UK Immigration News

The Home Office has been dubbed a 'shambles' for failing to prosecute hundreds of immigrant fraudsters who con Britons into getting married, purely to obtain a UK visa. MPs have warned that the problem of sham marriages is becoming an increasing problem as overseas nationals look to circumvent tough UK visa laws.

Victims say that the Home Office is not doing enough to combat the problem. It's estimated that 1,000 cases of 'fake' marriages have been reported in the last 12 months alone.

Strict UK visa rules are the reason Indian students are boycotting Britain and heading to the US instead says Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Commerce and Industry Minister.

Sitharaman said: "There is a stigma attached to Britain that makes it an unattractive proposition for Indian students. They believe that it's exceptionally difficult to get a scholarship and have to pay three times the fee paid by a UK citizen. The majority of them prefer the US."

The number of episodes in a Channel 4 TV documentary series 'Immigration Street' by Love Productions has been scaled back by producers following confrontations between film crews and residents.

The programme, filmed in Derby Road, Southampton was initially scheduled to be a six-part series, but Channel 4 will now televise a one-hour episode only.

The BBC's support for immigration, and bias across the Civil Service, is preventing the Government from tightening Britain's borders, claims anti-immigration Migration Watch UK.

A campaigner for tougher immigration controls, Migration Watch UK says that the broadcaster is guilty of 'strong bias' and cowardice for failing to address issues raised by immigration policy. Migration Watch says that immigration has affected low income earners and has led to rising population numbers.

'Celebrate, don't vilify' immigrants says the Movement Against Xenophobia (MAX) a group started by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI). MAX intends to launch a poster campaign that will portray immigrants and their contribution to Britain in a positive light.

UK citizens and permanent residents who wish to bring their spouses into the country from outside the EU are being treated unfairly, admits Home Office Immigration Minister James Brokenshire.

New requirements, introduced in 2012, mean that only those who earn a minimum of £18,600 per year can sponsor a spouse visa of a non-European Union spouse or partner. The requirements were introduced in the hope that fewer immigrants would claim benefits.