PointsBasedSystem.uk.com

Application forms and guidance can be found at the following page:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/vafs/

The main applicant should use Appendix 7 Youth Mobility Scheme for their points claim. The General application form can usually be printed online as part of the application process.

It would be outside the 15-month period.

[1. Can I include it in my yearly earnings?]

Rules state:
"The applicant can claim points for   99. previous earnings in any single, consecutive
12-month period during the 15 months immediately before the date of applying. An
applicant may claim points for a 12-month period of earnings outside of this 15 months if
they can show  that he/she has been"

Lets say I sold a website on Feb 15, 2009 for 5000 pounds.
1. Can I include it in my yearly earnings?

I can prove it by the bank statement and online payment receipt.
2. Will this proof be enough?

Taking in to the account Recent 15 month rules for the earning to be claimed, my last date for the application will be May 15, 2010?
Is the above statement right?

Dear Eveyone

I have been reading some of the posts here re.Tier I visa  and found the info here very useful.
I am a dentist who has spent 4 yrs in Uk in permit free training visa upto 2004. I have also a full GDC registration. Since I still maintain my registration in UK i wondered whether i could do locum jobs in the hospitals in uk. I understand that I will need a tier I visa for this without a job offer being available. My question is how many years is the validity of this visa and what will happen when this period is over.. My intention is only to work in UK for 1 or 2 months a year as locum. Iwill still be keeping my job in India and only taking a few months break every year. If such is the case will I be able to apply for extension once this period of Visa is over and also will I be able to qualify for indefinite leave to remain after that.
Thank you

16 December 2009

The UK Border Agency has responded to media coverage of comments made by John Vine, Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency in his first annual report. He commented on his disappointment that the civil penalty powers created by Parliament as a powerful tool to deter illegal entry were not being fully used.

Lin Homer, Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency said:

'I am pleased that the Chief Inspector has noted the hard work and commitment of staff in the UK Border Agency, and the difficult job they perform. Independent oversight of our work is vital to ensure continuous improvement.

'We are improving the holding facilities at Calais and speeding up the processing of people held there. Drivers and hauliers are fined when they have not taken adequate steps to prevent illegals from smuggling themselves on to their vehicles. Since December 2002 we have issued over 12,000 penalty notices with a value of over £12 million. We actively pursue outstanding debt. Since April 2009 we have detained 86 vehicles in cases where fines have not been paid. Eighty three have been released following payment raising in excess of £250,000.

'Nonetheless we will look at the Inspector's comments and challenge ourselves as to whether we can do more in this area.'

15 December 2009

The UK Border Agency is working with banks in the Philippines to develop an electronic verification system that will help to crack down on fraudulent visa applications.

False banking documentation accounts for more than one-fifth of all fraud encountered in Philippine applications for permission to come to the UK. The new system, which will be managed by the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), will enable bank documents to be checked more quickly, efficiently and accurately.

On 7 December, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by British Ambassador Stephen Lillie, BAP operations committee chairman Ricardo Balbido Jr and Ed Mackie, UK Border Agency regional manager for north-east Asia and Australasia.

Stephen Lillie said:

'We welcome this landmark co-operation between the British Embassy and the BAP to continue the UK government's wider fight against visa fraud and forgery in the Philippines.'

Ed Mackie added:

'The UK Border Agency has already provided the BAP with the hardware [server and peripherals], and we are covering the software development costs. The BAP are covering the maintenance and running costs of the system.

'The new system will enable us to detect even more quickly those who seek to cheat our system by providing false banking documents.'

15 December 2009

In response to queries from sponsors under the points-based system, the UK Border Agency has produced additional advice on how sponsor licences and migrants are affected by company takeovers and other restructuring exercises such as mergers and demergers.

The advice explains what sponsors must do to regularise their sponsor status and ensure that any migrant workers are properly reported on - including actions on the sponsorship management system and tasks that the new employer must carry out to fulfil its duties if it takes on migrants.

The advice covers situations where:

• an entire sponsor organisation is being taken over by another organisation;
• part of an existing sponsor organisation is being taken over by another organisation; or
• part of an existing sponsor organisation is splitting away to form a new organisation.

11 December 2009

Members of a Slovakian gang who falsely imprisoned a teenage girl and forced her into a life of prostitution have been jailed for a total of 50 years, following an operation by the UK Border Agency and South Yorkshire police.

The two men and one woman orchestrated the 15-year-old Slovakian's passage to the UK and then forced her to sell herself for sex on the streets of Sheffield. She was only rescued from her ordeal when a 'client' called the police, believing that she was being forced to have sex for money.

Investigations by the UK Border Agency/police immigration crime team revealed that she may have made the gang £200 to £300 by working for 12 hours each night. In court it was estimated that she had been made to have sex with at least 40 men.

Welcoming the verdict, UK Border Agency regional director Jeremy Oppenheim said:

'This was a horrific crime involving the sexual exploitation of a young girl and I am pleased at the tough sentences handed out today, which show there is no hiding place for people who break the law.

'The UK Border Agency is committed to identifying victims of trafficking and tackling criminal networks that facilitate their exploitation.'

A jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard how the teenager was snared into a life of prostitution when she ran away from a children's home in Slovakia after attending her mother's funeral in May 2009. The girl, who was placed in a children's home in September 2008, decided not to return after the funeral and instead took a train to the town of Trnava.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was promised a better life in Sheffield by Roman Dunka and Alzbeta Dunkova. She was given a passport and, together with Dunkova, travelled to France by coach and then crossed into the UK.

On arriving in Sheffield she was taken to the home of Dunkova and her husband, Marcel Dunka, which they shared with others. In the coming weeks she was taken out on to the streets of Sheffield at night and forced to have sex for around £20 or £30 a time. During the day she slept and cleaned the family's house. This was the routine for the Slovak teenager until she escaped in mid June this year by pleading for help from a 'client'.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Powell of the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber immigration crime team said:

'These substantial sentences are welcomed by the team and we send out a message to those who deal with vulnerable people as a commodity, we will actively and vigorously pursue all investigations of this type. UK Border Agency officers and police have worked hard to secure these convictions against a group of evil individuals who targeted someone who put her trust in them.

'The victim is now being cared for by a team of professionals who will attempt to help her to rebuild her life and put this misery behind her.'

When sentencing the defendants, Judge Roger Keen recommended they be deported on completion of their sentences.

10 December 2009

From next month, skilled migrant workers and their dependants will receive an identity card for foreign nationals when they successfully apply to extend their stay in the UK under Tier 2 of the points-based system.

Under regulations approved by Parliament yesterday, all Tier 2 applications made inside the UK on or after 6 January 2010 will involve the enrolment of the applicant's biometric information (fingerprints and photograph).

Migrants in a number of other categories must already enrol their biometrics and obtain an identity card for foreign nationals when they apply to extend their stay in the UK.

As the number of migrants required to enrol their biometrics increases, this year we have increased the range of options for them to do so:

• There are now 11 Home Office biometric enrolment centres around the UK - foreign nationals can book appointments at these centres through our new online booking service or by telephone.
• Postal applicants living within certain postcodes can now choose to enrol their biometrics at a limited number of Crown post offices nationwide. This is a trial walk-in service, with no need to book an appointment, but is currently available only to applicants who have been sent an invitation to use it. Applicants using this service will need to pay an additional fee of £8.00 to Post Office Ltd. Seventeen post offices will be taking part in the trial, with the locations published on our website as they come online.

For a premium fee, applicants can choose to apply in person and receive a same-day decision on their application at one of our seven public enquiry offices. Please note that appointments for this service at Croydon are often in high demand, but appointments are available at our regional offices in Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Solihull and Sheffield.

10 December 2009

The latest Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules was laid before Parliament today.

The changes include the following:

• The Immigration Rules are being amended to provide that applications for leave to remain or settlement on the basis of long residence will no longer be considered at a UK Border Agency Public Enquiry Office;
• The Rules will also make provision, within the child visitor rules, to permit exchange visits by overseas students to state maintained and other schools;
• The Immigration Rules are being amended to make provision for the final phase of the roll-out of Tier 4, the student tier of the points-based system. The changes to the Rules will mean that from 22 February 2010, Tier 4 migrants will require an electronic confirmation of acceptance for studies in order to be able to score points for attributes in their applications to come to the UK; and
• The Rules will now provide for workers admitted under the previous rules for overseas government employees, to switch in-country into the Tier 5 category for temporary workers.

This Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules will be incorporated into a consolidated version of the Immigration Rules. You can find copies of all the Statements of Changes in Immigration Rules issued since May 2003.

The changes will come into effect on 1 January 2010, with the exception of the Tier 4 changes, which will come into force on 22 February 2010.