Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 24 May 2024
In a welcome turn of events this week, plans to drastically limit graduate visas. It allows foreign students to work in the United Kingdom for up to two years after completing their studies, appear likely to be scrapped by the Prime minister following strong resistance from cabinet members.
Initially, there were considerations to restrict or even eliminate the Graduate Visa route as a means of curbing immigration numbers. However, the Prime Minister is now anticipated to pursue more targeted reforms aimed at closing loopholes and preventing misuse of the immigration system.
The decision to retract the proposed changes has been aided by the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) swift review and report, which found no evidence of abuse within the scheme.
Nevertheless, the education sector is already voicing concerns. Former Ministers caution that without increased fees or funding, UK universities will face financial ruin.
University leaders and ex-Ministers are sounding the alarm, stating that the financial crisis confronting universities is more severe than indicated in the recent Office for Students report, which projected that 40% of universities in England would end the year in deficit. They emphasise that the incoming government will need to act swiftly to raise tuition fees or boost funding to prevent bankruptcies within the next two years.
Earlier this year, the government prohibited international students from bringing dependents with them. Coupled with rumours that the Graduate Visa might also be eliminated, this dealt a significant blow to the education sector, discouraging many overseas students from considering the UK and prompting them to explore other countries for higher education. The positive news regarding the Graduate Visa is expected to help restore confidence in the international student market.
In the job industry, UK government’s decision to significantly raise the salary requirements for visas to curb immigration has been met with both support and criticism. While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s assertion that the unprecedented influx of people into the country in 2022 was “far too high” resonates with those who favour stricter immigration control, others argue that the move may have unintended consequences. Home Secretary’s claim that the new regulations would reduce the number of eligible individuals entering the UK by 300,000 is a clear indication of the government’s commitment to this policy. However, the question remains whether this approach will effectively address the underlying issues surrounding immigration and labour shortages in the UK.
The increased minimum earnings threshold of £38,700 for most visa applicants, which represents a nearly 50% rise from the previous £26,200 requirement, has raised concerns among various sectors. While certain professions, such as those in health and social care, and teachers on national pay scales, are exempt from this threshold, the exclusion of overseas care workers from bringing family dependents has been a point of contention. Critics, including the CBI and the Royal College of Nursing, have argued that the government’s focus on reducing immigration numbers has overshadowed the pressing need to address labour shortages in key industries. The long-term impact of these revised rules on the UK’s economy, public services, and social fabric will be closely monitored and debated in the coming year.
The UK Government’s comprehensive plan released earlier this year to reduce net migration has begun to yield significant results, as evidenced by the latest UKVI report. The 25% decrease in visa applications across key routes during the first four months of 2024 suggests that the Home Secretary’s package of measures is effectively addressing the issue of unsustainable migration levels. However, it is essential to consider the potential long-term implications of these changes on the UK’s economy, education sector, and international reputation.
The tightening of student visa regulations, which has led to a 79% reduction in student dependent applications, may have unintended consequences for the UK’s higher education sector. International students contribute significantly to the economy through tuition fees and living expenses, and the new rules may deter prospective students from choosing the UK as their study destination.
While the Government’s intention to prevent the misuse of student visas as a backdoor to work in the UK is understandable, it is crucial to strike a balance between maintaining the integrity of the immigration system and ensuring that the UK remains an attractive destination for genuine international students. The impact of these measures on the quality and diversity of the UK’s higher education sector will need to be closely monitored and evaluated in the coming time.
HJT’s timely course on Skilled Workers and Global Business Mobility is a must-attend for companies with international workforces and their advisors, especially in light of the UK government’s comprehensive plan to reduce net migration and its significant impact on work and student visa schemes. Led by expert Sacha Wooldridge, the course will provide invaluable insights on making successful applications for skilled workers and Global Business Mobility transfers, ensuring compliance with the revamped UK sponsorship scheme, and exploring the Graduate route as an alternative, unsponsored source of workers. For more information on the course or to register, click here
For more information on our other live sessions, visit here
For enquiries, contact us enquiries@hjt-training.co.uk or call 075441 64692.
For the full list of updates on media news, reports and Home Office Policy and other document updates, see below
IMMIGRATION NEWS
Rishi Sunak backtracks plan to restrict graduate visas after cabinet opposition – The Guardian
Plans for a radical crackdown on graduate visas that allow overseas students to work in the UK for up to two years after graduation look set to be abandoned by the Prime Minister after coming up against staunch opposition from cabinet colleagues.
Rishi Sunak had been considering restricting and even scrapping the graduate visa route as a way of reducing migration figures, but he is now expected to opt for more modest reforms to close loopholes and “prevent abuse” of the immigration system.
For full report, click here
Ex-ministers warn UK universities will go bust without higher fees or funding – The Guardian
Vice-chancellors and former ministers are warning that the cash crisis facing universities is so serious that the next Government will have to urgently raise tuition fees or increase funding to avoid bankruptcies within two years.
They said the state of university finances was more dire than revealed in last week’s report by the Office for Students, which forecast 40% of England’s universities would end this year in the red.
For full report, click here
Rwanda denies entry to senior human rights researcher – The Guardian
The Rwandan government has barred a senior human rights researcher from entering the country, prompting accusations that officials are seeking to dodge independent scrutiny just weeks before the UK Government is due to send asylum seekers there for the first time.
Rwandan immigration authorities denied entry to Clementine de Montjoye, a senior researcher in Human Rights Watch’s Africa division, when she arrived at Kigali International Airport on 13 May.
For full report, click here
Home Office in threat to deport disabled man to Nigeria after 38 years in UK – The Guardian
A disabled man who has lived in the UK for 38 years has been threatened with removal from the UK by the Home Office.
Anthony Olubunmi George, 61, came to the UK at the age of 24 in 1986 from Nigeria. He has not left the UK since and has no criminal convictions. In 2019, he had two strokes, which left him with problems with speech and mobility.
For full report, click here
£30,000 raised for Wirral ‘local legend’ denied UK citizenship – The Guardian
A retired 74-year-old newsagent who has lived in the UK for nearly 50 years said “tears were running” from his eyes after strangers fundraised more than £30,000 to support his legal fight to remain in the country.
Nelson Shardey, who has been described as a Merseyside “local legend”, is pursuing a legal challenge against the Home Office after he was refused indefinite leave to remain, despite living and working in the UK since 1977.
Fears of new Windrush as thousands of UK immigrants face ‘cliff edge’ visa change – The Guardian
Lawyers and migrant rights campaigners have warned that the government is heading for a repeat of the Windrush scandal after imposing a “cliff edge” deadline for immigrants to switch to new digital visas.
By the end of this year an estimated 500,000 or more non-EU immigrants with leave to remain in the UK will need to replace their physical biometric residence permits (BRPs) – which demonstrate proof of their right to reside, rent, work and claim benefits – with digital e-visas.
For full report, click here
British asylum housing tycoon breaks into Sunday Times rich list – The Guardian.
An Essex businessman who won government contracts paying his company £3.5m a day for transporting and accommodating asylum seekers has been named among the 350 richest people in the UK.
Graham King, the founder and majority owner of a business empire that includes Clearsprings Ready Homes, which won a 10-year Home Office contract for housing thousands of asylum seekers, was on Friday named alongside King Charles III, the prime minister and Sir Paul McCartney on the Sunday Times rich list of the wealthiest people.
For full report, click here
Migration numbers fall further as measures have major impact – UKVI
Visa applications across key routes have fallen by a quarter in the first 4 months of 2024, as the Home Secretary’s package to reduce unsustainable migration continues to deliver.
Government measures to tighten student visas, which came into force in January, have prevented most international students starting courses this year from bringing family members with 79% fewer student dependent applications in the first 4 months of 2024. Students can also no longer switch their visa before completing their course, preventing people using the route as a backdoor to work in the UK, while clamping down on institutions which undermine the UK’s reputation by selling immigration not education. There were more than 30,000 fewer student visa applications made between January to April 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
For full report, click here
Migration: How many people come to the UK and how are the salary rules changing? – BBC UK
The salary requirements for UK visas have risen sharply under government plans to reduce migration, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the record number of people who came to the UK in 2022 was “far too high”.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said the new rules would mean 300,000 fewer people would be able to come to the UK.
For full report, click here
Why the BBC could track down a people-smuggling kingpin before the police – BBC UK
Unable to track him down, a Belgian court convicted him in his absence of 121 counts of people-smuggling. We found him living openly in Iraqi Kurdistan, where he admitted to us that he had illegally transported thousands of migrants across the channel.
Barzan Majeed – his real name – was arrested by local police days after the release of our podcast. After the news broke, the question we asked again and again, was why was it easy for us to find him, but so hard for the police?
For full report, click here
CASE LAW
RM and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department JR-2024-LON-000082 and WM and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department JR-2024-LON-000128.
The Upper Tribunal has ruled that the Home Office’s guidance on biometric enrolment for visa applicants unable to travel safely to a Visa Application Centre is unlawful and incompatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The tribunal found that requiring applicants to provide evidence of facing dangers beyond the current situation in their location and along their travel route was an unreasonable limitation, and that individual circumstances should be assessed without comparing them to the general population’s risk level. The cases involved Palestinian families from Gaza seeking to join relatives in the UK, who were unable to enrol their biometrics due to the unsafe conditions in the region and the lack of a functioning Visa Application Centre. The Upper Tribunal quashed the Home Office’s refusal decisions and ordered changes to the guidance. The Home Office sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal but was refused. Further litigation is expected as the revised interim guidance is still considered problematic by refugee advocates.
For full decision, visit here
HOME OFFICE GUIDANCE AND POLICY DOCUMENTS UPDATES
Form: Register as a British Overseas Territories citizen (form BOTC(M)) has been updated on 23rd May 2024. To view form, click here
Form: Register as a British Overseas Territories citizen (form BOTC (F)) has been updated on 23rd May 2024. To view form, click here
Form: Register as a British citizen (form B(OS)) has been updated on 23rd May 2024. To view form, click here
Form: Application to register child under 18 as British subject has been updated on 23rd May 2024. To view form, click here
Form: Application to register child under 18 as British Overseas citizen has been updated on 23rd May 2024. To view form, click here
Form: Apply by post for British citizenship as a person of Chagossian descent (form BIOT) has been updated on 23rd May 2024. To view form, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors workers has been updated on 22nd May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 22nd May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Archive Immigration Rules has been updated on 22nd May 2024. To view collection, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive 11 April 2024 to 15 May 2024 has been updated on 22nd May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Jamaica: country policy and information notes has been updated on 22nd May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Hong Kong: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Iraq: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Permission to stay as a stateless person caseworker has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Family life and exceptional circumstances caseworker has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: China tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Form: Become a British citizen by naturalisation (form AN) has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view form, click here
Statutory guidance: Adults at risk in immigration detention has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view updated statutory Guidance, click here
Guidance: Offender management caseworker has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Form: Register child under 18 as British citizen (form MN1) has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view form, click here
Form: Register as a British citizen (form B(OTA)) has been updated on 21st May 2024. To view form, click here
Guidance: EU Settlement Scheme: community support for vulnerable citizens has been updated on 20th May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 20th May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Medical appointments outside the detention estate has been updated on 17th May 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
STAY TUNED FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS NEXT WEEK!
