The UK Home Office has announced that, with effect from 4 October 2023, there will be an increase in application fees for a number of UK immigration and nationality routes. The headline increases are:
UK and India Announce Reciprocal Visa Program for Young Professionals
The United Kingdom and India have announced a reciprocal Young Professionals Scheme (YPS) that will allow select nationals of each country to live, work, study, and travel in the other for up to twenty-four months. The visa program is open to Indian nationals between 18 and 30 years of age who hold at least a bachelor’s degree, have at least £2,530 in savings, and do not have any children. UK nationals seeking to travel to India are subject to similar requirements. Indian nationals will be required to enter their names in a ballot (lottery) system, with 2,400 applicants selected per ballot. UK nationals are not subject to a ballot system. The reciprocal program is intended to foster closer economic and cultural ties between the United Kingdom and India by opening binational opportunities to the countries’ young professionals.Continue Reading UK and India Announce Reciprocal Visa Program for Young Professionals
India Resumes Issuing e-Visas for UK & Canadian Nationals
Updated December 22, 2022: Effective December 20, 2022, the Indian government has resumed issuing e-Visas to Canadian nationals. Canadian nationals who wish to travel to India for tourism, business, medical, or conference reasons may once again apply for e-Visas online. The move follows the Indian government’s resumption of e-Visa services for UK nationals earlier this month, as explained in our original update below. Continue Reading India Resumes Issuing e-Visas for UK & Canadian Nationals
Right to Work checks – what are employers now supposed to be doing?
With the regular changes to the UK Right to Work (“RTW”) checks over the last year or so, employers may be forgiven for having lost track of what the latest requirements are.
As mentioned in our last blog on RTW checks (You’re Joking – Not Another One! Further Changes to the Right to Work…
Ukraine: Two Weeks Into the War with Russia, Over Two Million Displaced
Note: Originally published on March 4, 2022. The number of people departing Ukraine has been updated from over 1.2 million to over 2 million.
Over two million people have departed Ukraine for neighboring European countries since the Russia-Ukraine military conflict escalated on February 24, 2022, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data portal. A spokesperson for the UNHCR reported that as many as 4 million Ukrainians—nearly 10 percent of the country’s population—are expected to flee to other countries if the fighting continues.Continue Reading Ukraine: Two Weeks Into the War with Russia, Over Two Million Displaced
Ukraine: the UK Government’s Immigration Response
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK Government has published details of how it is assisting Ukrainian nationals who find themselves in challenging UK immigration scenarios.
We set out below a summary of the current guidance which we will look to update on a regular basis. The full guidance can be found here:
Closure of the UK Investor Category
The UK Government has announced the immediate closure of the Investor UK immigration route to new applicants.
This was the route that allowed individuals who had GBP£2 million available to invest in active and trading UK companies to come to the UK to live, work and / or study. This route was particularly attractive to high net worth individuals as it was the only immigration route which allowed individuals to live in the UK on a self-sufficient basis. In addition, it enabled them to bring their dependent family members to the UK, who were also permitted to live, work and / or study in the UK. Furthermore, it was a route which led to indefinite leave to remain in the UK (also known as permanent residence or settlement) which, depending on the amount that the individual invested in the UK, could be achieved after spending five, three or two years in the UK under this category.Continue Reading Closure of the UK Investor Category
Closure Of The EU Settlement Scheme – Not Quite The End . . . Yet
The official 30 June deadline to submit an initial application under the EU Settlement Scheme (“EUSS”) has now passed. There were a flurry of last minute applications and reports of people being unable to submit their applications due to technical difficulties caused by the number of people logging onto the on-line form. There is a significant backlog of applications and some applications have yet to arrive with the Home Office as they had to be submitted by post. Fortunately, whilst an application is pending, an applicant continues to have the right to live and work in the UK.
Whilst the deadline for applications has come and gone, there may still be hope for some who may not have managed to submit an application in time.Continue Reading Closure Of The EU Settlement Scheme – Not Quite The End . . . Yet
A Welcome (And Longer Than Expected) Extension To The Covid-19 UK Right To Work Check Concession
In an eagerly anticipated update, the Home Office has now announced that the Covid-19 adjustment to the right to work (“RTW”) check will no longer end on 20 June 2021 but will be extended to 1 September 2021.
The RTW check seems to be the most frequently changing area of UK immigration law at present…
UK Government Publishes 1 July Right To Work Guidance
The Home Office has finally published its revised Code of Practice on Preventing Illegal Working (the “draft Code”) covering the changes to the right to work check requirements for EEA citizens which come into effect on 1 July 2021.
In this article, we look at the changes that the draft Code introduces, how this will affect UK employers and the areas of continued uncertainty.Continue Reading UK Government Publishes 1 July Right To Work Guidance