The Smooth Group is aiming to accelerate a global conversation about the issues, adventures and challenges involved in coming to work in the UK with the launch of this fully social blogsite.

'People from all over the world are coming in droves to the UK to study and work. Some seek an exciting adventure, others look forward to a professional challenge. But whatever the motivation, all newcomers have much to learn and take on board before they arrive in the UK, "said Nerys Roberts, group commercial director, The Smooth Group. 'We've created our blog to be a virtual meeting place where people can discuss their plans, exchange tips and find out the latest news and expert information on UK immigration."

Immigration is always a hot topic with strong opinion on both sides.  All are welcome on the Smooth Group blog.  Brain drain, job market trends, immigration law and tips and hints on life in the UK are all bound to be discussed as are some of the more mundane, but important minutia of life (how do I open a bank account?).

Nerys Roberts  says, 'We encourage people to use our blog's comments feature. With it, you can talk to travellers from around the world and learn from their experiences.  We'll continue to post expert opinion and advice on visa and other immigration issues as they arise so that our blog will become a one-stop-shop for anyone thinking about coming to the UK for work.  We look forward to hearing people's views and opinions and are excited to become part of a global conversation.' 

In addition to the blogsite, The Smooth Group has a Facebook and is LinkedIn. Participating in these, two of the world's most popular, social networks adds value to the conversations taking place on the Smooth blog by providing a broad context and larger community.

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 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.