UK Immigration News

The UK's immigration minister, Mark Harper, has announced changes to the UK's immigration rules designed to make the UK more attractive as a destination for international businesses. He also announced measures designed to attract international students to the UK. The changes will come into force on 1st October 2013.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the British-based, Indian-owned car manufacturer announced an investment of £1.5bn in its UK car businesses on 9th September 2013. This was a triumph for JLR which has undergone a renaissance since being taken over by India's Tata Group in 2008.

We would like to remind you that, as of October 28th 2013, most people applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR) will need to pass the Life in the UK test and will also have to obtain a Speaking and listening qualification in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This test must show that you speak and understand English at the 'intermediate level' (see below for explanation).

A spat about immigration has broken out between two of Britain's leading economic commentators. They are Jeremy Warner, who writes for the right-wing Daily Telegraph and Jonathan Portes, the director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research who writes frequently for the left of centre Guardian.

On 2nd September, Warner published a piece in The Telegraph with the title 'Mass immigration has made Britain a less competitive economy'. He argued that mass immigration into the UK had depressed labour costs in British workplaces.

The UK's opposition Labour Party has accused the government of presiding over an immigration system in chaos. The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, told the House of Commons that the government was complacent and said that the government's 'only answer to illegal immigration is to get a man in a van to drive round in circles with a poster asking if they'd mind going home'.

The footballer turned actor Vinnie Jones has revealed that he disapproves of immigration to the UK. He says that he does not recognise the England of his youth because it is now 'a European country'. Jones lives in Hollywood in California.