Immigration newsletter 04 Dec 2009

UKBA has announced recently that from 14 December 2009 the resident labour market test requirement for Tier 2 visas will be four weeks. Previously you had to advertise for a period of two weeks or one week where the salary for the job is GBP40,000 or more. 

While there are signs that the UK economy is improving for political reasons the Government needs to show that they are taking steps to safeguard British jobs. In practice if an employer really cannot find someone locally to fill the vacancy it should still be possible to employ overseas workers on the Tier 2 visa.

The Home Office have recently released immigration statistics for the period July to September 2009. Phil Woolas, Immigration Minister had the following to say: "Net migration is falling, showing that migrants come to the UK for short periods of time, work, contribute to the economy and then return home".

In most cases from 30 November 2009 overseas nationals entering the UK will need to undergo fingerprint checks; This will cover those with biometric UK visas, entry clearances and identity cards for foreign nationals (ICFNs).

Fingerprints will be scanned at border control and the fingerprints will then be checked against records held for the particular passenger. This will enable UKBA to make sure that the passenger is the same person who previously applied for a visa, entry clearance or identity card.

Canadian immigrants will find it quicker in future to have their qualifications assessed. The new Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications will mean that Canadian immigrants will find out within one year whether they can be licensed or registered to work in certain fields. This was announced recently by the Diane Finley, Human Resources Minister and Jason Kenney, Immigration Minister.

UKBA has announced that they are now accepting applications for 2010-2011 from arts festivals for the permit free list. This means that entertainers and their support staff may gain entry on entertainment visitor visas for major arts festivals on the list. You only have until 1 February 2010 to apply.

The Entertainer Visitor Visa is also useful for example, if you wish to take part in music competitions, as an amateur entertainer or part of an amateur group.