Archive for the ‘UK immigration’ Category

Get a UK visa and visit Edinburgh

Edinburgh may be currently enjoying its status as venue for the biggest arts festival in the world, but it’s just received another accolade after it was officially voted the most desirable place to live in the UK.

10, 000 people voted in a new Yougov survey that saw Scotland’s Capital judged as having the best atmosphere of any other city in Britain. Edinburgh also ranked in the top five for factors such as culture, friendliness, cuisine and “media buzz”.

The city beat off challengers including London, York and Belfast.

Edinburgh Festival goers may have endured one of the wettest days recorded in August today, but the soggy climate was not enough to dampen many voters’ enthusiasm for the popular business and tourist destination.

Edinburgh, it would seem, reigns supreme!

Dance troupe Salia Ni Seydou went through a warzone to get UK visas

The continuing saga of the battle between UK points based visa system and the international arts community rages on.

A few weeks ago, we covered a story that highlighted the plight of overseas artists who had either suffered delays or had to cancel performances due to the UK’s new visa regulations for overseas visitors.

Now a home affairs select committee report has provided conclusive evidence that absurd UK visa laws creates unnneccessary problems that delays and even  endangers creatives looking to bring their talent to the country.

A prominent champion of the cause to reform UK visa law is Guardian journalist Henry Porter. In his recent blog he asks readers: ‘Would you cross a warzone for a British visa?’

He also tells the story of a Burkina Faso dance troupe who had to travel across a warzone in Cote D’Ivoire to obtain their UK visas.

This is just one of many stories that the aforementioned report details.

Porter rages against the bureacratic machine that is the UK Border Agency. He writes: “[T]his chaotic, slow moving, over-centralized system takes effect it becomes clear that we are watching a programme of cultural exclusion that is already doing real harm to British cultural life and the free exchange of ideas.”

So will we see any change in the UK visa law?

Should international artists be given some leeway as new cases of visa delays and cancelled gigs come to the fore? Or should artists take their place in society and have the same treatment as all other non-UK residents?

It’s as diverse an issue as the arts world itself. Feel free to express yourself below.

Happy people live and work in UK

A unique psychological study aimed at make Briton’s smile across the nation launched today.

Thousands of people are invited to register with the special website and try one of the proven happiness-enhancing mood techniques.

The study, by boffins from the University of Hertfordshire, hopes to spread happiness across the UK.

So if you want a joyous reason to live in the UK, then take the test today!

Global Visas reacts to Tier 2 UK work visa report

As the Home Office awaits a report to be published by the MAC regarding recommended alterations to the Tier 2 UK visa system, Global Visas director, Liam Clifford, has his own response to the two research questions the report seeks to answer:

Question 1: Is there an economic case for restricting Tier 2 to shortage occupations only?

Again the UK government shows its determination to destabilise the UK work force and make employers struggle to source and secure the best services on shore. This will not deter most international employers from hiring the overseas national if they are the best candidate.

The effect will be on off-shoring these skills and less taxes paid to HMRC. The employers who will suffer the most are the local UK-only based firms, who will be unable to secure the skills they require and survive in these difficult times. Again, we see a situation where the government and the MAC dictates the agenda to the detriment of UK businesses.

We hope MAC agree with Global Visas and believes that the UK economy is going through a recession – but this is no reason to make the situation even worse by threatening the ability of local employers to hire the best people.

Question 2: What is the Committee’s assessment of the economic contribution made by the dependants of the points-based system migrants and their role in the labour market?

Dependants, coming to the UK on work permits, have for many years been seen as a major strength to the UK immigration system. In recent years, Europe has designed the EU Blue Card to allow dependents of overseas workers to work in Europe and emulate the UK system.

International HR is clear that the rules allowing dependants to work assists them in convincing their executives and high demand skills to come to the UK on secondment.

If spouses were prohibited from employment it would potentially halve many families’ earning potential. This would mean the expats’ compensation would have to dramatically increase to compensate for this loss. The result is that further burdens would be placed on businesses to increase salaries or the expat would simply not come to the UK as it would not be financially viable.

It is also worth noting successful people usually marry like-minded successful individuals. And it is these people who are as likely to assist the UK economy as their primary work permit holding partners.

The UK points-based immigration system is more ‘game show’ than gainful for UK cultural and business life.

The new immigration shake-up proposes sweeping reforms as to how overseas workers will be tested with regard to their suitability and cultural fit pending a permanent move to the UK.

Many of the changes to UK immigration laws in the past have had an adverse effect on UK economic and business sectors. And the latest proposals are in extremely poor taste too. 

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas and the entire Labour cabinet seem to have lost complete touch with the public they are claiming to serve.  And that is a public that is made up, in part, of immigrants.

Many immigrants just one year ago fought the British government and won a high court action to prevent damaging immigration changes preventing them remaining in the UK. 

The people Mr Woolas keeps referring to as “immigrants” are hard working, talented, highly skilled professionals whom UK Plc has gone out of its way to attract to the country and whom the country needs to continue to function and  prosper. 

Many of the people Woolas is referring to are not only electoral voters but essential to contributing to keeping our schools, hospitals and businesses running. 

Every year the government comes up with another absurd idea on the subject of immigration reforms. This is extremely damaging to UK Plc and completely unpatriotic. 

The people who the latest proposal could potentially affect are continually having the goal posts moved on them.  Our Immigration Minister must start to understand overseas people working in the UK require stability, clear vision and a stable immigration policy.  Not a flaky, knee jerk leadership that brings a ‘headless chicken’ approach to policy. 

If UK Plc is serious about attracting the best skills and talent the world has to offer to help run the schools, hospitals and businesses we all rely on, then Woolas with his out-of-touch and out-of-date vision needs to leave well alone. He is tampering with an issue he clearly no longer properly understands. 

Perhaps it is Phil Woolas and his blinkered government cronies with their preposterous proposals who should all be deported pronto. 

They may be pale and drink too much beer, but studies show British men make better domestic partners than their Spanish, Japanese and Australian counterparts.

Move to the UK for a dose of domestic bliss

Research shows that both men and women are more likely to move in with or marry their partner if he or she helps out with household chores – and UK men seem to have few qualms about chipping in around the house.

Researchers took a sample of 13,500 men and women aged 20 to 45 from 12 countries to compare, by nationality, how egalitarian partners are with housework.

The study showed that those from ‘more egalitarian’ countries are 20 to 50 percent more likely to be living with their partners.

Scandinavia topped the list for domestic equality, while the UK and US came in second and third. Australians scored last for pitching in with domestic duties.

British women came up as 8.5 percent more likely to live with their partner on average than Australian women.

The countries in the study ranked in this order for ‘relationship equality’: Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, United States, Northern Ireland, Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Austria and Australia.

The lure of a domestically-trained partner makes as excellent a reason as any for restless Aussies and Europeans to move to the US or UK. 

The study was conducted by the Centre for Time Use Research at the University of Oxford and was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Haggisgate has rocked Scotland and UK immigration

Scotland reels in shock today as the shocking news that the country’s most famous dish, the Haggis, is actually the invention of the country’s ‘Auld Enemy’, England.

It’s a blow to every Scottish patriot who recited the poems of Scotland’s great Bard, Robert Burns between great mouthfuls of the spicy meat-pudding.

This revelation by an acclaimed historian will surely have an even bigger impact on a nation still recovering from it’s last cultural blight, the Hairy Angel that was Susan Boyle.

Haggisgate is also particularly relevant after UK Immigration Minister, Phil Woolas announced a shake-up in the UK immigration system.

There will now be emphasis placed on measuring just how much anyone who wants to move to Britain from overseas knows and has participated in the country’s culture as part of their visa application process.

The news that even the humble haggis – once the butt of jokes south of the Border – now has a new home, just goes to prove that even the most established cultural icons and traditions are not always set in stone.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia and a hospital in Norwich are looking for 40 female participants to eat “super-strength chocolate specially formulated by Belgian chocolatiers” daily for a whole year.

The aim of the trial is to find out whether the special chocolate formulation can cut the risk of heart disease. Project co-ordinator Peter Curtis said, “A successful outcome could be the first step in developing new ways to improve the lives of people at increased risk of heart disease.”

Some of the women will eat regular chocolate to test the placebo effect.

But there is a catch: Women must be menopausal but under the age of 75. Sadly, this excludes chocolate-loving younger women from experiencing cocoa bliss.

For the eligible few, what better reason to move to the UK than to gorge on chocolate for a noble cause?

Harry Potter mania on a UK visa

UK tourist figures are set to magically rise following the release of the sixth Harry Potter film. While official data has yet to be released, the film’s impact on tourism is expected to rival that of its predecessors.

Releases of earlier Harry Potter films motivated tourists to obtain UK visas to visit iconic filming locations.

The UK Film Council in 2007 reported: “Alnwick Castle, the location for Hogwarts, saw a 120% rise in visitor numbers following the release of Harry Potter. The films are estimated to have brought in £9m in tourist revenue to the area.”

The sudden popularity of tourist destinations like Alnwick Castle inspired several tour companies to develop Harry Potter tours. Tourists get to experience the thrill of travelling between Platform 9 ¾, the enchanted Great Hall and Hogwarts Express.

Jason Doll-Steinberg of British Tours says, “We do a lot of big tours and Harry Potter is one of the bigger ones. It’s up there with our tour of Stonehenge at dawn.”

The latest film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, earned ₤104m on its first day of release. 

The Harry Potter series has been filmed exclusively in the UK at the request of the books’ author JK Rowling.

The top three UK destinations for Harry Potter are:

Oxford University, Oxford

The stunning gothic structure of Oxford’s Christ Church College is the site of the magical Great Hall at Hogwarts. Many of the moving staircase scenes were also filmed here. The university’s Divinity School is the site of Hogwarts hospital in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Bodleian Library provided the setting for many of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s library exploits. Additional Oxford University buildings and corridors also feature in the films.

King’s Cross Station, London

The busiest train station in Britain is the site of the mysterious Platform 9 ¾, where wizard students are seen on film boarding the Hogwarts Express.

Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester

Various ghost scenes, shots of talking portraits, and Harry’s Moaning Myrtle encounters were filmed in this 1,300 year old place of worship.

Harry Potter fans span the globe, with Japanese and US enthusiasts proving the most popular visitors to Harry Potter ‘hot spots’. 

Non-British visitors should be aware that UK visas may be required to visit filming locations around the country.

Join the latest Global Visas 'hot' debate

With strikes set to take place across Britain by UK immigration officials, travellers are looking at a holiday season that may descend into farce.  Are British Border bureaucrats the bugbear of travellers and UK visa seekers worldwide or do worse exist?

Who are the ultimate global offenders of immigration regulations gone mad?

Tell us your nightmare stories and join the debate to discover which country has the worst immigration staff.