Some Tier 4 students or Tier 2/5 employees may be prevented from attending their studies or employment due to illness, the need to serve a period of quarantine or the inability to travel due to travel restrictions caused by coronavirus.

You might have noticed Britain is acting differently, as you work from home trying not to have lunch at 10am. Whether you have succumbed to apocalypse- twitter to the point of ennui, or you prefer to have your crisis in the evenings watching the Judgement day-level Downing Street coverage, you might have noticed Britain is acting differently.

As the pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) sweeps across the world, dramatic changes have emerged across country borders, visa application centres and airline operations to slow the spread of the virus.

  The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we all live our lives. With borders closing and planes grounded, immigrants will face particular problems. The Home Office needs to radically change the way they operate to ensure the system continues to function effectively as widespread social isolation, regular home-working, and travel restrictions become the new normal.   

Presenting the Government’s 2020 budget to Parliament today, the newly-appointed Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is to increase to £624 per year for adults, and £470 per year for children. Currently the rate is set at £400 for both adults and children. It would be wise for those seeking to apply for visas to do so prior to October 2020 where that is feasible.  

  The Immigration Rules provide that the Sole Representative of an overseas business should be employed by the parent company in a senior position of employment within the company , with authority to take operational decisions once operating the UK business concern. 

If you are in the UK on a Tier 4 student visa, you may be coming to the end of your studies and looking at ways of remaining in the UK. Whether you are looking for long-term work, or have another reason for remaining in the UK, this blog will outline the alternative visa options to which it is possible to switch from a Tier 4 student visa. 

  We are regularly asked about acquisition of Scottish citizenship. Sometimes by a person, understandably unfamiliar with the UK’s constitutional intricacies, who conflates the terms British/Scottish. Sometimes by a person asking about Scottish ancestry. Sometimes by a British national resident in England, perturbed by recent political events, who is making plans to relocate. Sometimes by a Scottish born Brit, resident in England, who is seeking reassurance following a flurry of headlines suggesting a second referendum on Scottish independence is imminent.  

  The Global Talent visa route opened yesterday 20 February 2020 and provides an entrance level for highly talented and promising individuals in the fields of science, technology, engineering, medicine, humanities, culture and the arts to live and work in the UK. It replaces the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) category. It is to all extent and purposes an updated version of status which embraces the UK Governments agenda in the overhaul of the current system for workers.

Today the Home Office released a policy statement on the UK’s new “points-based immigration system”, setting out their approach for how immigration to the UK will work post-Brexit. Hailing the scheme as revolutionary, the Home Secretary Priti Patel said that “we will attract the brightest and best from around the globe, boosting the economy and our communities, and unleash this country’s full potential.” So, how will this new system work? And what’s different?