UK Immigration News

Researchers at Durham University, Dr Ernesto Schwartz-Marin and his wife Dr Arely Cruz-Santiago on tier 2 visas, have been told in March 2018 they must leave the UK within two weeks. The couple, who spent time in Mexico working with victims of violence, have seen their UK indefinite leave to remain applications rejected because they spent too long outside Britain.

The tier 2 visa scheme salary requirements are now so high that this puts it out of reach of many small businesses with a tier 2  sponsorship licence who are suffering from skills shortages, and who are unable to pay salaries of £50,000 or more to obtain restricted certificates of sponsorship.  This sort of salary is required in cases where you are employing people who need to apply for a visa from outside the UK, and are in occupation

As Brexit looms, there has been a spike in the number of British citizenship ceremonies being held in Derby. As the country counts down to the ‘Brexit Day’ deadline, the ceremonies, which officially confirm UK citizenship status for foreign nationals, have risen by as much as 80 percent from 2015 to 2016.

Following the March Tier 2 visa allocation meeting, the number of restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) that went unused from the 2017/2018 annual limit, was only 67 - according to UK Visas and Immigration data.   Restricted CoSs are needed to employ non EU/EEA nationals on tier 2 visas who are resident outside the UK or who need to apply for a tier 2 visa from outsid

There is in effect a Tier 2 visa cap due to the restricted certificate of sponsorship shortage (CoS), which is preventing Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge from recruiting the junior doctors it needs, senior healthcare staff say.

Highly Skilled Migrants, a group representing doctors, engineers and IT professionals and others, many of whom are on tier 2 visas, descended on Downing Street earlier this year to protest what they describe as ‘discriminatory, inhumane and hostile Home Office policies.’ The group has raised more than £25,000 to challenge the Home Office in the courts over UK visa laws.