UK Immigration News

The UK Border Agency has opened two mobile biometric clinics in the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, which are both situated on the island of Borneo. One clinic opened in Kuching, Sarawak on August 17th 2012 and another opened in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on 18th August 2012. The clinics are run in partnership with VFS Global. They enable Malaysians from the island of Borneo to submit their biometric information without travelling to the capital, Kuala Lumpur, which is on the Malaysian mainland.

A recent report by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has found that Britain's tough new immigration controls may be preventing foreign companies from investing in the UK. The report says that 'The maintenance of an internationally competitive domestic business environment is fundamental to government being able to deliver the growth agenda. The ability of the UK to attract high value foreign direct investment is central to the ability for growth in the UK.' It warns that the new immigration regime is harming that business environment.

A report, published by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (the UKCES), claims that a fifth of job vacancies in manufacturing firms in the midlands and the north west of England remain unfilled because of a lack of suitable candidates.

The UKCES canvassed opinion from 74,000 companies in England in preparation of its Employer Skills Survey 2011, which was published in May 2012. The survey revealed that the problem of 'skills shortage vacancies' has got worse only in mid-sized firms and recommends that the government should act to help them.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) says that it hopes to increase the number of applications from Chinese nationals for tourist, student and business visas in 2012 after a rapid rise in visa applications in recent years. The UK's Immigration Minister Damian Green said 'we welcome the strong growth in Chinese visitors to the UK – it shows the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for both tourism and business.

The United Kingdom Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP, announced an £8m advertising campaign to attract visitors to the UK on 14th March 2012. He said that he wanted to build on the success of the London Olympic Games to build a 'lasting tourism legacy'.

The UK Border Agency has announced that it will begin a new mobile biometric clinic service in west Kazakhstan beginning on 17th August 2012. The service will be run in partnership with VFS Global and will be based in the western city of Atyrau, which is on the Caspian Sea. The service will enable western Kazakhs to submit their biometric information, which they must do if they want to apply for a UK visa, without travelling to the capital Almaty.