Month: March 2012

March 30, 2012

The Irish Government has recently decided to extend its Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme, for a further period of four years. The programme essentially eliminates the need to have both an Irish and UK visa when visiting Ireland via the UK,…

March 29, 2012

The UK Border Agency are increasing fees for some overseas visas and UK-based visa applications from Friday 6th April 2012. From 00:01 (UK time) on this date, all payments should be made according to the new fee information provided on…

March 29, 2012

A recent Court of Appeal decision in the case of Mohamed v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 331 (20 March 2012) considered the correct interpretation of Paragraph 317(i)(e) of the Immigration Rules and may well...

March 27, 2012

Today's blog may seem something of a contradiction following our recent post on the Court of Appeal's ruling that there is no ‘near miss' argument in Immigration cases which narrowly miss the requirements of the Rules. However, judgment was recently...

March 22, 2012

Last week, the UK Border Agency published the following summary of forthcoming changes to the Immigration Rules. A written ministerial statement was laid before Parliament on the 15th March 2012 outlining a number of these changes. Most of the changes…

March 21, 2012

Judgment was recently handed down by the Court of Appeal in the case of Miah v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 261, which rejects the ‘near miss' argument raised in a number of recent immigration...

March 14, 2012

We recently read with interest, but without much surprise, the findings of a YouGov poll commissioned by Universities UK into public perceptions of foreign students in the UK and how much they contribute toward our economy. The poll found 63%...

March 12, 2012

Last week, the Australian Government announced plans to simplify the permanent employer-sponsored visa program, in line with its attempts to help businesses address critical skills gaps. 'The government will establish a fast–tracked pathway from the temporary skilled subclass 457 visa…

March 9, 2012

An important judgment was handed down recently by the Court of Appeal in the case of The Queen on the Application of Medical Justice v Secretary of State for the Home Department [SSHD] [2011] EWCA Civ 1710. The Court found...

March 7, 2012

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended that no change should be made to the 2011 limit on non-EEA, skilled workers wishing to take up employment in the UK under Tier 2 (General) of the Points Based System (PBS). The…