Formally there have been no significant changes to Home Office guidance for sponsors yet. However, in practice new sponsor licence applications are assessed more strictly. There are certain rules and principles that give Home Office UKVI significant discretion in decision making depending on the circumstances of each case. For example, the concept of ‘genuine vacancy’ allows Home Office to assess the business applying for the sponsor licence and the job…
Read MoreUK visa – changes in commercial partners VFS Global and TLS contact
From 15 October 2024, UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) are no longer provided by Sopra Steria UK. TLScontact has taken over the running of UKVCAS. For clarity, commercial partners are commercial organizations to whom Home Office outsources the biometric appointments & documents collection from visa applicants and forwarding them to Home Office UKVI. We previously published an article on changes to commercial partners and this current article is a continuation on the same…
Read MoreNo work or limited working hours on skilled worker work visa in the UK – Health and Care visa holders problems
We previously published articles on fraud when fake Certificates of Sponsorship (COS) are issued that causes skilled worker and health and care visa refusals. This time we decided to write about another problem that many skilled worker visa holders face when they arrive in the UK but there is no or very little work provided by sponsor employer. Certificate of sponsorship (work permit) – hours of work and pay When…
Read MoreImportant UK immigration news – new measures to reduce net migration announced on 24th September 2024
On 24th September 2024 Sir Keir Starmer told the Labour Party conference that his Government will reduce migration and Britain’s dependency on foreign workers. In the afternoon on the same day there was published a press release on reducing net migration. Previously the new Labour government stressed the importance of the removal of those who remain in the UK illegally (e.g. overstayers, illegal entrants, those whose family relationship broke down…
Read MoreUK immigration – COS scams & fraud costing victims
BBC in a recent article draws attention to the large number of skilled worker visa scams. We previously wrote about fake COS certificates and lack of option to check COS authenticity as this has been a problem for sometime now. The fact that there is no working method of checking the validity of a COS certificate other than by applying for the visa means that unscrupulous fraudsters can take advantage…
Read MoreUK immigration update: from 15th October 2024 in country biometric appointments with TLScontact
From 15 October 2024, UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) will no longer be provided by Sopra Steria UK. TLScontact will take over the running of UKVCAS. Applicants can book their biometrics appointment with Sopra Steria UK by 14 October 2024 by logging in to your UKVCAS account via Sopra Steria website (www.ukvcas.co.uk). We previously published an article on changes to commercial partners and this current article is a…
Read MoreUK immigration news – increased Home Office removal activity if ‘no right to be in the UK’
Removal of foreign nationals with ‘no right to be in the UK’ Removal of failed asylum seekers and those with ‘no right to be in the UK’ is high on the current UK government’s agenda. According to BBC news and other online sources, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and the Home Office have promised a “large surge” in returns flights for failed asylum seekers and others with no right to be…
Read MoreUK immigration update – Changes to the commercial partner visa application services
Changes to the commercial partner visa application services According to Home Office updates, between September 2024 and January 2025, the commercial partner will change from TLScontact to VFS Global in some locations in: Other parts of the world are not affected. Commercial partners are commercial organizations to whom Home Office outsources the biometric appointments & documents collection from visa applicants and forwarding them to Home Office UKVI. We provide more…
Read MoreSuspicious COS check website claiming to be Home Office – important for UK work visas
Potentially fake COS Check website Many UK work visa applicants search for ways to check if their Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) is genuine. Recently we have came across a website which seems to impersonate Home Office COS checking. If it was a genuine site it would be useful for applicants. However, the COS Check site is a rather suspicious one. We write more about this further below. Skilled worker visa…
Read MoreLabour may stop further minimum income increase for spouse & family visas and revise the £29,000 current minimum.
We have written extensively about the challenges to the new financial requirements for spouse/unmarried partner visa in the UK. Recently, as noted by The Telegraph, there have been new developments in the matter. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary in new Labour government has announced some updates. For the moment, the most important is the freezing of the current threshold of financial requirement for the spouse visa at the level of…
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