5 years for ILR rule implemented

[Kavik]

Whatever it is. We are happy that Charles Clarke has been saked and Labour is loosing.

olisun did you already got your ILR?

BBC reports Charles Clarke as having been sacked:

Charles Clarke has been axed as home secretary as Tony Blair seeks to regain the initiative after a night of losses in English local elections

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4975938.stm

What goes around, comes around.... I shall shed no tears after his flippant responses to our concerns.

GT

looks like it's going to be more strict now....

[likewise]

This is what I drafted for chain mail.
Can you please proof read it.
Again looks like its getting very long..
any way to make it short. ?

The Chain Email is a brilliant idea.

It is difficult to use one email to introduce the background, present the arguments, report the progress and request actions and keep it short. The solution is to build a purposely made one-stop website and provide a link of the website in your email.

Working is being done by a group of volunteers and 2 software engineers towards this end.

I think we need the website done asap, and we can use google adwords to link the website to keywords like immigration, unfair, human rights, etc

[olisun]

Whatever it is. We are happy that Charles Clarke has been saked and Labour is loosing.

olisun did you already got your ILR?

BBC reports Charles Clarke as having been sacked:

Charles Clarke has been axed as home secretary as Tony Blair seeks to regain the initiative after a night of losses in English local elections

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4975938.stm

What goes around, comes around.... I shall shed no tears after his flippant responses to our concerns.

GT

looks like it's going to be more strict now....

huh?, what's it got to do with me getting my ILR?

[Kavik]

Whatever it is. We are happy that Charles Clarke has been saked and Labour is loosing.

olisun did you already got your ILR?

What goes around, comes around.... I shall shed no tears after his flippant responses to our concerns.

GT

looks like it's going to be more strict now....

huh?, what's it got to do with me getting my ILR?

You will feel the same way as we feel if you are one of the vicitims of the change of 4-5 rule.

[tarzan]

Friends,

1. Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell sent a letter explaining their current course of action against the rules:
"....As you are aware, these reforms are being progressed via a negative order which means the Government's proposals will not be debated on the floor of the House or in Committee. The Liberal Democrats have prayed against the order which should require the Government to allow a debate on the above changes.
I hope you find this response reassuring."

***Expecting your comments on this.

2. Liberal Democrat Shadow Education secretary Sarah Teather sent a letter saying in short:
--she is concerned about our situation, finds these changes unjust, unfair, home office should have given sufficient notice of these changes.
--liberal democrats laid a motion against these changes which they hope to debate in committe before the deadline stipulated by parliamentary procedure (anticipated to be next month?)
--she will write back to me when the outcome of the committee is known.
--she will sign the EDM 1992 tabled by Sir Menzies.

I SUGGEST:
1. we focus on asking more liberal MP's to sign this, as they wont have an objection since it is tabled by party leader.
2. we focus on conservatives to set such course of action and get as many as possible of them involved in the process.

Shadow immigration minister had already mentioned that they would oppose the retrospective element of these changes. So now our targets should be:
Party leader David Cameron camerond@parliament.uk Fax: 0207 219 1506
--congradulate him for the local election results

Shadow Home office minister, David Davis, davisd@parliament.uk
--same arguments
Shadow minister of trade and industry, Alan Duncan, duncana@parliament.uk
--adding that it will be harmful for uk trade and industry as well.
Shadow secretary of work and pensions, Philip Hammond, hammondp@parliament.uk
--adding that Uk economy needs a constant influx of foreign younger workers that pay tax and NI.
shadow heath secretary Andrew Lansley, lansleya@parliament.uk
--adding that Uk health system needs foreign doctors and nurses

Regards
tarzan

[tarzan]

for those who have not seen, it would be useful for us to read who thinks what in the parliament about points based system and immigration as a whole:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/? ... ilr#g222.0

[ansaggart]

Nice reading but it ignores us completely.

[rg1]

Do we still have any hope to overturn restrospective effect of the rule?

[ansaggart]

I am a bit as I cannot see a clear rute of overrulling it. We have no representation, we are not united, there is no poilitical will to change this in making the immigrats life "easier" etc.

[tarzan]

government will hold on to the changes as a whole, and minister is stubborn about them. as also accepted by some MP's, IF WE CAN KEEP THE PRESSURE ON (howmuch ever we can) we have a chance to find a way in the middle to make them say, "ok lets not apply this rule retrospectively, or worst case, because it was supposedly introduced in 2005 spring, lets not appy to those who got their work visas before this date....

they would like us to give up, if we give up there is no chance. if we dont, there is.

[rg1]

That's right! We must try as much as possible to resist the retrospective effect!

[nonothing]

government will hold on to the changes as a whole, and minister is stubborn about them. as also accepted by some MP's, IF WE CAN KEEP THE PRESSURE ON (howmuch ever we can) we have a chance to find a way in the middle to make them say, "ok lets not apply this rule retrospectively, or worst case, because it was supposedly introduced in 2005 spring, lets not appy to those who got their work visas before this date....

they would like us to give up, if we give up there is no chance. if we dont, there is.

absolutely right, let's keep the pressure on.

[Papafaith]

Got a reply fro David Cameron's office; pasted below.

"Thank you for writing to David Cameron - I'm replying on his behalf. I'm sorry for the long delay in my reply, as I am sure you can appreciate there has been a massive increase in the volume of correspondence coming into the office since David Cameron became Party Leader.

Thank you for your email. I have ensured that our Home Affairs team have these details for their consideration and thank you again for writing".







Yours sincerely,

David Beal
Correspondence Secretary
David Cameron's Office
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
www.conservatives.com

[cantab]

i have got a reply from my MP (Jeremy Hunt, Conservative, Surrey). he has written to the Home Office.


Dear ,

Thank you for your letter about the changes to the immigration rules
affecting the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

I agree that the retrospective element of this change is damaging both
to the individuals involved and to the British economy, and the
Conservative Party will be opposing this element of the new rules.

I shall be adding my name to an EDM tabled by the Shadow Home Secretary,
David Davis MP, which makes our objections clear.

I have passed your letter on to Charles Clarke asking him to explain the
rational behind retrospective application of the rules. When I receive
his reply I will send a copy to you.

Thanks again for contacting me on this issue. Please do not hesitate to
contact me again if I can be of further assistance.

Best wishes,

Jeremy Hunt
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeremy Hunt
Member of Parliament
South West Surrey

Tel: 01428 609 416
Fax: 01428 607 498

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

[a11]

Both letters are good news. I can't quite understand the latter one, though.
On the one hand, he is saying that he intends to write to Mr Clarke, which means that the letter was probably conceived a while ago and then simply sent later by his secretaries.
On the other hand, he refers to an EDM tabled by their shadow home secretary David Davies. However, such EDM has never materialised.
So if the 'out of date' hypothesis is true, what if, for example, Mr Davis has changed his mind after Clarke got sacked?
Of course, it can just be that it takes time for a tabled EDM to get processed and appear on the website.

[rooi_ding]

Everyone

There is now a campaign against the retrospective change, a group of people all who have been affected by the change and who initially met on this forum have now formed an organization VBSI we are co-coordinating our efforts with other organizations and companies, we are currently building a web site that will be up and running in the next few days and hopefully a email will be circulating soon that will try gather the troops together.

The organization is not just a representation of the group of people that have started it and by no means do we profess to have all the answers, and I hope in the future is that this organization will belong to all skilled immigrants from all nationalities.

We therefore need more volunteers to help with the organization and for everyone to have there say.

But for now the main focus is on the retrospective change. I would encourage everyone to keep focused and to keep an eye on the forum for the next couple of days as we hope to launch the web site SOON.........

[supertiger]

Here's their website: http://www.vbsi.org.uk

[olisun]

Here's their website: http://www.vbsi.org.uk

from the website

"We were devastated by this change, not only because it deprived our rights to be integrated into the society as were promised, but also because the government break and denies its promise in such a careless way."

Has the govt. mentioned that all WP and HSMP holders CANNOT apply for PR after 3rd April 2006?

[a11]

This is very interesting. Well done!
Has Christine Lee been made aware of it? She'd rather be before her meeting with the immigration minister.

There is now a campaign against the retrospective change, a group of people all who have been affected by the change and who initially met on this forum have now formed an organization VBSI we are co-coordinating our efforts with other organizations and companies, we are currently building a web site that will be up and running in the next few days and hopefully a email will be circulating soon that will try gather the troops together.

The organization is not just a representation of the group of people that have started it and by no means do we profess to have all the answers, and I hope in the future is that this organization will belong to all skilled immigrants from all nationalities.

We therefore need more volunteers to help with the organization and for everyone to have there say.

But for now the main focus is on the retrospective change. I would encourage everyone to keep focused and to keep an eye on the forum for the next couple of days as we hope to launch the web site SOON.........

[nonothing]

Papafaith and cantab, thanks for posting the letters here.

hopefully more and more people can do the same, so we can forward the letters to Christine Lee's team and they can use them for the lobbying.

[rooi_ding]

yes a11

CL is aware of our campaign and the more people that can help the better, becasue this campaign is for all of us..............

[cantab]

Papafaith and cantab, thanks for posting the letters here.

hopefully more and more people can do the same, so we can forward the letters to Christine Lee's team and they can use them for the lobbying.

thank you very much for making CL aware of the letters. I tried calling her office to obtain an email to send it to them as well, but the line was busy for most of the day!

[tutu1005]

Great news from Joseph!!!

Please check the following link for detail. Basically, the ILR application deadline has been moved to the June!! some of us will be able to apply now!! The official web is not working.

http://lkcn.net/eubbs/index.php?showtopic=102162&st=465

We need to fight further more!!

Copied for those who can not use Lkcn.

Also did an interview with David Ho, seems home office annouce on the 3/5 that people can continue to use the old form to apply for ILR, ie only need to stay here for 4 years to qualify, until the new form is ready in June.

Home office has already approved a few ILR cases who did not stay the full 4-years before the APril 3rd deadline.

It is therefore a clear indication that the officials can use discretion and approve individual cases without staying the full qualifying duration in the UK.

ANYONE LIVE HERE FOR 4 YEARS by JUNE, should submit their application immidately, even if they have been refused recently on the ground of not reaching the qualifying period before april.

Home Office website is currently having technical difficulties, I have been unable to find the new announcement there yet

This post has been edited by joseph.DJ@558.net on 8 May 2006, 19:02

[andhraguy]

Also did an interview with David Ho, seems home office annouce on the 3/5 that people can continue to use the old form to apply for ILR, ie only need to stay here for 4 years to qualify, until the new form is ready in June.

Home office has already approved a few ILR cases who did not stay the full 4-years before the APril 3rd deadline.

It is therefore a clear indication that the officials can use discretion and approve individual cases without staying the full qualifying duration in the UK.

ANYONE LIVE HERE FOR 4 YEARS by JUNE, should submit their application immidately, even if they have been refused recently on the ground of not reaching the qualifying period before april.

Home Office website is currently having technical difficulties, I have been unable to find the new announcement there yet

This post has been edited by joseph.DJ@558.net on 8 May 2006, 19:02

The actual announcement made by HO is on 24th April. In that statement the transitional arrangements are mentioned as follows:

Transitional Arrangements


Any application made for entry clearance or limited leave to remain on or before 2 April will be considered under the Immigration Rules in place on that date (i.e. the old' rules). Therefore, for categories such as the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, initial grants of leave to enter or remain will be granted for a period of up to 12 months. Applications submitted on or after 3 April will, where applicable under the revised Rules, have an initial grant of up to 24 months.


For applications for settlement submitted on or after 3 April, the applicant will need to have completed the new, 5-year qualifying period. If the applicant has not completed the required qualifying period, the application would normally be refused.


We will be updating the SET (O) and BUS application forms as quickly as possible so that they reflect these changes but this will not be completed immediately. However, in the meantime, information will be inserted in the guidance notes of these forms or enclosed with them explaining the new arrangements.


We recognise the difficulties customers may experience due to the forms not being updated immediately. Consequently, we are introducing an interim arrangement, whereby applicants who submit applications for settlement on or after 3 April, and have only completed 4 year's continuous leave, will be asked if they wish to vary the grounds of their application to an application for a further period of limited leave to remain. Applicants who do seek to vary their settlement application in this way will be requested either to complete the appropriate application form, or to provide any further information required for their application to be considered.

Where appropriate, work permit holders will also need to ensure that their employer applies for a fresh work permit.


This transitional arrangement will apply for applications submitted between 3 April, and the planned date for publication of the revised application forms in June 2006.


Once the revised application forms become available, any indefinite leave to remain application for which the new forms are prescribed will be refused, where the applicant has not completed the required 5-year qualifying period.

[ansaggart]

Guys,

Do you have any idea how to read terms like:

"For applications for settlement submitted on or after 3 April, the applicant will need to have completed the new, 5-year qualifying period. If the applicant has not completed the required qualifying period, the application would normally be refused."

What could be consider as abnormal and have my application succesfull?

I am WP holder I would of have qulified for ILR last week.

Thanks,