UK Immigration News

A BBC investigation has revealed that a UK immigration advisory firm took fees for services it did not provide. Former employees say that they were encouraged to lie to clients. The investigation has also revealed that a second firm has been offering advice without being authorised to do so.

The BBC programme Inside Out investigated two immigration advisory firms, UK Visa and Immigration and UK Immigration Barristers. Both firms are based in Birmingham and, according to Inside Out, are linked.

The world-renowned Economist magazine has published a scathing attack on the UK government's immigration policy. It says that the government's policies on legal skilled migration and on international students coming to the UK are damaging the UK's prospects in a competitive world.

When it came to power in 2010, the Coalition government headed by the Conservative Party leader David Cameron pledged to reduce net inward migration from around 260,000 per annum in 2010 to 'tens of thousands' annually by 2015. So far, it has had little success.

The Indian born peer, Lord Bilimoria, the founder of the Cobra Beer company, has criticised the UK government over its immigration policy, according to the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, a Yorkshire newspaper.

Lord Bilimoria was speaking at a charity dinner in Bradford organised by Mohammed Aslam, the founder of the Aagrah Group. The Aagrah Group runs 15 restaurants and sells a range of Indian style sauces in Asda and Tesco.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has reported that it has made eight arrests in London as part of a major investigation of a suspected visa fraud ring.

UKBA investigators along with officers seconded from the Metropolitan Police carried out raids on five houses in Harrow, Brent, Southall, Hayes and Kilburn and four business premises in Harrow and Park Royal. Eight people were arrested. Two of the business addresses were the offices of immigration advisory firms.

In 2010, the UK's new Coalition government promised to cut immigration into the UK from around 260,000 a year to below 100,000 a year by 2015. To that end, it introduced a cap on the number of Tier 2 (General) visas that could be granted in any one year.

The Independent, a UK national newspaper, has reported that many of the UK's top universities have experienced reductions in the number of applications from students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). The paper says that some courses at some universities have seen a drop of 30% in the number of applications from Indian students.