21 May 2015
Tier 2 Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship allocations close to the limit
The government has retained the annual cap for Tier 2 Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship at 20,700 for the current year, 6 April 2015 – 5 April 2016.
21 May 2015
New Immigration measures announced
In his first speech on immigration since the election, the Prime Minister has announced sweeping new measures to try and reduce migrant numbers and tackle some of the immigration abuses in the area of illegal working.
19 May 2015
Biometric Residence Permits for migrants applying for visas overseas
In our previous update on 18 March 2015, we provided details of the phased roll-out of Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) for non-EEA nationals travelling to the UK for more than six months. As each country implements switches over to the new process, migrants will initially be issued with a 30 day travel visa and will then need to collect their BRP from their nearest post office, once they arrive in the UK.
12 May 2015
Home Office reporting delays in issuing Biometric Residence Permits
The Home Office is reporting a delay in the issuance of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) for Tier 2 (General), Sportsperson and Ministry of Religion applicants, following changes introduced in late April 2015 in the recording of National Insurance (NI) numbers on the BRP. For in-country applicants in these Tier 2 categories, they will require a NI number when making their leave to remain application in the UK. Before issuing the BRP, the Home Office will need to check the NI position with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and it is this additional check which is currently causing delays of up to 10 days.
30 April 2015
Updated Registered Travellers Scheme
We previously updated you on 26 November 2014 regarding the Registered Travellers Scheme which has since been opened up to a greater number of applicants. Although it is still limited to nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the US, the categories of applicant have been expanded to include all visa holders with the exception of Tier 5 (Sporting & Creative Concessions), EEA family permit holders and those with discretionary leave and leave outside the immigration rules. In addition it is still available to visitors who have visited the UK at least four times in the previous 52 weeks.