BOOST FOR MIGRANTS WHO CHOSE TO SETTLE IN SCOTLAND

IMMIGRANTS who come to live and work in Scotland could have a better chance of earning full UK citizenship, it was revealed yesterday.

The Home Office unveiled plans for an Australian-style points systems for foreigners who want to settle in Britain.

Workers from overseas will receive extra points based on their skills and qualifications. Once they have enough points, they will be able to move to Britain permanently.

It also emerged yesterday that extra points will be given to migrants who settle in parts of the UK where population is set to fall - such as Scotland.

The move would build on the Fresh Talent Initiative, set up by former first minister Jack McConnell to let foreign students stay after graduation.

A Home Office spokesman said: "There are parts of the country where spaces in the workforce aren't being filled by UK residents and could very easily be filled by hard-working migrants."

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy last night said he was "pleased" at the move.

He added:"Our need for a growing population is ranked alongside the need to recruit to occupations where we have a shortage."

SNP MP Pete Wishart gave the plans a cautious welcome. He said:"The Home Office must demonstrate the new points based immigration system is fit for Scottish purpose.

"Scotland's population and immigration requirements are completely different from the rest of the UK and this has to be recognised when points are added up."

SOURCE: The Scottish Daily Record

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BORIS JOHNSON CALLS FOR MIGRANT AMNESTY

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has broken ranks with David Cameron and the Conservative party by announcing plans to study the potential benefits of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Johnson said this would lead to increased tax revenues, adding that mass deportation was impractical and too expensive.

“What I want is to lead a debate about how sensibly to deal with the 400,000 people who are living here [in London] and working here illegally,” he said.

The plans were condemned by the Conservative and Labour party. Cameron, the Tory leader, immediately distanced the party from Johnson’s stance. “The problem with amnesties is that they just store up another for the future, as people expect another one,” he said.

Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, called Johnson “naive”. He added: “His comments might start with the best of intentions but will lead to more people traffickers making more money and exploiting more vulnerable individuals.”

Johnson first raised the idea of an amnesty during his mayoral campaign in April, when he openly clashed with Cameron. It was assumed that the plan had been shelved.

Last Friday, however, Johnson reopened the rift by announcing the study, which will be conducted by his economics team.

His idea is that immigrants would be allowed to stay only if they had been resident in Britain for five years, did not have a criminal record and had passed a citizenship test.

SOURCE: The Times

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BEWARE NON-EU INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS!!!

Universities are being asked to set up surveillance units to monitor the movements of international students in a government-led crackdown on bogus student immigration scams, academics say. New rules to force universities to report overseas students who miss too many lectures to immigration officers will harm the academic-student relationship because lecturers are being asked to act in a "police-like" manner, according to a group of 200 academics and activists opposing the moves.

A letter to the Guardian, organised by Ian Grigg-Spall, academic chair of the National Critical Lawyers Group and signed by leading academic lawyers, the head of the lecturers' union and Tony Benn, claims that the rules could breach the European convention on human rights, which guarantees the individual's right to privacy. "This police-like surveillance is not the function of universities and alters the educational relationship between students and their teachers in a very harmful manner," it says. "University staff are there to help the students develop intellectually and not to be a means of sanctioning these students."

The rules will require all universities to obtain a licence to admit students from outside the EU. They will then have to sponsor students, who will be required to have their fingerprints taken and be issued with ID cards. Lecturers will have to report any student who misses 10 or more lectures or seminars. Students will also have to prove they have funds to cover fees plus £800 a month for the duration of their courses. Universities have separately raised concerns that the system of registering overseas students, which is planned to take place at six centres around the country, will struggle to cope.

About 350,000 overseas students attend British universities every year. Universities are heavily dependent on the £2.5bn a year they pay in fees.

Almost 300 bogus colleges have been uncovered in the past three years, many involved in immigration scams.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: "We have grave concerns that new rules on monitoring foreign students have been pulled together without any consultation with the people who would implement them. We do not believe it is appropriate or effective to task colleges and universities with the policing of immigration."

A Home Office spokesman said: "Those who come to Britain must play by the rules and benefit the country. This new route for students will ensure we know exactly who is coming here to study and stamp out bogus colleges who facilitate the lawbreakers.

"International students contribute £2.5bn to the UK economy in tuition fees alone. The student tier of the points system means Britain can continue to recruit good students from outside Europe."

SOURCE: The Guardian

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VIZA ZA KUJA UK KUTOKA BONGO SASA KUSHUGHULIKIWA NAIROBI

Mhh hii shughuli mpya sasa.Isome zaidi hapa chini:

Daily News; Wednesday,November 12, 2008 

The United Kingdom visas for Tanzanians wishing to travel to Britain would from December this year be processed in Nairobi. The British High Commission Press Officer, Mr John Bradshaw, told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday that effectively from that time, there won’t be visas issued in Tanzania. 

Mr Bradshaw illustrated that the process to get a UK visa will now take six weeks, instead of the old five days that majority of UK travellers used to enjoy. According to the new directives outlined, an applicant of UK travel permit will have to submit an application on line, and then wait for an appointment that will require the applicant to bring appropriate documents to High Commission office in Dar es Salaam for verification. 

Mr Bradshow said the last procedure will take place in Nairobi, where the whole process will take three weeks before the visa is ready. He said the changes are part of UK government’s plans to restructure its visa operation, known as ‘Hub and Spoke Visa Processing’. He added that UK visas for southern African countries are now processed in Pretoria, South Africa, where seven countries, including Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and Zimbabwe get the service. 

Mr Bradshow advised travellers to apply for long term visas, which are cheaper than making a 6-month permit application. He insisted that student visa applicants should apply three months in advance, to enable them travel on time, because student visa does not require an interview. Over 8000 Tanzanians apply for UK visas every year, Mr Bradshow said.

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