Indefinite Leave To Remain – Calculating Continuous Period In UK

New Report Criticises UKBA Failings

The UK Border Agency has come under fire following accusations that its officials have supplied inaccurate information to Parliament about the backlog of asylum cases.

Immigration Rule Changes Affecting Tiers 1 And 2

Immigration Backlog 'Spiralling Out Of Control' And Amounts To An Amnesty, Says Home Affairs Commitee.

“Perfect Storm” Could Hit Postgraduate Education, Warns Higher Education Commission

Prestigious Award Success For DWi

DWi Hosts ‘Immigration & Investment In The UK’ Seminars

New Immigration Minister in the Cabinet Reshuffle

2000 Students Fear Removal from UK

The UKBA has revoked the licence of London Metropolitan University to recruit and teach foreign students following evidence that student attendance is not being monitored and that some students had no right to be in the UK.

Rollout of pre-entry TB screening in India

The UK government made an announcement in May that India was among 67 countries to which pre-entry tuberculosis (TB) screening would be extended on the basis of World Health Organisation figures of high TB incidence.

Industry Recognition For DWi

Renewing your Sponsor Licence

UK Home Office Olympics Planning

Possible U Turn On Foreign Students

Foreign Student Debate Continues To Roar

According to the BBC, Home Office Minister, Damian Green, has stated that it is essential that foreign students are not deterred by the immigration rules changes.

Milliband Faces Labour's Record On Immigration To Much Debate

Labour Leader, Ed Miliband, last week confronted and publicly accepted Labour’s failure to anticipate the huge influx of central and eastern European migrants, which was seen as contributory factor to their failure in the 2010 election. 

Top Marks In DWi Client Satisfaction Survey

Clients who have recently processed an application with DWi are invited to take part in a ‘satisfaction survey’ comprising eight short questions, which enables DWi to evaluate our performance and highlight areas in which we have excelled or need to improve. Our latest survey has shown excellent results. 

City Warns New Immigration Rules Will Start A Brain Drain

The Independent has reported that the legal profession in the City has voiced concerns that the UK’s tough new immigration rules will result in Britain struggling to attract some of the world's top business talent. 

14 Year Rule to be Abolished

The Home Office has announced that current provisions within the immigration rules on settlement for overseas nationals who have been the UK for 14 years - in some part without official leave to remain - will be withdrawn on 9th July 2012.

Earn £20,000 A Year To Be Allowed To Marry A Foreigner

Home Secretary Theresa May yesterday outlined that from 9th July 2012, the minimum income requirement for a UK citizen or person settled in the UK to sponsor the settlement of a spouse or partner of non-EEA nationality will rise to £18,600.

Net Migration Not Budged Yet

Despite the Government’s measures, net migration to the UK, i.e. those arriving to stay in the UK for more than a year, was 252,000 for the 12 months to September 2011 – a drop of just 3,000 on the previous year.  

UK Foreign Born Population Doubled 1993 to 2011

According to The Migration Observatory at Oxford University, the foreign-born population in the UK has increased from about 3.8 million in 1993 to over 7.0 million in 2011.

Beecroft's Foreign Worker Recommendations

The Government has published its controversial report into labour market deregulation. The report, compiled by venture capitalist and Conservative party donor Adrian Beecroft, has been heavily criticised for its recommendations to give employers the right to instigate no fault sackings. However it also contains specific recommendations regarding foreign workers.

Including International Students Will Damage UK Higher Education, Warns IPPR

Leading think tank, The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), has published a report warning that the Government’s insistence of including international students in their net migration count will damage the British education sector. 

Govt To 'Fast Track' 70 More Staff For Heathrow For The Late Summer Rush

Plans have been announced to speed up the recruitment of 70 more border staff for Heathrow to quell concerns about lengthy queues after the Olympics. 

UKBA Launches Tier 2 and 5 Premium Service

The UK Border Agency launched its new Premium Customer Service for Tier 2 and Tier 5 sponsors on 6th April 2012. 

Citizenship Approvals Per Year More Than Doubled Since 2000

A recent report by The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, shows that in 2011, 177,878 foreign citizens naturalised as British citizens. This was a decrease from 195,130 in 2010, but higher than a five year average of 162,704 from 2005-2009. Approvals of British citizenship applications have increased substantially since 2000, with annual averages of 114,284 from 2000-2004.

Border Agency Report Points To Changes and Planning Deficiencies As The Queue Cause

A UK Border Agency Report has shown that the long queues at Heathrow airport were caused by organisational changes and a lack of planning, with too few staff at peak times at passport control at Terminal 3. According to the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, John Vine, border staff were hampered in their ability “to maintain effective and efficient controls".

UKBA Publishes Olympics Guides

The UKBA has published new guides entitled ‘Coming to the UK to watch the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games’. Information and advice on applying for a visa, knowing what to bring into the UK, reclaiming VAT, and knowing rights and responsibilities whilst in the UK is available in English, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Spanish and Thai.

UK Immigration Officers Plan May Strike Over Pension Reforms

Immigration officers and passport office staff are expected to stage walkouts on 10th May after the Public & Commercial Services union (PCS) called for industrial action over public sector pension reforms. The strike is scheduled to take place one day after the Queen's Speech, in which the government's legislative ambitions are set out, and which is expected to include a bill enshrining pension changes in law.

Border Chaos Continues As Leak Alleges 10% Cut In UK Border Force

According to BBC reports, The Labour Party has obtained leaked figures that reveal that 10% of officers have been cut from the UK Border Force since 2010. That amounts to 880 personnel with a further 1,550 officer posts potentially disappearing by 2014/15.

UKBA Croydon Office Chaos As Computers Crash

On Thursday 3 May, hundreds of people queuing at UKBA's public enquiry office in Croydon, applying to extend or renew biometric residence permits, were told to go home because the computer system could not cope. All afternoon appointments have now been cancelled for the next two weeks.

UK A Highly Desirable Relocation Destination, says Gallup

According to research organisation Gallup in the US, 640 million people would like to leave their country of origin permanently – roughly 13% of the world’s adults. Of those, 45 million would like to come to the UK, making it the world’s second most desirable destination behind the USA, which took the top slot for 150 million people. 

UK Migration Keeping Track With The G8

A recent report by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford shows that UK migration is broadly in line with similar patterns across the G8 countries as a whole.

Borders Agency Still Borderline

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has provided ‘inconsistent’ information about immigration and asylum cases dating back to 2006, according to the Home Affairs Committee.

Cooling Off Period Concerns Grow

Concerns are gathering following the Home Office’s announcement to freeze its cap on non-migrant workers Visas at 20,700 until April 2014.

Eye Scanners Mothballed

High tech eye scanners at Manchester and Birmingham airports have been mothballed, but will continue being used at Gatwick and Heathrow until after the Olympics.

Family Visas Route To UK No Longer?

A leaked letter to The Telegraph warns of possible new rules, proposed to come in this June,  that will make it harder to come to the UK on family visas.

UK Immigration Rules - Changes to Tier 2

Following consultation and a report published by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in February, changes to the immigration rules were laid before Parliament on 4th April 2012. The UK government has after careful consideration, announced the following:

Be Prepared For Olympian Airport Traffic

The combination of summer tourism and the Olympics means Heathrow will see tens of thousands of extra passengers in July and August. Travellers are being advised to plan ahead carefully during this period.

London is Top of the Pops

A recent survey by totaljobs.com places London at Number 1 for international jobseekers. Respondents placed the importance of London as an international business centre and living factors over and above current UK economic performance.

DWi - Working around the Olympics

When London hosts the Olympic Games this summer, it will become the first city to stage the Olympics three times; the first being 1908 and later in 1948. Over 17,000 athletes representing 200 countries will compete in 26 sports, watched by a global television audience of billions. Staggering statistics – but what does it mean for Dearson Winyard, and how we operate day to day?

Biometric Enrolment Centres closed to postal applicants

From 10th April 2012, postal applicants will only be able to enrol biometric information at one of 104 Post Offices nationwide, and the option of enrolling biometric information at a Home Office biometric centre will no longer be available.

Changes to Immigration Rules from 6th April 2012

In order to help achieve the Government’s aims to reduce net migration and reliance on migrant labour, a number of existing immigration rules have been reviewed and the Statement of Changes laid before Parliament on 15th March 2012.

Vince Cable Leaked Letter Speaks of Immigration Cap as a Pressing Issue

A five-page leaked letter, sent by Vince Cable  to David Cameron and Nick Clegg last month, can be summarised by his stark admission that the Government lacks “a compelling vision of where the country is heading” following the financial crisis. 

Foreign Workers - Addiction or Advantage?

Speaking to the Financial Times, Britain’s immigration minister Damian Green, has called for curbs on hiring migrant workers, referring to the practice as "an addiction". 

Thinking Behind the Numbers - UK Immigration Report: Is the Government between a rock and a hard place?

“Thinking Behind the Numbers”, was commissioned by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford as “the first systematic analysis of who people in Britain really think of as ‘immigrants’, and of how people’s views differ substantially toward different immigrant groups”.

£35,000 Per Year the Price of Settlement

Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that from 2016, migrant workers from outside the EU who wish to settle in the UK must earn at least £35,000.  Mrs May said that this action would help reduce the number of non-Europeans settling from 60,000 per year to 20,000.

Biometric Residence Permit Requirement Increased

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced that it has completed the rollout of biometric residence permits (BRPs) to new applicants applying to stay in the UK for more than six months. This includes refugees and those granted settlement. 

Businesses Bypassing Tier 2 Cap

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has reported that three times as many workers come to the UK on the intra-company transfer (ICT) scheme than on Tier 2 visas. 

UKBA to ‘Name and Shame’ Those Employing Illegal Workers

The United Kingdom Border Authority (UKBA) has initiated a policy of publishing quarterly reports detailing the penalties handed out to employers that employ illegal workers, starting from 10th February 2012.

Net Migration Remains at Record Levels

Net migration remains at record levels, a continuing threat to the government’s target of reducing immigration to the UK to below one hundred thousand by 2015. 

UK Immigration Agencies to be Split

Following the publication of the Vine Report into border security, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that the UK Border Agency will be split into two distinct entities. 

Government Announces Further Student Visa Restrictions

The government has announced the next round of student visa restrictions; another step towards reducing immigration to the UK to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament.

The UKBA Announces Fee Increases for Visas and Applications

The United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) has announced fee increases for visas and applications made from within the UK to take effect from 6 April 2012.

Green Announces Contribution Based System to Immigration

The time has come to stop thinking of UK Immigration solely in terms of numbers and to focus on "how we can benefit from immigration", according to Immigration Minister Damian Green. 

Statistics Watchdog Questions Government Report

Sir Michael Scholar, head of the UK Statistics Authority, has questioned the validity of the recent government report into the benefits claimed by immigrants to the UK.

‘Root and Branch’ Reform Needed at the UKBA

The Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee has published its report into UK Border Controls, following the unauthorised relaxation of immigration checks during the summer of 2011. 

Benefit Tourism Fears Unfounded

Pioneering government research intended to ensure against "benefit tourism" has revealed that the overwhelming majority of work-related benefits claims made by migrants to the UK are legitimate.

Conflicting Reports into the Impact of Immigration on Unemployment

Reports by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) have delivered seemingly conflicting findings regarding the impact of immigration on unemployment amongst UK citizens.

Study Linking UK Immigration with Youth Unemployment ‘Flawed’

The findings of a new report by Migrationwatch UK, linking immigration from Eastern Europe with youth unemployment, have been described as ‘flawed’ by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR). 

Connect with Dearson Winyard International

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DWi Expands Private Client Practice

Leading immigration consultancy, DearsonWinyard International, is delighted to announce the expansion of its Private Client Practice. Stephen Atkinson has been appointed to head up the department, bringing with him a wealth of experience in successfully conducting high net worth individuals and their families through the UK’s complex immigration regulations.

Think Tank Predicts UK Immigration Targets will be a Miss

UK immigration figures will not meet government targets, which aim for net migration in the tens of thousands by 2015, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The Migration Review 2011/2012 predicts that net migration will fall to 180,000 in 2012, from its record high of 252,000 in 2010, but will not continue to fall at that rate.