Labour to Clamp Down on Immigrants

rogerroger · Post by **rogerroger** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:23 pm

what is the english test gonna be?

is it the same as the IELTS or TOEFL ?

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:26 pm

Is this likely to come into effect in May? I suppose that when he law will take effect if Labour wins again.

Does this mean all applications before May will not be affected?

pieface · Post by **pieface** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:58 pm

Okay after reading the full outline in the pdf, this seems a bit clearer. There seems to be a lot of doomsaying and needlessly worried people. Keep in mind this is a five year plan, knocked up in a hurry to appease voters who by and large will not appreciate the necessity of managed migration.

- None of what has been announced today has the potential to affect existing ILR holders.

- What has been announced today is fairly vague and finer points will take some time to be worked out by government departments in consultation with interested parties.

- There is no mention of what implications are for people currently in the system. I expect this is because they haven't considered this yet and is one of the finer points to be worked out.

- Even if the ILR rule was changed within the next 12 months (or even tomorrow), it would be logical to expect that any WP or HSMP holder who has LTR taking them past the 4 years of the current system would maintain their entitlement. After a certain cut-off period and after the points system is worked out properly subsequent WP applications would be subject to the new ILR (or permanent residency) critera.

Note: I am not in any way involved with any government department and am just expressing my opinion based on my knowledge of applying new government policy.

bbdivo · Post by **bbdivo** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 6:56 pm

Does anyone actually know when any of this will likely take effect? My 4 yrs are almost coming up (like in about 4 months time) and if its going to affect me then I may need to reconsider my position here in the UK.

tgs · Post by **tgs** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 6:59 pm

Don't you have to proof in your HSMP application you can read and speak English ?

I think the immigration system needs to change to keep out those immigrants entering the country while ppl like myself have to work here while other immigrants can live from government benefits for free.

If you passed HSMP my guess is that they not going to show you the door. My guess is that the immigrations overall is a result partly because of the sucess of the HSMP.

On worse what might happen is that after your 4 years you will need to proof that you have been economicaly active and you are in a skilled job. Working in Tesco at the till for 5 years is not going to help you are worth staying in the country.... I guess salary would be a good validation for how skilled one is. Same goes for academic qualifications, how many jobs oyu can apply for...... I did that all in my HSMP application.

My 1 penny....

kawasaki1 · Post by **kawasaki1** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 7:56 pm

Chess/Kayalami,

I think this will be quite a hot topic and I suggest either creating an FAQ with what is known so far (such as 'Will my current WP and 4 year route be affected?' etc) or making this topic sticky.

Hopefully this does not affect us current WP/HSMP holders and our preciously earned ILR time, but if so, it's best that we know for sure

luka · Post by **luka** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 8:32 pm

Here is the tier system as mentioned by the Home Secretary

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4244707.stm

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 10:35 pm

I guess the MAIN question here is:

Will it effect ILR for WP holders whose time is almost up?

I haven't found anything concrete so far and have been searching/reading loads of sites.

Yes it might take time to implement but who knows; with the way things are going with hammering economic migrants, I wouldn't be suprized if some rules take effect immediately.

I feel like a "modern day slave" with loads of rights and good pay whose about to get a slap on the wrist for getting too comfy here

.

Kayalami · Post by **Kayalami** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 10:58 pm

Historic government policy has been to 'NOT' apply any aspect of immigration changes 'Retrospectively' for applications submitted but yet to be decided i.e. if you submitted your application before the changes the old rules apply to you. This is of most impact/ relevance to those going for ILR in 4 years time and intending to include dependents in their settlement application.

However the immigration issue has really rattled the government and I regret to say I am in the 'retrospectiveness' is the name of the game camp - it's already in place for Working Holiday Visas (which have experienced the most draconian U-Turn I have come across in UK immigration policy).

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 11:48 pm

Kay,

Thats OK but there seems to be a lot of confusion over when these rules will be implemented. I haven't submitted my ILR application but will do soon in the next couple of months! I think most of us have read the PDF that outlined the policy and it seems we have to digest it now!

- I will be applying in the next few months and am worried about it myself. Simply because things are not clear yet. Will the law actually change in 2-3 months so that when people like me apply, they will be turned back to apply in another years time?

- Will IT people like me stay eligible to begin with..since we are not on the "shortage occuption" list any more therefore not tier 1 or 2 according to new points scheme.

I have spoken to my friend whose got a lawyer and according to him, and this is just third hand information, there will be no problems with PR applciation in the next 5-6 months at least.

But this is nothing new. People in the middle east for example can't even think of PR. I know people who were sort of "settled" and had worked there for 30 years and were then simply kicked out when WP finished!

MWazir · Post by **MWazir** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:42 am

sywahu,

You should be alright if your PR application is being submitted in the next couple of months. This is what the Labour party is proposing and they will put it into motion if they come back to power after the elections. So you will be in a position to attain ILR before the rule change.

Unwanted · Post by **Unwanted** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 1:19 pm

Hi, newbie here. Great site btw!

I'm facing the same uncertainty as most people here as I am currently on a WP and have 10 months left before I qualify for ILR (under the 4 year rule anyway).

Reading the details on BBC Interactive last night, there seemed to be a suggestion that the rules will apply from April this year. Not sure how accurate this is and whether it will apply to existing WP holders.

This is naturally depressing and, to avoid the risk that comes with redundancy, maybe it is best to apply for the HSMP in the meantime?

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 3:38 pm

Unwanted

There is panic for all the in country WP holders. I would suggest keep your cool.

First of all whatever the rule has been set is expected to be rolled in the next 2-3 years.

Second there will be lot of situation where the existin or old cases will not be compatible with the new rule and logically it implies that they would have to exempt at least those cases from new rule. Rightly pointed out by Kayalami as per the history the new rule is only for new applications, hence the assumption

In my case I have just completed 2 years in Work Permit but I am still confident I would be spared by the new rule.

So relax and be cool at least for a year or 2 till they fully roll out the new rules.

Cheers,
Chris

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:20 pm

Chris,

You are right since I have spoken to a few lawyers myself today as I have another 3 months to go for ILR. At least I have been told that I should be OK since it simply takes time for the actual "Law in the Book" to change.

But the new rules have confused the hell out of many of the WP holders throughout the country.

I really hope you would be OK in two years time as it would be grossly unfair to people like you.

bkhan · Post by **bkhan** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:17 am

zhassan wrote:Hi Chess,
Good thing is they want to get rid of so called refugees and welcome those who are equipped with right skills to boost their economy.This seems to a major issue during coming election compaign in Britian.

TIA
Zia

On the other hand, they will make it increasingly difficult for your family (like parents and dependent brothers/sisters) to join you in the UK who may not have modern tech skills.
Immigration systems have been abused by refugees all over the world but the current measures will only make it difficult for the genuine immigrants. Refugees will make it to the UK one way or another as most of them arrive without any visas at all.

Alagomeji · Post by **Alagomeji** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 7:57 am

Perhaps we all move to Canada and Australia then?

Smit · Post by **Smit** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:29 pm

It appears that there will be further developments this week on the Government's proposed 5 year immigration strategy announced in Feb 2005.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/ ... 31,00.html

Post by **John** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:01 pm

I notice that tomorrow's House of Commons agenda includes :-

Home Affairs Committee (10.15am, Grimond room).
Subject: Immigration control.
Witnesses: Immigration and Nationality Directorate and UKVisas.

That is, the Home Affairs Committee is having a meeting on the subject of immigration control, and no doubt the appropriate Government Ministers will be there to be interogated.

Maybe some useful snippets of informastion might emerge.

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Labour to Clamp Down on Immigrants

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