UK Immigration News

According to official figures, the number of UK work visas issued in the last year was the highest since 2009. There has been an increase in demand from employers with a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence. This has been largely attributed to a 7% rise in Tier 2 visas granted to skilled workers, of which 55% were issued to Indian nationals.

A recent Home Office decision to revoke a company’s Tier 2 Sponsorship Licence for apparent incorrect use of four Tier 2 Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) has been upheld by the High Court. Liral Veget Training and Recruitment Ltd lost its licence after the Home Office said that the job descriptions and skill levels of four migrant workers on Tier 2 visas they were sponsoring were not at a high enough level.

According to a new investigation, the computer network of a company that processes UK visa applications in Moscow, may have been hacked by Russian intelligence operatives. Investigative website, Bellingcat, plus Russian news portal, The Insider both claim to have interviewed the former chief technical officer of the UK visa processing company.

Following the latest Tier 2 visa allocation of restricted certificates of sponsorship meeting, the number of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) available for December 2018 stands at 2,213, according to UK Visas and Immigration data. The department published its November report, citing that its figures were correct as of 19 November, 2018.

Amid an increasing number of bad UK visa decisions being overturned following media exposure, the Home Office is being accused of operating in a ‘continuous state of disaster management.’

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have announced the opening of new, modernised and more efficient visa and citizenship application centres.  This should help Tier 2 visa applicants and their Tier 2 employer sponsors. The first centre, opened in Manchester on Friday, 9 November 2018, will be followed by new centres in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Croydon and Glasgow.