Latest News & Articles _ November 2009

Wrongly detained Nigerian family awarded over £100,000 in damages

A Nigerian family of four who were wrongly arrested and detained for almost seven weeks at Yarl’s Wood detention centre were awarded £105,000 in a settlement with the Home Office. The family consisted of a mentally ill mother and her young children. The family were detained even though the Home Office policy states that mentally ill and young children should only be detained in exceptional cases.

The family who had eventually been released on bail by an Immigration Judge were subjected to further dawn raids and were detained again despite the fact that there were no grounds for removal. The settlement was announced in the High Court.

30^th November 2009

Changes to Tier 2 of the points based system-Resident labour market to be extended 

As of 14 December 2009, changes to the residence labour market test will be made. Currently, the requirement is that the job applied for is advertised for at least two weeks or one week where the salary is £40,000 or more.  This will be changed so that all jobs must be advertised for at least 4 weeks.  This proposal was made by the Migration Advisory Committee and was accepted by the Government. The four weeks do not need to run continuously and an employer can advertise for two weeks and then, where no resident skilled workers are recruited, they can advertise for a further two weeks before hiring a foreign migrant worker. Employers who have already run their advertisements will not need to re-advertise to meet the new requirement.

28^th November 2009 

Rise in student visas issued to Indian and Bangladeshi students

The BBC has reported that, since the introduction of the points based system, there has been a sharp increase in the number of student visas issued to applicants of Indian and Bangladeshi origin. Whilst the UK Border Agency has maintained that the amount of visas issued is ‘roughly’ the same as the preceding year, the BBC has reported that applicants from certain Countries have been awarded visas more so than applicants from other countries.

24^th November 2009

Sham marriage ceremony in order to obtain visa

An occupational health nurse who worked for the home office married his own daughter in a sham marriage ceremony in order for her to obtain a visa to enter the UK. The case was brought to the attention of the British High Commission in Lagos, Nigeria from where the applicant originated, and the home office by an acquaintance of the ‘couple’. The case is currently under investigation.

23^rd November 2009

Illegal immigrants employed in Hospitals across Britain

Three NHS Hospital cleaning managers have been arrested following their suspected involvement in employing illegal immigrants and blackmailing foreign members of staff. Channel Four reported the police raid on ISS Mediclean at Kingston Hospital. The ISS Mediclean group are said to employ over 43,000 staff at NHS and private hospitals over Britain. The matter continues to be under investigation.

20^th November 2009

Ministry of Justice-Judicial Appointments

Jack Straw has appointed The Honourable Mr Justice Blake to be the new President of the Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal as of 15 February 2010. He will be replacing the presiding Mr. Ockelton.

20^th November 2009

New rules for migrants-draft immigration bill

The new draft immigration bill published in Parliament on 12^th November 2009 requires all migrants to have ‘permission’ to stay in the UK. The new approach seeks to make the rules easier by providing for applicants to either be granted permission to stay or face removal if refused. The Government is intending to simplify and consolidate existing rules to tighten up Britain’s border controls.

The draft bill proposes a new ‘streamlined power of expulsion’ and a new ‘streamlined asylum support system’ according to the UKBA website. Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas stated that:

“We expect those who apply for asylum to abide by the rules. If their claim has been refused, we expect them to leave the country. If they do not, we will enforce their return.”

19^th November 2009

Shortage Occupation List

In our article dated 29 October 2009, we reported that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) made recommendations to add certain occupations to the Shortage Occupation List. The Government announced on 12th November 2009 that it has accepted the MAC's shortage occupation list in full.

MAC recommended that the following professions be added to the shortage occupation list:

·         Teachers in special schools

·         Skilled meat boners and trimmers

·         Specialised jobs in electricity transmission and distribution

·         Aircraft technicians and fitters

·         Some medical specialists including higher level paediatric trainees

17th November 2009