http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/KohanaPHPKatie Newburyhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/couples-torn-apart-by-uk-family-migration-rulesTue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100 It has been almost a year since the introduction of new draconian immigration rules relating to family migration. We shared some of our concerns about the changes in a previous blog, ‘New rules for family migration – unrealistic specified documents’, and evidence would now suggest that these rules continue to result in partners being split up.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/couples-torn-apart-by-uk-family-migration-rulesElspeth Guildhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/the-mysterious-case-of-uk-fears-about-bulgarians-and-romaniansTue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 February 2013 has been an active month for press coverage around the UK Government’s fears that Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will flock to the UK in 2014 when transitional restrictions on work are finally lifted. The second week of February was particularly lively with the Prime Minister making a statement every day about various measures the Government is taking to end migration. In the midst of the noise and fury, it is easy to lose track of the facts. Perhaps we should remind ourselves about some of them now.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/the-mysterious-case-of-uk-fears-about-bulgarians-and-romaniansHelen Smithhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/new-ukba-backlog-symptomatic-of-systemic-delays-and-damaging-to-the-uk-economyThu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 The media has widely reported today that the UKBA has a backlog of around 16,000 cases, some of which date back a decade, as uncovered by John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. For those of us representing clients in this arena, this news is hardly surprising. The UKBA is racked with delays across many of its areas of operation and these are bound to increase as limited resources are spread ever thinner across the agency.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/new-ukba-backlog-symptomatic-of-systemic-delays-and-damaging-to-the-uk-economyKaren Collinshttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/applying-to-naturalise-as-a-british-citizen-are-you-of-good-characterFri, 18 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Those applying for naturalisation now need to be aware that any criminal convictions and tax issues can be taken into account when their applications are assessed. On 13 December 2012, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) announced a change to the way it assesses criminal convictions and this affects how the UKBA will assess the ‘good character’ requirement for naturalisation applications. No longer will criminal convictions be considered ‘spent’ but instead they will be evaluated according to a ‘sentence based threshold’.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/applying-to-naturalise-as-a-british-citizen-are-you-of-good-characterIlda de Sousahttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/employing-migrant-workers-a-checklist-for-complianceTue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Supermarket giant Tesco has recently been fined £115,000 for employing foreign students who were breaking the conditions of their visas. This follows shortly after the decision by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to suspend the Tier 4 sponsor licence of the London Metropolitan University, due to the non-compliance with its sponsor licence duties. These high profile cases along with other recently reported cases on the UKBA website clearly show that the UKBA will not hesitate to take action against employers or academic institutions, whether big or small, who fail to comply with their licence obligations. Ilda de Sousa provides a checklist for how employers can ensure that they are compliant.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/employing-migrant-workers-a-checklist-for-complianceEmma Kinghttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/the-brightest-and-the-best-forced-onto-the-streetsTue, 09 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0100 Foreign migrants are being forced to take time out from work or study for up to nine hours in order to register with the police.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/the-brightest-and-the-best-forced-onto-the-streetsHelen Smithhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/new-ukba-backlog-causing-economic-damage-employers-held-to-ransomTue, 25 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0100 British businesses wanting to sponsor key individuals to come to the UK to help grow or develop their businesses are being thwarted by the excessive length of time it takes the UKBA to process Tier 2 sponsor registration applications at present. Businesses with the potential to lead the UK's economic recovery are facing major delays with their sponsor licence applications, meaning they cannot bring in the people they need when they need them. Plans for expansion in the UK market are having to be put on hold while the administrative process of obtaining a sponsor licence runs its ever lengthier course.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/new-ukba-backlog-causing-economic-damage-employers-held-to-ransomRoberta Draperhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/has-britain-closed-its-doors-to-elderly-dependant-relativesWed, 25 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0100 Yes, the elderly dependant relative immigration category is now closed. Well, that is not strictly true, but it may as well be as the threshold to make an application under the new rules has been set so high that it is difficult to imagine circumstances where it would still apply in practice.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/has-britain-closed-its-doors-to-elderly-dependant-relativesRoberta Draperhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/new-rules-for-family-migration-unrealistic-specified-documentsFri, 20 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0100 A few of us from the immigration team recently attended the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN) event on “The new family migration rules: dividing families, disrupting integration”, which was hosted at the Houses of Parliament. The event was well attended but the discussion was unfortunately somewhat unfocussed, and the issue of how practitioners and applicants will deal with the changes to the family rules (which came into force on 9 July 2012) in practice, was not discussed. http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/new-rules-for-family-migration-unrealistic-specified-documentsKatie Newburyhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/want-to-live-with-your-family-in-the-uk-all-you-need-is-love-and-lots-of-moneyFri, 15 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0100 Monday 11 June 2012 saw the announcement of the long awaited response to last summer’s consultation on family migration, and the message from Government is clear: if you want to bring your loved ones to the UK, show us your money. http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/want-to-live-with-your-family-in-the-uk-all-you-need-is-love-and-lots-of-moneyAndrew Tingleyhttp://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/britain-closed-for-business-highly-skilled-migrants-and-employers-face-government-onslaught-in-a-bid-to-reduce-net-migrationFri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Since the introduction of the Points Based System, individuals entering under Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the Points Based System have been affected most by Labour and Conservative Governments’ immigration policies. The result is that migrants are caught up in a Kafkaesque system in which legislation is applied retrospectively and genuine mistakes in applications end up with the prospect of forcible removal from the UK.http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/news-and-events/blogs/immigration-law-blog/britain-closed-for-business-highly-skilled-migrants-and-employers-face-government-onslaught-in-a-bid-to-reduce-net-migration