Skip to main content

Immigration news

Starting 2 April 2005, the UK government will not be accepting working holidaymaker applications at its visa sections in Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Gaborone and Windhoek.

This move has been taken because of a large increase in the number of working holidaymaker applications received in these countries, which lead to backlogs in processing.

The suspension will be reviewed after six months. Please check workpermit.com again for updates.

Estonian and Polish students are now able to apply for Australian Student eVisas online which will make it much easier for nationals of these Countries to obtain student visas. The entry criteria has been revised which will also make it easier to obtain student visas for nationals of Estonia and Poland. Both countries have now been deemed "low risk," which means that the English language and financial requirements that students must meet will be more achievable.

Work Permits UK has announced its targets for how long it should take to process various types of visas. The new standards are as follows:

Work Permits and Sector Based Scheme (SBS)WP (UK) aims for 70% of applications to be decided within one week of receipt, and 90% within 3 weeks.

Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was denied a visit visa to enter the US and visit his family. Thatcher called it a result of his guilty plea involving a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea.

Thatcher, 51, pleaded guilty in January in a court in Cape Town to a role in a mercenary plot to overthrow the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. He was given a four-year suspended sentence and a $500,000 fine in a plea bargain.

The UK Government is launching in April 2005 its new provision for graduates of the top 50 business schools (below) to work in the UK for up to 12 months upon completion of their MBAs. This provision is part of the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), although the government has not yet clarified how the HSMP and the MBA provision are related.

Many Europeans will need to apply for a visit visa to visit America later this year after the US Congress said that there was little chance of postponing a deadline for the introduction of biometric passports. It is currently the case that most Europeans can come under the US visa waiver scheme without having to apply for a visit visa at an US Embassy or Consulate.