News
13.07.2023 - Massive increases to immigration fees announced
The government has announced massive increases in immigration fees and the immigration health surcharge.
The normal rate for the immigration health surcharge will increase from £624 to £1,035 per year. This will be paid by workers entering for a period of six months or more and the family members of migrants and British citizens alike. The discounted rate for students, children and youth mobility visa holders will be increased from £470 to £776. The minister announcing the measure explicitly stated that this increase “would fund the pay rise for doctors” that was announced earlier.
Immigration...
07.07.2023 - High Court rejects challenge to EU Settlement Scheme dependency rules for children
The child of an EU national is only entitled to stay in the UK after Brexit if they are under 21 or dependent on their parent, the High Court has held. In reaching this conclusion, the court in R (on the application of Ali) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 1615 (Admin) confirmed that the UK’s EU Settlement Scheme accurately reflects the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the European Union.
The facts
The claimant, Ms Ali, is a Bangladeshi citizen with an EU national mother. She arrived in the UK in 2014 with an EEA family permit issued under the Immigration (Europe...
03.07.2023 - Updates about the operation of Tech Nation for visas purposes
After a decade as a government-backed organisation serving the UK scaleup tech ecosystem, it was announced that Tech Nation has been acquired by Founders Forum Group (FF Group), a global community and group of businesses supporting entrepreneurs at every stage of their journeys.
The transfer will see FF Group continue to execute against Tech Nation’s mission to empower tech entrepreneurs, scale innovative startups, and provide a united platform for UK tech founders.
FF Group will relaunch a number of Tech Nation programmes and reports on the UK tech sector as part of its existing portfolio of...
26.06.2023 - Supreme Court finds “golden” investor visa scheme unlawful
Last week the Supreme Court found that a financing scheme to help individuals qualify for an Investor visa did not comply with the requirements of the immigration rules. The case is R (on the application of Wang) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 21 and the judgment reverses the decision of the Court of Appeal, restoring the original decision by the Upper Tribunal.
The decision means that Ms Wang and over 100 others reported to have participated in the same financing scheme will not qualify for visas. The decision has little wider significance regarding the interpretatio...
12.06.2023 - Ukrainian families supported into own homes with £150m funding
Funding will be allocated across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, helping support Ukrainian families into their own homes.
Ukrainians in the UK will be helped into their own homes as part of a £150 million funding allocation.
The funding will be divided across the UK according to the number of Ukrainians in each nation: circa £109 million for England, circa £30 million for Scotland, circa £8 million for Wales and around £2 million to Northern Ireland.
Funding can be used by councils to help Ukrainian families into the private rental sector, help them get jobs, and continue sponso...
09.06.2023 - Data shows Ukrainians in the UK continue to face homelessness crisis
The Ukraine Scheme homelessness statistics released each month provide an update on the long-term consequences of additional schemes for people with Ukraine Scheme visas. Monitoring of progress through regular data publication (even if incomplete) highlights where the government and local councils are doing well, and where they are not.
Local council homelessness prevention and relief duty
Local authorities have a duty to act to prevent homelessness. They may do so through any activity aimed at preventing people from becoming homeless, including providing resources and support to help people s...
05.06.2023 - Foreigners might have to wait longer to become British citizens
Foreigners might have to wait longer to become British citizens under plans to make the UK seem less of a 'soft touch' on immigration.
Home Office officials are currently considering bringing the UK closer into line with other countries by extending the criterion of 'continuous residence' from five years to eight years before they grant an indefinite leave to remain – the first step towards citizenship.
Other changes being considered include requiring applicants to have worked or been at school in the UK for two years; a strict threshold for criminality – such as demanding that an applicant mu...
25.05.2023 - Immigration up but not as much as expected
The latest quarterly immigration statistics of the United Kingdom were published today. Most of the media focus is on net migration and the Office of National Statistics ONS report. Net migration turned out to be around 600,000 rather than the 700,000 or more that some had predicted.
Here, though, we’re going to focus on just one part of the picture: the Home Office statistics on grants of visas and citizenship. These figures form only one part of the net migration equation (immigration minus emigration equals net migration). Even then, the visa figures are not synonymous with the immigration ...
23.05.2023 - Rule changes for international students and dependents to reduce net migration
In a written statement to parliament today, Suella Braverman announced that the government intends to tighten the rules for international students in an attempt to bring down net migration figures, which are due to be published this Thursday, 25 May. However, the changes will come into force in January 2024.
The government have also published a news story to confirm the plans announced in the written statement.
The government plans include:
- Removing the right for international students to bring dependants unless they are on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes....
The Home Office has announced recently that if a person was granted permission or UK visa after 16 May 2023, they will still be able to apply for a visa under the Ukraine Extension Scheme once the new rules are in force in August 2023.
The Home Office advises to wait until more information is available and it yet remains unclear what the new rules in this regard shall be.
Apart from the above, and subject to the British Parliament approval process, the Immigration Rules are also expected to change in July 2023 to extend the eligibility for the Ukraine Extension Scheme to include those who were...
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