14 July 2009
Proposed changes to the law on citizenship

The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill is currently being considered in Parliament. Within the Bill, the Government is planning to make changes to British nationality law. One of these changes will be to amend the British Nationality Act 1981 so that a person born in the United Kingdom to a parent in the armed forces will be a British citizen. This already happens, but changes to the 1981 Act will put the matter beyond doubt.

07 July 2009
New agreement with France on border controls

The United Kingdom government is to invest a further £15 million to strengthen its border controls in France, under a declaration signed with the French government yesterday. The additional funding will be used to pilot extra security controls and technology at Calais, which will be rolled out to other French ports if successful. In return, the French government will increase the number of flights used to return illegal migrants home from northern France.

1 July 2009
Visa requirement for South Africa enforced today

From today, visitors to the United Kingdom from South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland will only be able to travel with a visa. Visitors will now be fingerprinted and checked against watch-lists before being issued with a visa to travel. The new rules were introduced to counter passport and identity fraud, and follow Britain's first global review of who needs a visa to come to the United Kingdom for a short-term visit.

23 February 2009
Migrant workers face tougher test to work in the United Kingdom

RMeasures to raise the bar for foreign workers wishing to enter the United Kingdom, and to give domestic workers a greater chance of applying first for United Kingdom jobs, were unveiled by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith today.

13 February 2009
Identity cards for foreign nationals to extend to further immigration categories

Regulations laid before Parliament on 9 February mean that even more successful applicants for leave to remain from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are expected to receive identity cards for foreign nationals. The cards replace the stickers or vignettes in passports(...)

12 February 2009
Proposed fee levels for visas and sponsor licences in 2009/10

The Government has today announced its proposed fee levels for all visa, immigration and nationality applications and services in 2009/10.

The revenue from these fees will enable the UK Border Agency to continue providing a world-class immigration service while reducing the burden on United Kingdom taxpayers(...)

09 February 2009
New countries face tough visa rules

Visa checks are to be introduced for five countries after they failed to pass the United Kingdom's strict new Visa Waiver Test.

Following the Government's first global review of who needs a visa to come to the United Kingdom, visas will now be required for visitors from Bolivia, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Venezuela(...)

27 January 2009
Universities and colleges warned to sign up now to the new points system if they want to teach international students

The deadline is fast approaching for universities, colleges and schools who want to sponsor international students when the student tier of Britain's tough new points system goes live, the UK Border Agency warned today.

The points-based system was created to manage the number of people coming here to work and study in the best interests of the United Kingdom. The introduction of the student tier, Tier 4 will complete the rollout of the points-based system(...)

15 January 2009
Government's new bill shakes up the route to citizenship

The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill will lay down a radical new approach to British citizenship that will require all migrants to speak English and obey the law if they want to gain citizenship and stay permanently in Britain - while speeding up the path to citizenship for those who contribute to the community by being active citizens(...)

09 January 2009
New policy on judicial reviews that challenge removals

A new policy on handling legal challenges to us removing people from the United Kingdom (judicial review challenges) will come into effect on 30 January. This will help us establish a swift end-to-end process for concluding asylum cases and deporting foreign national prisoners(...)

05 January 2009
Universities and colleges sign up to new system for foreign students

More than 520 universities and colleges have applied to join the new sponsorship register which will allow them to bring foreign students into Britain to study. By registering as licensed sponsors they are pledging to take responsibility for any foreign student they bring here under Tier 4 of the points-based system, which is due to roll out over the next 12 months(...)

18 December 2008
UK work restrictions continue for Bulgarians and Romanians

Bulgarians and Romanians will not get free access to the British labour market, the Government announced today. The decision, which was taken following advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), ensures that the interests of British workers are protected and that those migrant workers who can come here to work are the people we need - and no more(...)