UK Immigration News

By Sanwar Ali:

The UK Government has tried various schemes in recent years to make it easier to bring in migrants that the economy needs.  However, the schemes have not all been successful.  Many have turned out to be too difficult and expensive for migrants and their employers.  The Scale-up visa may be worth considering in some situations as an alternative to the Skilled Worker visa.

Ahead of the new academic year in September, the UK Home Office has reopened visa priority services for international students. Amid ongoing delays processing UK visas, priority services enable international students to pay extra for a quicker decision on their UK student visa application. 

 

UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has signed a landmark UK immigration deal with Pakistan to return foreign criminals and immigration offenders. The agreement is the fifth such deal struck by the UK in 15 months, which the Home Office says, ‘delivers the government’s New Plan for Immigration for the British public’. 

 

The new UK scale-up visa officially launches today. Aimed at foreign nationals who have been recruited by a UK sponsor, the scale-up visa has been created to attract talent from around the world to work in fast-growing businesses. With competition to attract top people from around the world growing more fierce, the UK is moving to win the race for talent.

 

The Home Office has extended the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa route to include young Hong Kongers with one parent holding a BNO passport.

The Home Office plans to force migrants convicted of criminal offences to wear facial recognition smartwatches, sparking an outcry from human rights organisations and MPs. Set to launch this autumn, several MPs have condemned the proposals, describing them as ‘inhumane’.