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The UK's immigration minister, Mark Harper, has announced changes to the UK's immigration rules designed to make the UK more attractive as a destination for international businesses. He also announced measures designed to attract international students to the UK. The changes will come into force on 1st October 2013.
FWD.us, the online pro-immigration pressure group founded by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and other titans of the IT industry, has held a 'Day of Action' to put pressure on members of the US House of Representatives to back immigration reform legislation this autumn.
FWD.us was founded by Zuckerberg along with others including Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and Drew Houston, founder of Dropbox. It supports reform of the US immigration system so that IT firms can employ more talented workers from around the world.
The New Zealand immigration minister has announced that Albert Buitenuis, a South African chef, will be allowed to stay in the country. This reversed an earlier decision that he should be deported because he was too fat and was therefore likely to be a drain on the public health service. He has been granted a 2-year temporary resident visa.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the British-based, Indian-owned car manufacturer announced an investment of £1.5bn in its UK car businesses on 9th September 2013. This was a triumph for JLR which has undergone a renaissance since being taken over by India's Tata Group in 2008.
We would like to remind you that, as of October 28th 2013, most people applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR) will need to pass the Life in the UK test and will also have to obtain a Speaking and listening qualification in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This test must show that you speak and understand English at the 'intermediate level' (see below for explanation).
The only exceptions will be people who already fall into a category that is exempt from the requirement to take either test (see below for more information). These people will still not have to take either test.
A spat about immigration has broken out between two of Britain's leading economic commentators. They are Jeremy Warner, who writes for the right-wing Daily Telegraph and Jonathan Portes, the director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research who writes frequently for the left of centre Guardian.
On 2nd September, Warner published a piece in The Telegraph with the title 'Mass immigration has made Britain a less competitive economy'. He argued that mass immigration into the UK had depressed labour costs in British workplaces.