UK Immigration News

The vast majority of highly skilled migrants coming to the UK under the Tier 1 visa are from India.

An interim cap introduced last summer has been deemed unlawful by the UK High Court; High Court Judges have ruled that ministers needed parliamentary approval before going ahead with the temporary immigration.

From 10 January 2011 English language students who wish to attend only English language courses in the UK will be able to apply for a student visitor visa which allows them to stay in the UK for up to 11 months. The extended student visitor visa will only be available to applicants outside of the UK.

The visa will only apply to students wishing to learn English. If you wish to study other courses in the UK for longer than 6 months you will need to apply for a Tier 4 student visa.

There is currently a temporary limit on Tier 1 visa applications made from outside the UK. It is very possible that all out of Country Tier 1 visas for the whole year will be fully used up by January 2011. It is already the case that the monthly allocation of 600 visas is fully used up at the beginning of each month.

UK Employers and other eligible sponsors wishing to request an initial or additional allocation of certificates of sponsorship for consideration at the January panel must do so by 24 December 2010.

Due to the Holidays, the panel will meet on 7 January 2011. Sponsors will be notified of the outcome of their application by 14 January 2011.

The UK has proposed stricter requirements for foreign students wishing to study in Britain. The proposals include creating tougher entrance criteria and make it more difficult for students to stay on in the UK to live and work after their studies. Moreover, the Post-Study route under Tier 1 PSW visa would be axed under the proposed changes.