Post
by newperson » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:14 pm
This group you mention (viz., April-Nov 2006 HSMP-ers) will be able to apply for ILR in 2011. But has the citizenship path for them has not been clearly outlined.
What is clearer is for those post-Nov 2006. They will be able to apply for probationary citizenship, which will be granted if the applicant is able to clear a certain points threshold at that time.
This probationary citizenship will last at least one year if the person does volunteer work and aspires to citizenship. It will last three years if no volunteering is done.
This probationary citizenship will last at least three years if the person does volunteer work and aspires to permanent residency. It will last five years if no volunteering is done.
The government may also choose to introduce another points threshold between probationary citizenship and the last stage: citizenship/PR. For economic migrants, points are gained or lost based on earnings, special talents and social integration. The applicant will not accrue any points for volunteer work. Volunteering will only speed up the process (1 vs. 3 years for citizenship, or 3 vs. 5 years for PR), not get you extra points to push you over the threshold.
In this way, the gov't will try to control the number of economic migrants on legal paths who (1) apply for temporary residence, (2) apply for probationary citizenship, and (3) apply for citizenship/PR. Theoretically, the UK could become like the UAE. If they set the points threshold high enough, no one will be able to progress to probationary citizenship/citizenship/PR if the gov't doesn't want them to. You will get large numbers of migrants who come, work and then must return home.
If the pre-Nov 2006 HSMP-ers can avoid all this, they will be very fortunate indeed. The danger is that post-July but pre-Nov HSMP-ers, because they don't have or haven't applied for ILR before the cut-off date will be out of luck. A specific exemption for them will need to be made. But again, this still hasn't been sorted out yet.
