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| info@breytenbachs.com | ||
| Thu, 4/12/2008 | ||
Phil Woolas, the new and controversial Immigration Minister, has announced that it is all systems go for 27th November, with the abolition of the Working Holiday Programme, and also the introduction of the new Tiers 2 and 5.
However, at the last minute it appears that the Conservatives in the House of Lords are proposing an Early Day Motion against the new Rules. Although it is still likely that the new Rules will be introduced on 27th November, there is at least a remote possibility that they will be defeated.
As things stand, the Commonwealth Working Holiday Programme will disappear and initially the Youth Mobility Scheme will only cover citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. Although it was originally thought that the USA would be included, this is not the case.
With regards to Tier 2, it is now clear that many employers are being granted Employers Licences without a site visit, although the Home Office are confirming that they reserve the right to carry out site visits at any time. Currently, many anomalies remain to be sorted out, and no one really knows whether the new Sponsorship Management System with its IT will work satisfactorily in practice. Apparently, there is to be no hard copy back up of the system, so if it all goes wrong disaster will ensue. In addition, it is still not clear how complex a process the new style entry clearance application will be.
Currently, the new Tier 1 arrangements seem to be working well, with the British High Commission in Pretoria particularly fast in dealing with such applications.
Graeme Kirk, consultant to Breytenbachs
There are a significant number of immigration rule changes taking place on 27 November;
You can read more about the respective new immigration rule changes below.
The UK Home Office unexpectedly expedited the implementation of the new Tier 2. The announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon, 28 October that the existing Work Permit Scheme will expire on 26 November 2008 and be replaced by Tier 2 on 27 November 2008.
We will thus not be able to lodge any applications for employers to employ non-EU nationals later than 25 November 2008 under the current scheme, as it has to reach Home Office at the very latest on Wednesday, 26 November 2008. We will need all applicable documents, in relation to the specific work permit application, no later than 17 November 2008.
If there is any doubt whatsoever about your situation, you must please contact us urgently, as we are concerned that some employers and employees may take too long to provide us with instructions thus making it impossible for us to lodge applications under the existing Work Permit Scheme.
Please note that if you are too late to lodge your application under the current Work Permit Scheme, we will be able to assist you with Tier 2 applications from 27 November 2008. We also have a dedicated department, dealing with Sponsorship Licences that has been fully operational since September 2008. Please contact us for more information in this regard.
The UK Home Office has published its shortage occupation list, which will be used as part of the skilled worker tier (Tier 2) of the new points based system. The published list includes 100,000 social workers; an occupation which the Migration Advisory Committee originally ruled was not in short supply.
The implication of an occupation
being on the shortage occupation list, is that the employer is not
required to advertise the position.
The UK Home Office unexpectedly expedited the implementation of the new Tier 5. The announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon, 28 October that the existing Working Holiday Visa will expire on 26 November 2008 and be replaced by Tier 5 on 27 November 2008.
Persons in possession of a Working Holiday Visa, at the time of the introduction of the Youth Mobility Scheme, will not be affected by the new scheme. They will be allowed to complete the time on their visas in the UK under the current Working Holiday Visa rules.
Unfortunately, citizens from countries like South Africa and Namibia will not be able to participate in the new scheme. Only citizens from Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand and British Overseas Territories will be able to participate in the new scheme.
If you are interested in applying for your working holiday visa, please contact us without further delay.
The UK Home Office has announced that the age at which someone can apply for a marriage visa will be raised from 18 to 21 years. This step was reportedly taken in order to stop forced marriages and deter people from abusing this migration route.
The change will take effect on 27 November 2008 and from this date, both parties in a marriage will have to be 21 years of age, before a marriage visa can be issued.
This will in effect also mean that someone will from this date, no longer be able to apply for a spouse or dependency visa, if there is a marriage involved and one of the parties is younger than 21 years old.
The UK Home Office has announced that from 27 November 2008, there will be new rules in place for persons coming to the UK to conduct business or take part in sporting or creative events - such a person will need to come as a business, sports or entertainer visitor.
Persons seeking entry as a child visitor, student visitor, parent of a child at school, marriage visitor, prospective student, visitor in transit or a visitor for private medical treatment will still need to apply in that category - a group collectively known as special visitors.
The Home Office also announced that it will review the arrangements for general short term visits to the UK and will make some announcements in this regard, early in 2009.
The UK Home Office has announced that it will abolish the retired person of independent means route on 27 November 2008.
The decision is reportedly part of the shake-up of the current immigration rules. According to the Home Office the decision was taken as there was a limited take-up of this route, with only about 20 applications a year. It was further felt that these migrants may place future demands on the public services.
Applications made before 27 November 2008, will be considered under existing rules. Migrants who have already entered the UK under this route to seek indefinite leave to remain or to apply for an extension to take them up to the point, at which they can apply for settlement, will be able to do so under transitional arrangements.
Please contact us our offices for more information.
The UK Government has announced that Tier 4 for Students will be rolled out from March 2009.
The new system aims to clamp down on bogus students and from March 2009 the following measures will come into effect;
All colleges and universities who want
to recruit foreign students will need a sponsors licence;
Every student will need a licensed
sponsor; and
Stricter rules will be put in place to
protect the UK labour market.
From Autumn 2009 the system will be further tightened with the introduction of a dedicated technology system that will make it easier for education institutions to inform the UK Border Agency if students fail to enrol or miss more than ten sessions.
Please contact our offices for more information.
The Home Office guarantee of 30 November by which they would approve a licence has expired. Now all employers have to join the queue to get their Sponsor’s Licence Application approved.
A very low number of employers in the UK made the deadline of having their application in by 01st October which means the backlog at the Home Office in the months ahead will be high. As a firm we are noticing a sudden awakening within the employer marketplace who have realised that the pointed-based system is for real and work permits will no longer be the route – there are only a handful of days left to process work permits before this window closes and the new system becomes operational.
Breytenbachs has partnered with ComplySoft to provide our organisation and you with support services at a technology level. This will help us to process your Sponsor’s Licence Application quickly, cost effectively and painlessly for you.
The bonus for your organisation is management information about your staff profile you did not have before at the same price as only the Application. This process used for the Application is step one of becoming compliant under the new regulations. The ongoing compliance management is a managed service solution we can also provide once your Application has been approved.
We recommend you contact us as soon as possible to proceed with your licence Application to avoid the risk of some of your existing migrant workers having to return to their originating country due to your organisation’s possible non compliance.
The process of applying for a Sponsor’s Licence can be quite daunting, it involves initially becoming compliant, then sourcing the information required by the Home Office in the application followed by the online application. Thereafter, depending on the quality of the information and the organisation risk status as determined by the Home Office, the organisation could experience extensive checks or a visit by the Home Office.
This is only the first step – once the company is listed on the register and then receives its Sponsors licence the organisation needs to remain compliant with the new regulations. This remaining compliant is a serious responsibility on the employer who is now, under the new rules, responsible for monitoring the immigration compliance of their employees.
Please feel free to contact us for more information, or to start your registration process, on Tier2Licensingsupport@breytenbachs.com or Breytenbachs@complysoft.co.uk
I am currently in the UK as a visitor and looking at the possibility of opening my own business. I also have a partner back home, who is willing to invest in such a new business. Does the UK have some kind of visa for persons looking to invest in a business in the UK?
Yes, there is indeed a Tier 1 Entrepreneur category of the Points-based system that was introduced on 30 June 2008. The category is for those persons investing in the United Kingdom by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in the running of one or more businesses in the UK. You will need to return to South Africa to apply for this visa.
In order to qualify for this permit, you must score at least 75 points for attributes. Applicants will also need to meet the English language requirement (10 points) and the separate requirement for maintenance (10 points).
In order to get the 75 points for attributes you have to prove the following;
After five years on this permit, you will qualify to apply for permanent residence in the UK.
Due to popular demand, Breytenbachs is now assisting South African clients to obtain their Two-year Working Holiday Visas. This service is available at Breytenbachs Immigration and Property Services CC in South Africa under supervision of our UK Solicitors at Breytenbachs.
If you want to make use of this service, please do not hesitate to contact us via info@breytenbachs.com
Curious to find out whether you will be able to qualify to live and work in the UK under the new HSMP criteria? Why not find out? Breytenbachs can do an e-evaluation of your circumstances no matter where in the world you are!
Visit our website to find out more about our e-evaluation.
At Breytenbachs we constantly aim to improve our services to ensure that we give our clients the best service possible.
We value and appreciate feedback on your experience of our services, as this will enable us to improve our services to you and others in 2007.
Thinking of returning to South Africa? Need help to get your non-South African spouse or partner a visa to live and work in South Africa?
Look no further. Did you know that Breytenbachs has a dedicated SA Immigration Department?
For help send your query to info@breytenbachs.com
Alternatively, you can visit our online SA Immigration appraisal form. By filling out this form, we can determine whether you will qualify for a South African visa or permit and provide you with the best advice in your individual case!
Our expert South African immigration advisors are waiting to hear from you!
The BBC reported a spokesperson from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) as saying that the decision of the Bank of England to cut interest rates to 3% would help boost property sales in the UK. However, the general lack of mortgage finance remains a problem in the housing market.
According to the Rics the worst of the housing market slump may now be over, and 20% of its members expect sales to rise by the end of 2008. According to Rics the growing optimism that sales would start to increase again was being driven by more sellers agreeing to drop their asking price, as more sellers understand that greater realism is needed.
The Bank of England's official interest rate was cut from 4,5% to 3%. The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, urged lenders in his reaction to pass on this rate cut to lenders.
The BBC reported that the main mortgage lenders have started to respond to the government's demand that they should cut their mortgage lending rates. The Nationwide, HBOS, the RBS/Natwest group and Northern Rock have all announced that they will cut their variable lending rates by the full 1,5% from 1 December. Other lenders such as Loyds TSB and Abbey have also announced similar steps.
According to the magazine, Money Marketing, there could be as many as 380,000 potential homeowners waiting for the mortgage market to improve.
They reported Legal & General as saying that pent-up demand for mortgages is on the rise and that the average house price has doubled since 2000. According to their director of mortgages, a significant number of people have postponed moves to buy a property, initially due to affordability, but now many of them are waiting in anticipation of further falls in prices and hoping that interest rates and lending criteria will become more favourable.
According to Legal & General they expects the pent-up demand to release quickly when more mortgage lenders re-enter the market with new products and that it is just a matter of waiting for the right products to come back.
If you are interested in buying property in the UK and would like to
discuss your conveyancing needs.
Please feel free to
e-mail us for more information
Join the SA Business Club and South African Institute of Chartered Accountants UK in celebrating a great year in Afro-European decadence with a cabaret twist!
At South Africa House, Trafalgar Square on Wednesday, 3 December from 18h00 to 20h30, followed by an after-party. Tickets are £25 for SICA and Club members and £35 for non-members.
Please RSVP at reception@sabusinessclub.com by 28 November or for more information please visit www.sabusinessclub.com
'A sleeping giant of a rugby club with strong South African ties and Premiership ambitions is making waves in England’s lower leagues.
London South Africa (LSA) was established three years ago with the vision of progressing from the canvas of the English club scene in the Surrey County Leagues to the Premiership. They gained promotion in their first year and followed that up with another promotion year, which saw them progress to London 4.' - Posted in Super 14
Follow this link for a video on the club's activities or visit their website for more details.
Breytenbachs is proud to support and legally assist the London South Africa club and wishes them all the best in its journey through the leagues of English rugby.
We are a quality organisation working towards Lexcel, a recognised quality assurance standard. This requires accredited third party assessors and consultants to review files in order to check the quality of the work conducted on your behalf. These individuals are themselves subject to confidentiality for your protection. Unless we hear otherwise (either now or in the future) we will assume that you, our client are happy with this arrangement. Thank you for your continued support in our commitment towards excellence.
| News |
| UK Property |
| Worst of the housing market slump may be over. 12/11/2008 |
| more >> |
| UK Immigration |
| Work permit scheme expiring on 26 November 2008. 29/10/2008 |
| more >> |
| Working Holiday Visa |
| Time is running out to apply for this popular visa. 29/10/2008 |
| more >> |
| Breytenbachs South Africa |
| To contact Breytenbachs SA, please phone (+27) 12 460 9959 |
| Ask the Expert |
| 'I heard rumours that the two-year
working holiday is going to be replaced by a new scheme
and that South Africans will no longer be eligible to
apply for the new scheme. Is this true?' Read all the answers on the latest questions asked by our clients. |
| more >> |
| What our clients have to say |
| I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your hard work put in for my work permit application. I am sure you do understand how grateful I am! Thank you very much. Due to my passport coming back so early I am able to go celebrate Christmas with my family under sunny SA skies! There is no better place than home - thank you!! Cledia Pate Do you want to know whether you qualify for a UK work permit or visa? Click here! |
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