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Update & Information about the immigration matters. |
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on August 18 2008 15:15:47
IMMIGRATION MATTERS
Yes, Overseas Students can
change courses say Court of Appeal
By Charles Kelly
27 July 2008
In a recent Court of Appeal case (GO and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department 1 July 2008), Lord Justice Sedley, Lord Justice Longmore and Lord Justice Moses delivered a judgement which will have significant consequences for Colleges and Universities, as well overseas students who are refused Further Leave to Remain after changing courses.
The judgement on overseas students being able change their courses and extend their stay in the United Kingdom, turns on being able to produce "evidence of satisfactory progress", whether on the course named in their Student Visa application or on another recognised course.
Many students who come to the UK to study find that their courses are not suitable or in some cases that the College fails to deliver the course for which they have paid.
I recently met a Filipina nurse who had come to the UK to study Business Administration, but found that the College was not only ill-equipped, but could not even run the course due to a lack of students. She has since decided to take up an NVQ in Health and Social Care at Majestic College and will need to inform the Home Office.
Lord Justice Sedley questioned the legal consequences if a foreign student who had obtained leave to enter or remain in order to follow a course later switched to a different course or failed the course examinations?
The consequences arose from the provisions of the Immigration Rules (HC 395) governing leave to enter or remain as a student (rules 57 to 62) and leave to enter for the purpose of resitting an examination (rules 69A to 69F).
Central to the present case was the requirement of rule 60(v) that a student who wanted an extension of stay must produce "satisfactory evidence of regular attendance in his course of study, including the taking and passing of any relevant examinations".
A series of Asylum and Immigration Tribunal appeal cases ruled that a student could be confined to the course for which leave to enter was given and to make passing the course examinations a requirement of any extension of stay. Their Lordships found that that interpretation was inconsistent with the Immigration Act 1971 and the Immigration Rules read as a whole.
Mightor on July 28 2008 00:34:37 Read More · 19 Reads · |
on August 18 2008 15:17:59
IMMIGRATION MATTERS
UKBA carry out compliance checks on
Care Homes to verify 'Going Rate'
£7.02 salary for Senior CarersBy Charles Kelly
16 July 2008
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) is carrying out post Work Permit compliance checks on employers on Senior Carer pay, months after the issue of an extension.
The UKBA 'Sponsor Management Unit', based in Bedford, sent a letter to one of our Nursing Home clients with the following demand:
We require you to send the documents listed below within 14 days to the above address in order to confirm that the work permits holder named below is in receipt of the salary agreed in the work permit application.
The documents required are three month's pay slips for the Senior Carer, presumably to check if she is receiving the "going rate" £7.02 per hour.
The letter continues:
The purpose of these checks are to maintain confidence in the work permit arrangements and help us to ensure that we develop robust procedures to scrutinise future applications. These checks help us to verify the information and declarations made on your application forms were an accurate reflection of the conditions of employment.
In plain English, this means they want to check that you have told the truth on the form.
This is part of the post work permit checking process which has been introduced over the last year. Hundreds of newly recruited compliance officers are trawling through files and visiting Care Homes to ensure everyone is playing by the rules.
I have come across a number of Senior Carers who have been asked by their employer to enter into 'under the table' arrangements in order to get around the Government imposed minimum salary.
Basically, the employer pulls the care worker to one side and says something along the lines of:
"The Home Office wants us to pay you £7.02 per hour. We cannot afford this, so we will put down on paper that we are paying you £7.02 per hour or even actually pay you this amount, however, we will claw this back from you by increasing your hours (without paying you), or come to some other deal whereby we are not out of pocket".
My advice to them and employers is not to make these arrangements, which break all the rules and will most likely backfire. Any attempt to 'pull the wool' over UKBA eyes could result in the work permit being cancelled, the Employer fined and possibly even banned from applying for work permits in the future.
The overseas worker could find themselves and their family being removed from the UK and banned from coming back.
Even if the worker slips through the compliance net, the deception may come to light when applying for 'Indefinite Leave to Remain' some years later. At this point they will be refused and could be removed from the UK leaving all their hard work and plans in tatters.
Mightor on July 28 2008 00:32:30 Read More · 0 Comments · 12 Reads · · |
on August 19 2008 00:28:41
IMMIGRATION MATTERS
International Students in the UK on a Student Visa must
study at an educational establishment
listed on the DIUS Register
By Cynthia Barker
10 August 2008
In order to come to the UK on a Student Visa, or extend a Student Visa, you must be enrolled in a college, university or educational provider listed on the DIUS Register. No entry on the Register - no visa.
In 2006, 309,000 people came to Britain on student visas from outside the EU, to study a wide range of courses in the many thousands of colleges competing for their custom.
According to Home Office figures, international students contribute £2.5 billion to the UK economy each year in tuition fees alone and an overall estimated contribution of £8.5 billion.
The DIUS or Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills publishes a list of approved educational providers (formerly known as the DfES Register) in the United Kingdom.
The 'Register of Education and Training Provider's' is designed to help the Home Office tackle immigration abuse in the education sector.
All colleges that want to recruit overseas students must appear on the Register, otherwise Entry Clearance or a Student Visa will not be granted or extended.
The DUIS website clearly states that:
"The Home Office will only grant student visas to people intending to study at an institution on the Register."
Although colleges are vetted and can be inspected at any time, the DIUS points out that a listing on the register is not a recommendation.
"If a college is on the Register this does not mean there is any guarantee of the quality of education available at that college. There is no automatic quality assurance or accreditation of colleges on the Register."
The Register will be replaced by a new stricter licensing scheme when Tier 4 of the Points Based System comes into force in the spring of 2009.
Immigration Adviser and Appeal Specialist, Mike Higgs of Bison UK, deals with a large number of Entry Clearance and Appeal cases for students. He said:
"If you are in the UK on a student visa you must be in full time study and enrolled with an approved college or educational institution in order to comply with your visa conditions. This is covered in the UK Border Agency immigration rules under Rule 57(i)(c) and 57(ii)(c)."
Mike receives many enquiries from students who are either not studying, sometimes through no fault of their own because their provider has failed to deliver the course or has gone out of business, or who are enrolled in a college not on the DIUS list.
"Students not engaged in full time study risk being sent home and will have great difficulty in extending their 'further leave to remain' in the UK.
"You are allowed change courses or educational provider, but you should inform the Home Office in writing. Most colleges will assist you with this letter." He said.
If you are abroad and wish to come to the UK to study, check that the college to which you are applying is on the Register. Student visas will not be issued to overseas student unless the educational establishment or college is included on the DIUS Register.
You can search the DIUS Register at:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/providersregister/search.cfm.
For the latest immigration news visit http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk
If are worried about you visa and need immigration advice please email me the full details at: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk
Immigration Matters
3 Penta Court, Station Road
Station Road
Borehamwood, Herts
WD6 1SL
GB |
on August 19 2008 00:31:21
IMMIGRATION MATTERS URGENT NEWS
Affinity Training Goes Bust
Update on the bankrupt
NVQ training provider
By Charles Kelly
6 August 2008
Major NVQ training provider, Affinity Training Limited, has been put into administration after going bust.
Hundreds of international students, many recruited from the Philippines, will lose thousands of pounds in fees, paid in advance for NVQ training in Health and Social Care.
NVQ official awarding body OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations) confirmed today that Affinity Training Ltd had ceased trading and had been put into "administration", a technical term which basically means the company can no longer pay its creditors and is now under the control of an administrator or insolvency practitioner.
A spokesperson for the Administrators, Leonard Curtis said:
"Affinity Training has ceased trading and the assets have been transferred to a third party, and students (creditors) have little or no chance of recovering any fees paid to Affinity or their Philippine affiliate, Kirsten."
In other words, students who have paid advance fees to Affinity will not get their money back.
They confirmed that the "third party" was another college, but denied the new college was owned by Affinity's former owner Mat Whittinham.
You can contact the Birmingham based Administrators on 0121 200 2111.
Immigration Matters has been trying to contact Affinity boss since Monday, but lines have been cut and the official website is down.
Having no luck on the phone, I decided to pay a visit to their offices in Stourbridge...
See http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk/2008_archives.html for FULL STORY
What are your options if you are an international student currently enrolled on an NVQ course with Affinity Training?
1. If you are in the UK on a student visa you must enrol in another college or you will be in breach of your visa conditions, which state that you should be in full time study. You will also need to inform the Home Office in writing of the change of educational establishment. Most colleges will assist you with this letter.
2. If you are overseas and still waiting for your visa you should go back to the company which arranged your visa and seek a refund. Affinity recruited hundreds of NVQ students in the Philippines through Kirsten, who until recently were still signing up candidates.
3. If you are overseas and have obtained a visa to study at Affinity, you should contact your adviser immediately and inform the British Embassy. Should you get stopped by an Immigration Officer trying to enter the UK (to study at a college which no longer exists) you could be sent home.
Students have recently been approaching Immigration Matters complaining of a lack of contact from the training organisation which brought them into the UK. Many had not been given any training or support for over two months.
Employers have also been informed this week of the demise of Affinity in a letter from a new college offering to take over their NVQ training.
Special Affinity Student Surgery
Immigration Matters in conjunction with Majestic College are running Free Consultations daily for any international students affected by the collapse of Affinity.
Contact them directly on 0208 207 1020 or see http://www.majesticcollege.org/
Employers in need of on-going training for their staff can also arrange in-house training through Majestic.
For the latest immigration news visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk
If you need immigration advice please email me at: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk
Immigration Matters
3 Penta Court, Station Road
Station Road
Borehamwood, Herts
WD6 1SL
GB |
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