The VNN Forum has reported on a recent announcement by the European Parliament that the proposed European Blue Card scheme for skilled immigrants will need to pass a crucial vote in the Civil Liberties Committee in early November.

Immigration and world permit news has repoted that the UK Border Agency published statistics showing the number of Eastern European immigrants coming to the UK is continuing to decrease. This can be good news for non-EU nationals hoping to live and work in the UK. Fewer Eastern European immigrants in the UK could mean improved labour market prospects for third country nationals.

Computer weekly have reported immigration lawyers and industry bodies predict that employers will NOT find it harder to get the IT skills they need when new immigration rules come into force in November, despite IT skills not being included on a new list of "shortage skills".

Personneltoday.com is reporting results of a survey carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers showing 88% of 170 HR Directors polled are yet to apply for a sponsorship license to employ non-EU migrant workers. The UK Border Agency can only guarantee applications received by 1 October, 2008 will be processed in time for the introduction of the new points-based system in November.

BBC News has reported on the list of UK jobs likely to be available to workers from outside the EU and how it will effect various industries.

Rediff India Abroad has reported that surrey-bound Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar was sent home by UK immigration officials after arriving in Heathrow without a valid working visa.

Intellegal has reported the UK Home Office's announcement of two new visitor visas for Sports people and entertainers, allowing people who fall under these category to visit the UK for up to six months. 

Did you or somebody you know have a Highly Skilled Migrant Visa (HSMP) before the changes came into effect 7 Nov 2006?

Did you or your friends perhaps leave the UK because you did not qualify to extend your HSMP or the application was refused under the then new rules and 75 points requirement?  Then we have very good news for you!

According to the HSMP Forum Ltd Judicial Review (JR) Judgement of April 2008 you are eligible for a free review of your application or you could apply for the new Tier 1 (General).  The review / application will be decided under the pre 7 Nov 06 HSMP rules!

Both Categories A or B qualify:
Category A - you applied for and were refused an extension of stay under the revised HSMP requirements introduced on 5 Dec 06, and subsequently left the UK.

Category B – you left the UK after 7 Nov 06 without applying for an extension of stay under the revised HSMP requirements introduced on 5 Dec 06.

For guidance on how to apply for reinstatement as a highly-skilled migrant click here

Smooth Landings has launching a new online 'Job Spot' putting travellers in touch with leading UK recruiters before they leave home, or on arrival. To register, click here.

"We want our members to make the most of their time in the UK and the Job Spot is designed to do just that," said Angela Lansdell, Immigration Advisor for the Smooth Group. "The Job Spot is a quick and easy facility where people can upload their resume before they arrive in the UK. It gives recruitment companies access to their information to assess their qualifications and skills, and hopefully our members will have interviews lined up on arrival."

This secure site allows travellers to drop their resume (CV) into one online basket for a variety of recruitment companies to peruse. It’s easy to register with the site and upload your resume. Individuals must register with Smooth Landings before they can use the service and job seeker information is only available to Smooth Landings’ recruitment partners who regularly review the site and contact the travellers directly.

“Moving to work in the UK is an exciting adventure, but there is much to learn and to organise before arriving,” said Angela Lansdell. “Travellers can trust Smooth Landings to be the perfect partner to make sure their arrival is hassle-free, so they can make the most of their time in the UK.”

The story that first broke in April about a High Court ruling that allowed migrant professionals back into Britain is still rolling in the Indian media, mainly because that country has so many professionals affected by the change in law.

The Economic Times reports thousands of Indian professionals are rejoicing with the news that they can return to the UK after the High Court ruling. The professionals had emigrated to the UK under the old HSMP (highly skilled migrant programme), but when the new points-based system was applied, in November 2006, more than 5,000 professionals – mostly Indians – had to leave the UK because the new rules were to be applied retrospectively.

In April, the High Court ruled the retrospective application of new rules was unlawful, so the professionals can return to the UK and resume their lives. One area that had a particular impact was stricter extension tests on permits. But migrants already in the UK, whose extensions were refused after the November 2006 changes came into force, will not have to pay another application fee again for a review of the decision under the old HSMP criteria.

The home affairs committee is conducting a review into the new points based immigration system that should be published by the end of this year.

Gordon Brown has relaxed immigration restrictions on atomic engineers as part of a series of measures to clean up the environment and curb crude oil prices.

At a recent press conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Gordon Brown told oil producing nations that the UK is determined to wean itself off oil dependency by expanding its nuclear power industry and developing other renewable forms of energy. The Government is pushing to increase the amount of electricity generated by nuclear power plants which currently account for a fifth of supply. Brown has been shmoosing companies to build new plants and has relaxed immigration restrictions for atomic engineers. 

Brown said: “Our commitment to the biggest expansion of nuclear power in Europe is now clear and definitive.”  

The changes are part of a ‘new deal’ Brown proposed to oil producing nations on behalf of the nations of the European Union. If Brown gets his way, this could see nations such as Saudi Arabia, Norway, The United Arab Emirates and Qatar recycling over $3 trillion they have reaped from a surge in oil prices into Western European nations.  

Brown explained Saudi Arabia and Norway are working with Britain on carbon capture programs that pump fumes blamed for damaging the earth’s climate for storage underground.  He added that the United Arab Emirates are also talking to the UK about investing in nuclear projects and Qatar is also seeking to invest in Britain’s energy industry.

The UK visa and permit system has changed radically. But what exactly do these changes mean to you? We are here to make life Smoother and to help you understand the changes.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the new points based system. Our advice is as follows:

The new Points Based System, being introduced over the next two years, represents the biggest change in UK immigration for the last four decades. Its aim is to make decisions much fairer and more transparent, and applications will be divided into one of five tiers.

• Tier 1, including the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, goes live in March this year, and between June and August more than 30,000 UK employers will register under the scheme. See below for more info on Tier one.
• Tier 2 includes work permit applications. There are no current plans to develop tier 3 (intended to replace the current Agricultural Seasonal Worker Scheme and Sector Based Permits). Because of this, some rather hysterical headlines have announced that there will be no more work permits for non-EU nationals, which is of course complete nonsense.
• Tier 4 will replace the current student visa system, and will place more responsibility on colleges and universities, who will act as sponsors for such applications.
• Tier 5 will include the Youth Mobility Visa, a replacement for the current Two Year Working Holiday Visa. There are no clear guidelines or timescales for this tier yet, although its scope appears set to be global and possibly industry-specific. All except Tier 1 will be sponsored, and will probably include a language requirement.

The Daily Telegraph reports that graduates are entering the toughest job market in years.

Are such dire predictions of recession – nay depression - the only side of the economic forecast for Britain? Media negativity aside, there is another view that suggests the UK might weather the impending economic storm more ably than some predict. There is still plenty of opportunity for graduates both from the UK and further afield.

Britain is Europe's leading business centre, inflation is low, and employment at the highest level for 30 years – making the thought that 195,000 students graduating this year might not step immediately into a well-heeled job seem less ominous.

The impact of this recession might even be less than that of the 1990s some experts say, because today's economy is more resilient. The demand for qualified, experienced people from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa is still strong. Whatever the economic forecast,  areas such as IT show demand is very high and growing. A global survey of business chiefs carried out just last month found that their biggest worry is staffing problems and a crisis in IT skills. Fifty-eight per cent of CIOs and CEOs are worried about an insufficient number of staff (according to a survey commissioned by the independent IT Governance Institute (ITGI). 

Also, demand in areas such as the nursing sector continues to be very strong. The NHS gets enormous support from agency nurses; the bill for their services topped a massive £1b in 2005 and these trend seems set to continue.

The fact of life is that it goes on ... recession or not, experienced people that are highly skilled will always be in demand in the UK, and people will continue to want to come here because this is stable and prosperous country.

The news there is a present and growing IT skills shortage in the UK is nothing new. Nor is the notion that the gap is plugged by skilled immigrant workers. This report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, for recruiters Harvey Nash, just throws out more alarming statistics.

The UK will need an extra 19,000 skilled migrants by 2012 in IT, telecoms and transport.
A Harvey Nash report also found skilled migrants to the UK will top 800,000 within four years, making a contribution to the UK of £77b.

By 2010, jobs in industries that depend heavily on information and communication technology will account for half the total in Europe. The EU needs 20m skilled workers over the next 20 years.
To meet this demand, European eyes are turned overseas.

The EU last year unveiled a blue card for skilled migrants. It is a direct response to the US's green card. What some call the land of tax breaks and opportunity, the US, gets the lion's share of skilled labour (55%) compared to the EU's puny 5%.

But the blue card's political passage is far from smooth. Aimed at highly skilled migrant workers from Asian and African countries, they would get all the social and financial benefits of their newly-adopted country and their immigration there fast tracked.

But opponents say this has nothing to do with meeting the skills shortage, but is politically motivated to centralise Europe and give Brussels the say on levels of economic migrants.

Whether the blue card succeeds or fails, it's going to take a while to get the political nod. Opponents make another good point: they say skilled migrants are clever enough to know how to negotiate the immigration procedure and business is clever enough to know where to find them and tempt them over.