UK Immigration News

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has told journalists in India that there is 'no limit on the numbers' of Indian students who can study in the UK. He said 'We want [Indian] students to come and study'.

Mr Cameron was speaking on his second visit to India in 2013. He was on his way to the Commonwealth leaders' summit in Sri Lanka. In India, he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi and gave an interview to the Times of India in which he said that it was 'a myth' that the UK was 'freezing out' Indians.

The Home Affairs Committee of the Westminster Parliament has issued its final report on the activities of the now defunct United Kingdom Border Agency. The report deals with the operation of the UKBA in its final three months of existence between January and March 2013, before it was abolished by Home Secretary Theresa May.

The report makes 39 criticisms and recommendations. Among them it says;

The UK's Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced a controversial new scheme aimed at helping immigrants with little or no English to improve their language skills.

Research has shown that traditional English language classes are not reaching those who speak poor English and so the Department for Communities and Local Government has established a programme of informal classes, often run by volunteers, to be held in temples, mosques and churches and even in supermarkets.

Mark Harper, the UK's immigration minister, has told a Committee of the House of Lords that the UK has failed to communicate the 'very good arrangements' allowing international students to stay and work in the UK after completing their studies at UK universities.

International students can stay and work in the UK providing they can find a skilled job which pays at least £20,000 a year. Workpermit.com can help you to find a sponsor and so enable you to remain on a Tier 2 skilled worker visa.

The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) says that the population of the UK is set to grow by nearly 10m over the next 25 years and calculates that 5.8m of that rise will be caused directly or indirectly by immigration.

The ONS says that its projections indicate that the UK's population should reach 68m in 2022, 70m in 2027 and 73.3m in 2037. Part of this rise will be caused by the fact that people are generally living longer. By 2037, one in 12 of the population will be over 80. There will be 111,000 people aged over 100, compared to only 13,000 today.

Analysis of government data by academics at University College London has shown that immigrants who came to the UK between 2000 and 2011 contributed £25bn to the UK economy. The research also showed that immigrants were less likely to receive benefits or live in social housing than UK citizens.