Immigration news

Alongside healthcare and the economy, immigration was a hotly contested topic during the televised election debate screened live on ITV on April 2. UK immigration is one of the most divisive issues in the election campaign and this was clearly evident during the two hour debate.

The seven party leaders who took part in the debate were Prime Minister, David Cameron, Labour Leader, Ed Miliband, Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, Plaid Cymru Leader, Leanne Wood, Scottish National Party Leader, Nicola Sturgeon, Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett, and UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

It is becoming increasingly uncertain whether highly skilled professionals on Tier 2 visas including international experts hired by Universities will be able to stay in the UK on a permanent basis after five years in the UK. The Times Educational Supplement (TES) a top educational resource had the following to say.

The personal details of world leaders including Cameron, Merkel, Modi, Obama and Putin, were accidentally sent to Asian Cup football tournament organisers. Despite the security breach, the Australian Immigration Department did not deem it necessary to inform world leaders of the incident.

According to new research, fewer immigrants have come to the UK for employment during this parliament compared with Labour's final term in office. The research also finds those that are arriving are more highly skilled than under the previous Labour Government.

A study carried out by Migration Observatory, Oxford, challenges pre-election warnings sparked by political parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which say that the UK is witnessing record levels of newcomers arriving from Europe and the rest of the world.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS) has announced that the H-1B visa quota for the 2016 fiscal year (October 1 2015 – September 30, 2016) has been reached, inclusive of the 20,000 granted to US advance degree holders such as those with a masters degree or higher.

This means that no new cap-subject H-1B visa applications may be lodged until April 1, 2016 with the start date being October 1, 2016 or later.

A new study has confirmed that a previous campaign by the Home Office the 'Go Home' campaign has sparked 'fear and anger' among immigrants across Scotland and the UK in general. The recent findings will be particularly worrying for the SNP who wish to encourage more immigration to Scotland to help deal with skills shortages. Like many European Countries Scotland has an aging population and workforce. These concerns were raised again by the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon in a recent televised political debate that focused on the issue of immigration.