Topical:
British Overseas Citizens are now allowed to come to the United Kingdom.
The Home Secretary has announced that those British Overseas Citizens who currently do not hold, and have never given up another nationality will be given an entitlement to register as British citizens.
Applications should be made at the nearest British Consulate.
The Home Office has confirmed that any time spent in the United Kingdom under a category that leads to settlement; eg work permit, UK ancestry, etc can be added to time spent under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme in applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (permanent residence).
The Home Office has announced that the application forms for British nationality have been changed.
The previous application form; Form AN has been replaced by Form AN (NEW) and can be downloaded from the Home Office website.
The new application form is more detailed than the previous form. It asks more questions about the applicant's history. The requirements for British nationality remain unchanged.
As from 1st September 2002, all IT work permit applications must show that the job has been advertised in either a national newspaper or a relevant trade journal.
On 21st August 2002, the Home Office considered the current state of the IT labour market. As a result, it was decided that all occupations should be removed from the Work Permits (UK) IT shortage occupation list, and as such, there will no longer be a shortage list for the IT Sector.
The state of the labour market will be reviewed again by the Home Office in around three months time.
If you are a non-European Union national work permit holder who has been maderedundant recently - particularly if you were working in the finance or ITsectors, you may be eligible to stay in the UK under the Highly Skilled MigrantProgramme.
The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme allows you to stay in the UK for up to12 months. The programme aims to attract and retain skilled foreign nationals tothe UK. You must have at least a degree and have earned more than £ 40 000.00in the last 12 months - further earnings, qualifications and work experiencewill increase your score.
The Work Permits (UK) Passport Team is currently dealing with a largeback-log of Leave to Remain decisions. This is the “immigration” side of theWork Permit application process which takes place after the Work Permit has beenapproved. The work permit applicant’s passport is then referred to thePassport Team who decides whether or not to allow the applicant permission tostay in the UK.