Immigration news

The IT Professionals Association (IPTA) has demanded greater transparency of the Australian 457 visa scheme after claiming that they have evidence that the system is being widely abused. The organisation represents some 7,000 IT workers in systems administration and IT support roles. However, IPTA is not exactly an unbiased source of information.  It is trying to restrict competition by preventing overseas nationals from obtaining 457 work visas.

A government watchdog report has revealed that US Visa agents are struggling to track US visa holders because of ‘archaic computer systems.’ When attempting to locate foreigners suspected of overstaying their visas, immigration officers often discover that they have been wasting their time because many US visa holders have exited the country.

On March 16, US President Donald Trump had issued a revised executive order barring citizens from six Muslim-majority countries, entry to America for 90 days. However, new data released by the US Department of State (DoS) reveals that the nation with the highest US visa refusal rate is not even on Trump’s second failed travel ban list.   On 25 May 2017 an Appeals Court described the travel ban to the United States limiting travel from six predominantly Muslim nations.as intolerant and discriminatory.  The  refused to reinstate it.

The Home Office has admitted that it does not know how many foreign teachers in the UK will have to leave at the end of five years in the UK because of new Tier 2 visa rules. On April 6, 2016, foreign workers from non-European countries were hit with new legislation stipulating that they must be earning £35,000 or more, per year, in order to be eligible for indefinite leave to remain in the UK (also known as permanent residence).

A leading think tank says that net annual UK visa  numbers need to be at 200,000 to avoid the collapse of the British economy, post-Brexit. Presumably many of these people will be employed by employers with Tier 2 Sponsorship Licences on Tier 2 visas. The figure is double the net target amount the government is looking to achieve.

London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has slammed the Conservative’s over the party’s ‘anti-London’ visa policy. Khan says that the policies laid out by the Tories in their recently released manifesto ‘will make all Londoners poorer’, while stifling jobs and business growth.   There is only about a week to go before the UK General Election on 8 June 2017.