBA website.

UKBA will continue to accept applications made on the previous version of these forms up to and including 3 January 2013.

UKBA will consider any applications submitted on or after 13 December 2012 under the revised Immigration Rules regardless of which version of the application form is sent.



Met Police & UKBA jointly work to deport foreign offenders

A joint operation by the Metropolitan police and UK Border Agency has resulted in 179 foreign offenders being deported and a further 300 detained since September.

UKBA officers have been posted in 21 custody suites across London allowing quicker immigration checks to be undertaken.

The operation will run until the end of March and if successful could be rolled out to other police forces.


Veristat Services


Training for Employers

We are increasingly being asked to provide training for employers both on Tier 2 and 'right to work' including document examination.  Sessions normally last around half a day and are fully tailored to the employer's requirements.

For further information, please contact us at enquiries@hrimmigration.co.uk.


HTS and Immigration support for Education providers

Veristat provides a wide range of services to education providers including compliance audits and advice packages, full details of which can be found on our website www.veristat.co.uk.  An increasingly popular service for Universities is our mock UKBA audit which covers all aspects of compliance from recruitment to student monitoring and reporting.  For further information and a no commitment discussion contact Don Ingham at don@veristat.co.uk.


Admissions Service

In response to requests from clients, Veristat has launched a new Admissions Service for schools, colleges and universities to ensure that student applications meet UKBA requirements.  The service can be continuous or as additional support to cover short term, peak periods.  We offer a full menu of options from which clients can select the services that meet their requirements.  Examples include:
  • Review and approval of all admissions documentation pending CAS issue.
  • English language (SELT) and NARIC checks.
  • Checks for previous refusals and study.
  • Academic progression
  • Rules relating to length of study
  • Chasing missing documentation
  • Finance checks
  • Issuing CAS as Level 1 or Level 2 user
For further information, please contact us at enquiries@veristat.co.uk.