Monday, 1 October 2012

Immigration Update: October 2012



Tier 4

UK Border Agency criticised for student visa rule changes

A report published by the Public Accounts Committee criticised the UK Border Agency for its poor planning regarding rule changes to student visas.

The report also stated that an additional 50,000 people came to Britain to work rather than to study.

The committee also questioned the removal of controls, such as spot-check interviews of students entering the country and they were also critical of the slow implementation of an electronic system showing students had been sponsored by a licensed sponsor.

You can read the full report here.



Exclusion of overseas students from Migration count

In their report on Overseas Students and Net Migration, the Business Innovation and Skills Committee has criticised the government policy on overseas students.

The report urges the government to record overseas students under a different classification so that it doesn't count against the overall limit on net migration.  They argued that by doing this it will allow the UK to continue to expand its share of the overseas student market.

The full report can be read here.



Change to UK migration figures planned re: Overseas Students

The government has announced it is looking to develop a new method of measuring student migration in and out of the UK.

The Office of National Statistics is currently working on developing better ways of counting overseas students with regards to calculating migration figures.

At present, the government can only estimate the number of overseas students leaving the UK, so in order for them to accurately measure student migration a better system needs to be found.


Outcome of London Metropolitan University's Legal Challenge

The London Metropolitan University's Tier 4 sponsor licence remained revoked following an initial challenge heard on 21 September 2012.

However, the UK Border Agency agreed to allow existing genuine students to continue to study at the university until their course ends or until the end of the academic year, whichever is sooner, as long as they meet the required standards.

Additional checks will be made by UKBA on affected students at the university to identify those students are here legally.

Radio 4 - The Report - Visa trouble at London Met

Wesley Stephenson (Radio 4, The Report) investigates why the UK Border Agency revoked London Metropolitan University's license to sponsor overseas students with contributions from Veristat's Director, Don Ingham.



New Tier 4 Form


The UKBA has introduced a new Tier 4 application form (General and Child) for applications from 1st October 2012.  Education providers should advise students seeking an extension of stay who may be using photocopies of the old version.



Tier 1 and 2
  

New 'Exceptional talent' guidance issued by UKBA

The UK Border Agency has published revised Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) guidance.

This guidance should be used when making an application under the Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) category.

The revised guidance can be downloaded here and a table of changes made to this guidance can be downloaded at the following link:


Report by Policy Exchange calls for relaxed visa requirements for skilled migrants

The independent Think Tank, Policy Exchange, has called for relaxed visa requirements for skilled migrants to promote the potential of the UK in the high tech and digital economy.

In the short term, they recommend relaxing the visa requirements for skilled migrants, including reinstating a two-year post study for graduates achieving good degrees in STEM subjects, to make it easier for start-ups to find and employ talented staff from UK universities.

The full report can be downloaded at the following link:

General Immigration Matters

Government's secrecy over 'high-risk' immigration backlist

The government is attempting to keep secret a backlist of 44 countries with a poor immigration record whose nationals are targeted for tougher action when applying to come to the UK.

John Vine, the Independent Inspector of the UK Border Agency, drew up this list in February 2011, following his review of entry clearance processes in Abu Dhabi and Islamabad.

A two-day hearing has commenced against a ruling by the information commissioner for a partial disclosure of this list.

The Foreign Office is concerned that some of these countries will be highly offended if this list becomes public and may retaliate which would damage Britain's diplomatic relations.



UKBA award contract to Capita plc to track illegal immigrants

The UK Border Agency has announced that Capita plc, the support services supplier, has been awarded a contract for four years to locate more than 170,000 missing migrants.

Capita will receive a payment for the number of illegal immigrants they make contact with as well as the number of people who leave the UK.



UKBA's warning about unscrupulous agents

The UK Border Agency has issued a warning against unscrupulous agents working in the visa industry in Thailand and Vietnam.

They warn that these agents are unable to make any guarantees on the success of a UK visa application.


HTS applications and Immigration support


For support in complying with UKBA requirements, including applications for Highly Trusted Sponsor status, see our website http://www.veristat.co.uk and contact us at don@veristat.co.uk.

Veristat provides a wide range of services to education providers through compliance audits, advice packages, assessment of intent and recruitment.  Please contact us at enquiries@veristat.co.uk for a no commitment discussion if you think you would benefit from any of these services.

Document checking with "Validate"


Veristat is pleased to announce a partnership with TSSI for the supply and application of its 'Validate system' for the scanning, storing and verification of passports and other identity documents.  The system checks the security features of a passport or other ID document and compares against a database of over 2800 document types offering a simple tick or cross (pass or fail) before storing a scanned copy onto a database which can be interfaced with your existing student record system, offering an easy and cost effective way of ensuring Tier 4 compliance.  It comes with full support from TSSI and Veristat Immigration consultancy (ex UKBA staff).

For further information please contact don@veristat.co.uk.

Entrepreneur Visits


We are working with InvestUK (http://www.investuk.com) to provide immigration and investment support to applicants seeking leave to enter or remain as an entrepreneur under Tier 1 of the PBS.  For further information please contact enquiries@veristat.co.uk or enquiries@investuk.com.
Posted by at

Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Immigration Update: September 2012


Tier 4

UKBA revoke London Metropolitan University's license

The UK Border Agency has confirmed that London Metropolitan University's licence to sponsor students from outside the European Union has been revoked.  Although other universities have had licences suspended, this is the first UK University to lose its licence.  A report in the Sunday Times (26th August 2012) described the reasons for the revocation as including students failing to enrol, students being allowed to study without valid leave and the English language ability of the students.

Veristat staff are all senior ex UKBA staff and the company has been working with schools, colleges and universities on compliance issues since the introduction of the PBS.  We conduct compliance audits which simulate UKBA visits and advise on good practice and areas for improvement so that HEIs and other education providers have an opportunity to put things right before a UKBA visit rather than risk the revocation of their licence.  We also provide audits of feeder colleges.  Contact Don Ingham (don@veristat.co.uk) for an informal discussion of how we may be able to help.

UK immigration staff to test international student's English skills

Since 2009, demonstrating language ability has been a key part of the Tier 4 visa process.

However, there have been recent concerns that the introduction of student interviews, could result in students being barred from coming to the UK to study despite passing an approved language test if immigration staff judge that their English is not good enough.

Mike Milanovic, chief executive of Cambridge ESOL, has advised that immigration staff will need specialist skills to interview international students applying to come to the UK to study.

UKBA has recommended that their staff seek advice from local British Council offices.

Dr Rahul Choudaha, director of research at the World Education Services, also wanted that assessing language would not stop abuses.



Eurozone crisis bringing students to British universities

Research by Study Portals, an EU-funded website set up to help young people apply for university courses elsewhere in Europe, shows there has been an increase in the number of students from European countries wanting to study at British universities to escape the economic crises in their home countries.

The report shows that the number of enquiries made through the website from Greek, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese students has significantly increased.

The figures indicate that demand to study outside their own country has increased by more than 180 per cent among Italian students, 162 per cent from Greeks, 157 per cent from Spaniards and 140 per cent from Portuguese students.



New Tier 4 Dependants Policy Guidance

The UK Border Agency has published a new Tier 4 dependant's policy guidance, which is valid from 1st August 2012.



Tier 1 and 2
  

Possible £200,000 fine for Tesco over illegal foreign workers

The UK Border Agency found that international students employed at a Tesco.com building in Croydon, South London were working longer hours than their visas allowed.

20 of these students were arrested for alleged breaches of visa terms that restricted the amount of hours they can work.

Tesco will need to provide evidence to UKBA that they were carrying out all legally required checks to avoid a fine.

A fine of £10,000 per illegal worker could be issued by the UK Border Agency.


Fake UK Border Agency Websites and calls

The UK Border Agency has been advised of a number of scam e-mails and websites claiming to be sent and operated by them.

These include:
  • Foreign criminals advertising fake UK jobs on the Internet.  Individuals who apply are advised they have a job and are then directed to a link to pay for visa and work permit fees.  This is not operated by the UK Border Agency.
  • Students at a number of UK Universities have received calls from individuals claiming to work for the UK Border Agency, giving a false name and a return telephone number.  Again, these calls are not from the UKBA.  These calls appear genuine and convincing.  The caller advises the student there is a serious problem with their immigration status and that they need to make a payment to avoid further action including deportation.
  • A request for payment of a deposit as proof that the individual has sufficient funds to support their arrival in the UK until their first salary is received.
These scams have been reported by UK Border Agency to action fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre.  They have warned that there may also be other scams that have not yet been brought to their attention.

If anyone receives a suspicious call or e-mail, or comes across a suspicious website, UKBA advises they report the matter online to action fraud (www.actionfraud.police.uk) or by calling Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.



Reduction to Net Immigration figures for UK

Official figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a reduction in net immigration for the UK.

The latest figures calculate net immigration (difference between total immigration and total emigration) as being 216,000, a decrease of 36,000 on the previous published figure of 252,000.

However, despite this apparent drop in net immigration, the ONS have warned that this figure cannot be relied upon and that the margin of error as a result of random sampling was too great to discount in calculating these figures.  The unreliability of these figures has led commentators to question whether the Government will ever know whether it has achieved its target of reducing net immigration to 'tens of thousands'.



Veristat Services


New applications service launched


UKBA invariably link issues relating to failure to complete, refusals and failure to enrol back to recruitment processes.  They want to see a firm and robust system with clear processes that are adhered to on a consistent basis.

As a result of requests from clients, we have introduced a new admissions service to ensure that applications meet UKBA requirements.  The service can be continuous or as an additional support to cover short term, peak periods.  We provide a range of options with each service tailored to meet the needs of the institution.
  • Review and approval of all admissions documentation pending CAS issue.
  • English language (SELT) and NARIC checks.
  • Checks for previous refusals and study.
  • Academic progression
  • 3 and 5 year rule
  • Chasing missing documentation
  • Issuing CAS as Level 1 or Level 2 user
We also provide a wide range of additional services including advice services; support with document checking and student registration (short or long term); training; visa and attendance monitoring; and help with the preparation of policies, procedures and documentation.

For an informal discussion about any of these services, please contact Don Ingham at don@veristat.co.uk.
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)