UK Visa/Passport News

Those immigrating to the United Kingdom will have to pay a double health surcharge, starting December this year. The UK Home Office is planning to increase the fee for Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) from 200 pounds to 400 per year. Whereas, students to whom the reduced fee of 150 pounds applies, will have to pay 300 pounds per year. The new changes will affect all nationals from non-European Union countries, including professionals. The IHS, a policy introduced [...]

EU nationals will be treated similarly to non-EU citizens, in a post-Brexit UK. British Premier Theresa May has revealed her government's immigration plans on Tuesday, which are to be implemented by 2021. Through a post on Twitter, PM May announced that a skills-based immigration system, which will end free movement, will be introduced. “We're introducing a new skills-based immigration system that ends free movement. So that for the first time in decades, this country will control and [...]

Those planning to apply for British citizenship, may soon be requested to prove they have a higher command of English language and not only. Residents in Britain planning to get UK passports will need to pass a new “British values test”, which is set to be tougher than the current “Life in the UK test”. The UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced on Tuesday at the Conservative Party autumn conference in the city of Birmingham that the [...]

The European parliament Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, has warned the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid through a letter that UK nationals would suffer under a skills-based immigration. The former Prime Minister of Belgium Verhofstadt told to Javid, that any move the UK takes in discriminating the EU nationals in the UK on basis of nationality or employment would cause the EU to apply those moves “reciprocally to UK citizens moving to the EU 26.” Verhofstadt stressed out [...]

Europeans might have the opportunity to move to the United Kingdom, for an additional 30 months after 29 March next year. Reportedly, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, will propose a plan to the UK Cabinet for the European migrants to be granted with limitless access to Britain for more than two years, in case Brexit takes place without a deal between the UK and the EU block. According to Secretary Javid's proposal, every EU citizen reaching the UK [...]

A number of 2,121 people of the Windrush generation have successfully obtained UK citizenship free of charge, the UK Home Office has confirmed. In his monthly update to the Home Affairs Select Committee, the Home Office Secretary Sajid Javid explained that 156 people have been able to secure documentation confirming their right to be in UK through the Windrush scheme application process.  Secretary Javid also announced in his letter that a number of 2,398 people confirmed the [...]

Universities in United Kingdom want their government to make changes to the visa system, in order to permit foreign students to work for up to two years in the country, after their graduation. The main reason behind such a request, is to make the UK a more attractive destination for international students and graduates, thus enabling the country to compete with other popular destinations as the US and Canada. UK university leaders want Home Office to reintroduce [...]

A dozen authors from African and Middle East countries, who were scheduled to participate at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival, have had their visas refused at least once by the UK Home Office.  The director of the festival Nick Barely called the act “humiliating and embarrassing”. According to the director of the festival that starts on Saturday, around 900 authors and illustrators from 55 countries will be appearing at the festival. However, Barley claims that many [...]