New eGates at Heathrow Terminal 5

The Border General Force Director, Sir Charles Montgomery officially opened fifteen electronic passport gates at Heathrow's Terminal 5 on Wednesday 21 October 2015.

The electronic passport gates named eGates which is the most state-of-the-art version of gates ever to be used in the UK are expected to process around 400,000 passengers at the Terminal each month.

According to the new released by the Home Office: “The eGates can be used by any UK or European Economic Area (EEA) passenger aged 18 or over, with a ‘chipped’ passport, and use advanced facial recognition technology to compare the passenger’s face to the digital image recorded in their passport.

Border Force officers monitor the system and any travellers rejected by the gates are directed to the staffed clearance desks to be seen by an officer.

Automated technology such as eGates, give Border Force the ability to process a higher number of low risk passengers more quickly and using less resource. This reduces queue times as well as freeing Border Force Officers up to focus on other priority work such as cracking down on the smuggling of dangerous goods and identifying potential victims of trafficking.

Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General of Border Force, said:

Increasing the use of digital technology at the border is part of Border Force’s commitment to improve the passenger experience.

We must protect our borders, but we also want to encourage travellers to the UK - people who boost our economy through tourism and through business.

This means ensuring their arrival in the UK is dealt with as swiftly and efficiently as possible while maintaining the integrity and security of the UK.

eGates not only benefit British and EEA travellers. Nationals from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan who have successfully been accepted onto the Registered Traveller programme can now also use them.

Registered Traveller allows regular travellers fast-tracked entry into the UK. For a small fee, applicants undergo security checks in advance of travel meaning that, on arrival to the UK, they are able to use the EEA queues and eGates upon their arrival, bypassing queues for non-EEA passengers”.

Passport checks on leaving UK to be introduced at Eurotunnel and Ferry Ports

With effect from 8 April 2015 those leaving the UK by Eurotunnel and Ferry will have their passports scanned and their information sent to the Home Office. To help reduce delays at the exit checks Eurotunnel will be introducing Advance Passenger Information (API) technology - same as obtains at UK airports and the Ferry Ports are expected to follow suit later.

Biometric Residence Permit regulations begin in March 2015.

Beginning from March 2014, individuals from overseas who apply for a visa for more than 6 months will be required to obtain Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) from a Post Office on arrival in the UK.

The first phase of this new regulation which is expected to start with Pakistani nationals will extend to all nationals from 31 July 2015.

Individuals affected by this new regulation will be issued a short-stay travel vignette (visa stamp which will be endorsed with a date of entry) for 30 days and a letter of approval designating a local Post Office from which to collect their BRP within 10 days of arrival in the UK. The BRP will be cancelled if not collected within the stipulated 10 days.

Individuals affected who do not travel to the UK within the 30 days validity of the short stay vignette will have to apply for a replacement visa before they can travel to the UK.

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Plan to send foreign graduates home

The Home Secretary is considering a hard-line policy that would have a tremendous effect on non-European students in the UK.

The proposal under consideration which the Home Secretary is said to be planning to have included in the next Conservative manifesto could force non-European students to return home after successfully completing their studies before they will be eligible to apply for work visa to live and work in the UK.

According to a report on the MSN Home Page credited to the Press Association, The policy being considered is likely to include provisions to make educational establishments that sponsor foreign students responsible for ensuring that students leave the UK after their studies. The policy is also said to include penalties for educational establishments with low departure rates ranging from fines to a possible loss of their licence to sponsor foreign students from outside the EU.

This new policy, if it comes into effect, will alter the current Immigration Rule which allows most eligible students to switch into a work visa from within the UK.

The implication of this new policy (if and when it comes into effect) on foreign students, educational establishments and its impact on the UK economy can only be imagined.

Landlords "Right to Check" Starts on 1 December 2014

The Landlords’ right to check tenants’ rights to rent starts December 2014. This is part of the legislations contained in the Immigration Act 2014 recently signed into law by Royal Assent last May.

According to the statement released by the Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire, the new legislation which is schedule to start from 01 December 2014 will be launched in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton.

This is meant to be part of a phased introduction across the country which will see landlords face fines if they rent homes to illegal immigrants without checking their ‘right to rent’.

The new law will mean private landlords will have to check the right of prospective tenants to be in the country if they want to avoid potentially being fined up to £3,000.

For more please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/west-midlands-to-be-first-landlord-right-to-rent-check-area

Tier 4 is Changing Again!!!

The Government recently announced a “new crackdown on immigration abuses as part of its long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain.” 

The “new crackdown on immigration abuses” comes with tougher rules to be imposed on universities and colleges who sponsor students to study in the UK.” 

The “new tougher rules” which is an amendment to the criteria with which all institutions must comply to attain or preserve its Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) status and which comes into effect from November 2014 states:

“From November, tougher rules will be imposed on universities and colleges who sponsor international students to study in the UK. Currently, educational institutions cannot enjoy highly trusted sponsor status if 20% or more of the individuals they have offered places to are refused visas. But that figure will be cut to 10% in November after a 3 month transitional period for colleges and universities to re-examine their admissions procedures before offering individuals places.” 

The announcement published on 29 July 2014 also went further:

“The Prime Minister also announced plans to halve the period over which European migrants can claim benefits. From November 2014, European jobseekers will only be able to claim Jobseekers Allowance and other key welfare benefits for a maximum period of 3 months. This follows tough changes that were announced earlier this year to introduce a minimum 3 month delay to claiming benefits and to cut off benefits after 6 months unless the individual has very clear job prospects.”

Statement of changes in Immigration Rules

A written ministerial statement was laid simultaneously before Parliament today 10^th July 2014 in the House of Commons by the Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire MP and in the House of Lords by Lord Taylor respectively.

The changes in Immigration Rules which is part of the efforts of the Home Office aimed at securing borders and reducing immigration affect Tier 1 Post Study Work (PSW), Entrepreneur, Tier 4 Student and Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange) routes as well as Appendix FM and paragraphs 276ADE-276DH.

The written statement is reproduced hereunder:

This written ministerial statement was laid in the House of Commons by James Brokenshire MP and in the House of Lords by Lord Taylor of Holbeach.

My Rt Hon Friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules.

These changes will implement restrictions on the ability of those already present in the UK as a Tier 4 (Student) or Tier 1 (Post Study Work) migrant to make an in-country application for an extension of stay as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur).

The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category is for those who wish to establish a genuine business which will generate jobs in the UK. It has, however, become clear that the majority of those applying in-country for leave in the category are those who have come here for the purpose of study and are making speculative or fraudulent applications simply to extend their stay in the UK.

Checks against the tax records of those who have been granted leave as entrepreneurs suggest that few have gone on to engage in genuine entrepreneurial activity, and that a significant proportion have taken employment in breach of their conditions, typically at low skill levels.

This shows that a robust response is required to protect the integrity of the immigration system and to make clear that systematic abuse will not be tolerated. The new restrictions on switching into the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category will apply whilst we carry out further investigations into these abuses and review the route to ensure that it delivers its proper purpose, which is to help foster growth and innovation. The changes will come into force tomorrow, to guard against the possibility of any further intake of speculative or fraudulent applications.

The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) remains open. Those who already have leave in the category will continue to be able to extend their stay. The new restrictions will not apply to those qualifying on the basis of seed funding or funding provided by another government department, nor, in the case of those switching from the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) route, will they apply to those who have already established a genuine business. Those who graduate here will continue to be able to apply to extend their stay under the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) category, which is significantly undersubscribed. Those who have a genuine intention of establishing a business here will also continue to be able to apply from overseas.

In addition, this statement of changes to the Immigration Rules will remove all tests provided by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and specific tests provided by Cambridge English and Trinity College London from the list of approved English tests. These changes are being made at the providers’ requests.

The changes also add a new 12 month ‘mathematics teacher exchange’ scheme to the Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange) route. This scheme is aimed at sharing best practice in the teaching of mathematics in schools across England and China, and supports the objectives of the Department for Education who will administer and fund the scheme.

This statement of changes also contains amendments to align the Immigration Rules on family and private life in Appendix FM and paragraphs 276ADE-276DH with the public interest considerations in section 117B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 which apply to decisions engaging the qualified right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The changes also align the Immigration Rules on family and private life in Part 13, which relate to foreign criminals, with the public interest considerations in sections 117B and 117C of the 2002 Act. These considerations are inserted by section 19 of the Immigration Act 2014.

Section 19 gives the weight of primary legislation to parliament’s view of what the public interest under Article 8 requires, in particular in respect of controlling immigration to safeguard the UK’s economic well-being and in respect of preventing disorder or crime.

The statement of changes also contains amendments facilitating the use of the non-suspensive appeals provision, inserted by section 17(3) of the Immigration Act 2014. This provision allows the Secretary of State to certify an appeal where an individual is liable to deportation when, despite the appeals process not having been begun or not having been exhausted, removal of a person to the country or territory to which they are proposed to be removed, pending the outcome of an appeal in relation to their claim, would not be unlawful under section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, for example the individual would not face a real risk of serious irreversible harm if removed.