Those who are planning to immigrate to the United Kingdom in the near future, this piece of information is much needed for them! The UK Border Agency is soon going to introduce new immigration fees for various visa categories, since the Parliament has given its nod to the changes.

As part of the regular revisions done by the UK government, the new immigration fees were announced on January 20 and February 10, 2010. Now that the reviewed fees have been accepted by the Parliament, they are going to be on effect from April 6, 2010. The fees will be applicable for those who are intending to work, study, visit and stay in the United Kingdom. In other words, they are applied to Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4 and Tier 5 visas.

Most the revised fees are higher than the earlier ones. The fees include payments to the Migration Impacts Fund, a fund incepted by Hazel Blears and Jacqui Smith last year. The fees paid by the migrants towards the Fund go to the welfare of the local UK communities that comprise migrant populations. Check out the new immigration fees at http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/news/new-immigration-fees

Thus, it is clear that people who are going to submit visa application on or after April 6, 2010, they will need to pay higher charges when they get their UK visas. Along with the new immigration fees, the UK Border Agency will also revise a few application forms. The changes in fees and application forms may seem to be very confusing for you at times. Thus, it is advised that you hire the service of an Immigration and Visa Consultant in order to sail through the process of immigration smoothly.

Recently, few Indians have been arrested in the United Kingdom for multiple immigration offences. The UK Immigration took the Indian citizens, including twelve men and a woman into custody, while they were caught during the seizure of a Heathrow-based freight warehouse and residences in Hayes and South hall. They all are alleged with working illegally in Britain.

While conducting some inspections on the freight as part of the seizure of the Scanwell Freight Services, the immigration officials went on to interview its staff, in order to determine whether they are legally allowed to work in the UK or not. Eight Indians were found guilty of immigration offences at the time. The officials warned the freight company that it could be required to pay fine of up to 90,000 pounds for employing the eight people.

Following the arrests in the warehouse, searches were conducted at some residences as well in Hayes and South hall, where the officials arrested five more Indians and a South African man, guilty of similar offences. Seven accused amongst the fourteen are now in immigration detention. The UK Immigration is considering deportation of these illegal workers from the UK.

The UK Immigration is taking illegal working of the overseas workers as a serious concern. Because, this type of activities is likely to have an adverse effect on the local communities, since the foreign workers often take away the jobs from the local workers who genuinely deserve the jobs!

UK is planning to make study visa rules stringent for Ugandans, confirmed the British High Commission.

According to UK Entry Clearance Manager Susanah Richmond, certain amendments in the UK immigration rules are likely to happen very soon. For instance, students making their minds to enroll themselves in a study course less than a degree level would only be allowed to work for 10 hours a week. Earlier the prescribed hours were twenty!

Also, applicants planning to study a course for less than six months won’t have the permission to bring their dependants with them.

For those students who already have their dependants living with them, the later would not be allowed to work, provided the student applicant enrolls in a course lower than a degree level.

In addition, it is mandatory to have good proficiency in the English language. UK has tightened visa rules in the past also. Under the previously listed regulations, it is mandatory for students to prove that they enrolled themselves in an institution licensed by UK Border Agency. Additionally, it is a requisite to prove that the students can financially support themselves in the UK.

Richmond went on to say that the number of Ugandans applying for UK have slowed down by a huge margin. She also defended the hike in the visa fees, saying that the money is used in the processing of the application.

Stringent rules would further ensure genuine entry for legal applicants!

The government of UK has made some changes in the Immigration regulations, to further aid the entry of genuine students in the country. Below are the new amendments implemented under Tier 4 Student Visa. Have a look at them:

• If the student applicant is applying under Tier 4 Student Visa in General category to study a course which is not up to a Degree level course, then you will only work for 10 hrs/week.
• The minimum level of English course that Tier 4 Student Visa holders can enroll into is level B2 of CEFR.
• Applicants who are aged 16 or 17 and are applying under Tier 4 (Child) category, they are entitled to work only for 10hrs/week till the time their term is finished.
• Applicants applying for course for six month or less are not allowed to bring their relatives or family members.
• For those applying for a course lower than a Degree course won’t have the freedom to allow their dependants to work unless they fulfill the requirements set under Tier 1 or Tier 2 of the PBS.

Further changes would be introduced from April 2010. Students would surely be affected from the recent amendments, but this would ensure the entry of genuine applicants into the country. In addition, the rules would make sure that genuine students get the right time to work part time, in addition to their regular study hours.

As per the recommendation of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), United Kingdom Immigration department may bring changes to the Tier 1 visa scheme in the near future. To be very precise, people with a Masters Degree, along with meeting the requirements of the particular visa category would find it easier to obtain a Tier 1!

Last year in December, the MAC put forward its recommendation to make changes to the requirements for the UK Tier 1 Visa, for instance, allowing people with a Bachelor’s Degree, not just Masters Degree or equivalent degree to immigrate under the said visa scheme. Of course, such an implementation would help many people to immigrate to the UK. If the changes recommended by the MAC are going to be amended, there would also be a provision under which prospective immigrants would gain points for previous annual earnings.

Undoubtedly, the recommended changes will prove to be a better chance for future immigrant to migrate to the UK. But, there would be some people as well who may not meet the requirements for previous annual earnings. Let’s see if the UK Immigration will put these recommendations into force or not. Let us hope for the best!

The UK Tier 1 visa scheme is designed to attract overseas talent from outside the European Union in order to let them contribute to the UK economy. This scheme is part of the Points-based system for employment-based immigration. Under this program, highly skilled professionals, investors, entrepreneurs, as well as foreign graduates of UK educational institutions are issued with visa to work in the UK!

Cricket and India are two terms which go hand in hand! Since the inception of the IPL, it could easily be said that fanaticism for cricket has gone to the next level. With the masses already crazy for the sport, it becomes easy for the implementation and thus, creating brands for these teams.

The best example for this is the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The brand strategy implemented has made the team the richest amongst all its contenders. This is despite its streak of poor performances at the IPL matches. The team has been deduced to have a brand valuation worth of US$ 42.1 million in 2009. This is as per Intangible Business which is a leading international brand valuation firm in UK. The study was conducted in association with MTI Consulting.

So what makes this team so valuable inspite of its delineating performances? What is the key factor for this team to create an image amidst all the winning glory being taken by its competitors?

The answer is simple…Play It Right! Winning is just one aspect of a game in sports. The more important factor is that the team must be known. The team should be easily related to by the locals and the masses. This is where branding comes in.

In case of KKR, be it the FakeIPLPlayer blog or the reality show for the cheerleaders, the audience had something or the other to lookout for. It has to be agreed that controversy is good for a healthy team. However, it has to be ensured that there is a balance being maintained. More so, it should be in the news for the right reasons.

Another important factor is that KKR already came into existence with certain pre-requisites. These include the team owner Shah Rukh Khan and the captain Sourav Ganguly. Here, the important factor was for the audiences to connect which was easily possible with the two icons of the country. They are someone who are brands in themselves and strike a chord with the general public. So, with them in hand, it is not very hard to create an effective marketing communications or a public relations strategy.

It has to be remembered that the public memory is very short…so it is easy and expected to forget who won or lost a game, but brands are something which remain alive forever. So if a brand is alive, so is the team and its commercial success. Because change is constant!

All in all, brand values could be defined as a forecast predicting the capability of a brand to generate income in the future. It is study which looks into the past performances to generate trends for the future.

Note - The above story is based on the previous two seasons of IPL and it is yet to be seen on how the team performs and where it stands in the coming season.

After legally fighting to get an entry into the UK, American Rapper Snoop Dogg has finally won the battle and is now eligible to get an entry into the UK premises. The popular star was struggling to gain entry into the premises since the last three years.

Snoop Dogg, alas, Calvin Broadus, was officially banned in the year 2006 when he was involved in a fight at London’s Heathrow Airport. As a result, he had to succumb to the wrath of Immigration official and face a ban regarding an entry into the UK.

Since then, Snoop came out with a legal challenge, asking famous personalities like David Beckham to come out in his favor and help him overturn the ban. As a result, he finally managed to get out of the ban in the year 2008.

The wrath of government officials again brought the ban into existence when they took the case to the Court of Appeal where it was confirmed that the judge who overturned the decision may have misunderstood the case.

Unsatisfied with the decision, Snoop took the case to UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, where he managed to grab success in his arms. He tasted success, courtesy his clean background, his work as a football coach and his tabloid appearance on family-friendly programs!

It was finally decided that the Immigration officials were wrong to bar his entry into the UK premises. Reports say that the Home Office is not much pleased with the decision but Snoop is surely a happy man on the earth!

Reports from the Office for National Statistics are depicting that immigration in the UK is falling at a fast pace. Applicants from Eastern and Central Europe have decreased by a huge margin.

According to UK Immigration, following are the observed statistics:

• Immigrants coming from Eastern Europeans to gain employment in the UK fell to 28,495 in 2009. The number was 30,600 in the year 2008 and 52,765 in 2007. The figures clearly show a huge decline in the number of workers coming from Eastern Europe.
• UK immigration in totality saw more incoming immigrants as compared to those leaving on an annual basis. But the overall UK immigration saw a decline in the quantity. It was 518,000 in 2009 while the quantity was on a high in 2008, taking the figures to 531000.
• Talking about Asylum applications, a slowdown of 30% was noticed in 2009 as compared to 2008. As a result of fewer applications, the number of removals from Britain has declined.

According to Immigration Minister Phil Woolas, net Immigration is down and UK borders have never been as strong as they are now, as seen from the results. He went on to say that the new PBS have granted ample control over immigrants, ensuring the entry of only those legal migrants who are needed in the UK.

In addition, issuance of ID Cards and fining employers who recruit illegal employees are some of the facets that would keep a strict check on Illegal Immigration.

The recently launched 2010 UK Border Agency Strategy is decked with the following priorities towards illegal immigration:

• Protecting the country for undocumented immigrants and ensuring that the borders are closed. In addition, the strategy includes blocking those who are seen as a threat towards the country!
• Apart from the above, the strategy includes maintaining UK’S position as a prospective destination for business and inviting the potential applicants with perfect skills to work in UK.

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis expressed his gladness towards co-sponsoring this launch and making a vital contribution towards barring illegal immigration. He went on to speak on the collaborative efforts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Border Agency, who work neck to neck to provide some of the best visa services. In addition, the aspect of Illegal Immigration has been taken care of in a wider perspective. They are together working on returning the overseas prisoners and failed asylum seekers to their native countries!

Lewis further said that migration forms one of the critical facets when it comes to enhancing the prosperity of the developing world.

Next was the concern for human traffickers. Immigration minister Phil Woolas confirmed that almost 75% of the globe’s population, who come to UK, need a visa!

Let us hope that these implementations would keep a strict eye on the aspect of Illegal Immigration, not only in the UK, but all over the world!

The much-awaited changes to the UK Tier 4 Student Visa have finally been implemented on February 22, 2010. The changes have been made in an attempt to deter the fake overseas students from entering the UK. Let’s have a look at the implementation:

As part of the new implementations, all Tier 4 student visa applications must contain a CAS, that is Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, no matter the whether the applications are made from inside or outside the United Kingdom. From now all applications under this category of Points-System must be provided with a CAS number, as well as sponsor license number.

The applications should include a CAS statement, along with the student’s name; his/her birth date; title of the course he/she is intending to take; the start and end dates of the course; documents supporting the applicant’s qualifications; sponsorship details pertaining to financial assistance; and ATAS certificate (whoever is entitled to produce).

Even if an applicant was provided with a visa letter prior February 22, 2010, that needs to be altered with a Confirmation of acceptance for Studies. However, applicants of outside the UK who have been issued with visa letters and paid the visa fee prior February 22, 2010 are not required to replace their letters with CAS.

Along with these changes, there have been changes made to the Sponsorship Management System, the online tool that helps sponsors in the UK in bringing migrants.

All those students who are considering to migrate to the UK, should contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant in order to keep up with the latest implementations in the country.