The UK government is really flexing its muscle over illegal immigration and on June 19 Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced a series of measures in a document entitled, uncompromisingly ‘Enforcing the Deal’. The deal, presumably, is fulfilling the government’s promise of tightening up on illegal immigration.

Up to 7,500 UK Border Control Agency officers will be organised into 70 to 80 local immigration teams to feed off local knowledge and get to the heart of the problem.

Professional organisations involved in the trade of helping illegal immigrants to get into the UK will also be targeted. The Guardian reported that on the same day as the document was released, there were a series of raids of bogus colleges and a firm of solicitors supposedly issuing false education certificates to illegal entrants.

Other weapons in the BCA’s armoury are heavy penalities for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrant workers. The document included the announcement that once fined (£10,000 per illegal worker), businesses are named and shamed on the BCA’s website. 

It’s not fair, said the little guys in some news reports, they should hit the big boys.  But they are, after all, guilty and moreover, easy prey – and easier to find given this beefed up, more localised form of monitoring that is in league with the local police force and local authority and involves information sharing amongst bodies such as utilities companies. The chances of being caught out have never been greater.

The BCA already removes an immigration offender every eight minutes from the UK. That looks set to increase once these new measures coming into force. Employers and employees should beware, this is a very dangerous time to be hiring or working illegally in the UK.

 

Migrationwatch has revealed Government figures show more than 2m people have emigrated to the UK between 1991 and 2006.

 

Supporters of immigration have tried to make out that the majority of these have come from EU member states and that they will return home once their home economies have improved. The same supporters argue there is no point in immigration control, as they do not apply to EU citizens.

 

However, these figures show only 8%, around 200,000, of the 2.3m migrants were from Eastern Europe.

 

Chairman of Migrationwatch, Sir Andrew Green said: “The reality is that those who come and stay are almost entirely from countries subject to immigration control. What we need therefore is effective control.”

 

A UK Border Agency spokesman said sweeping changes were being introduced to the immigration system: “The Australian style points-based  system will cover six out of every ten migrants wanting to come to the UK.” Other measures will include a single border force to guard UK ports and compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals.

 

The figures also showed 212,000 people had left the UK, mostly going to Australia and EU countries as well as the US, New Zealand and Canada.

 

South Africa is losing professionals in droves as they up stakes and move to work in other countries.
Newspapers such as South Africa's The Times are coming out with some statistics that should make the country quake: an estimated one qualified engineer is leaving every day (according to The Engineering Council of South Africa) and in a survey of 1700 health professionals, half of them hope to leave the country within five years.

Crime, career prospects, earning power, the Eskom power crunch and schooling (some students are barred entry into university because of the  race quotas) are the reasons for professionals leaving; also applications for business visas have soared, meaning entrepreneurs are taking their inspiration – and cash – elsewhere..

All this is good news for immigration consultants and removals companies, who report business is up by, in some cases, 600% over last year.
Australia is top of the list in terms of favoured destination, but professionals are apparently becoming less fussy over where they end up – and desirable countries include New Zealand, Canada, Britain and the US.
South Africa's loss is Britain's gain because, like all EU countries, it needs professionals, particularly in IT, engineering and the health services.
The EU needs an estimated 20m extra workers to fill gaps in industry, and is introducing a blue card work permit scheme to make it easier for skilled professionals to immigrate. A global survey of 750 CIOs and CEOs in February 2008 said biggest worry is staffing problems and a crisis in IT skills.

So is immigration good or bad for Britain?  Home Office statisticians say immigration has provided a £1,650-a-head boost to the economy over the last decade by helping British companies to grow faster. Immigration from eastern Europe has not depressed wages or increased joblessness among UK nationals. It also allows greater choice in the labour market and drives up skills standards.
In IT alone, the demand for skills is so great the UK can’t fill it and we need skilled immigrants to help us out. The government is also altering its immigration system to one based on points and working hard to lure skilled immigrants to our shores.

The Confederation of British Industry says British business welcomes the wider choice provided by a skilled immigrant work force. Immigrants have an exceptional reputation for being excellent employees whose work ethic far exceeds that of the average Brit.

The long anticipated launch of the points based system arrived on 29 February 2008 starting with introduction of Tier 1 replacing the HSMP scheme. The changes are being introduced in a phased manner, but what does this actually mean for the individual applying?

The Facts:

• The Tier 1 launched on 29 Feb 08 for all in-country applications.
• Out of country applications will launch in India in April 08.
• Rest of the world out of country applications will launch after India currently planned for June 08.

How does it influence you? If you are a work permit holder in the UK and want to change to Tier 1 then you are able to do so in-country and do not need to leave the UK for entry clearance. The time on both Tier 1 and work permits can still be added together to make up the period to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

If you have a Two Year Working Holiday Maker visa and are currently in the UK you cannot apply for the Tier 1 in-country, you need to apply out-of-country for an HSMP. Once the Tier 1 launches for the rest of the world the current HSMP scheme will cease to exist.

If you are currently in the UK as an HSMP holder and need to extend your HSMP stay, you now have to apply for an extension under Tier 1. The period granted for Tier 1 is an initial 3 years, followed with a 2-year extension. This is different to the HSMP that was initially granted for 2 years and then a 3-year extension application.

There are two new categories in Tier 1 that also score points, the Maintenance and the English Language requirements. Under maintenance you will need to show that you have a certain amount of money available in your account for the last 3 months.

Dependents need to be a visa dependent on the Tier 1 for a period of 2 years in order to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain with the main applicant.

 

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.