Thursday, February 23, 2017
Immigration Matters: Immigration to UK falling post-Brexit
Immigration Matters: Immigration to UK falling post-Brexit: UK net migration dropped by 49,000 to 273,000 in the year to September 2016. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures reveal. ...
Immigration to UK falling post-Brexit
This is the first time in two years that the net migration
figure - the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the
UK - had dropped below 300,000.
Overall immigration to the UK is estimated to be 596,000 – made
up of 268,000 EU citizens, 257,000 non-EU citizens and 71,000 British citizens.
Whilst EU immigration from several countries fell, record
numbers of Romanians and Bulgarians - 74,000 – came to live in the UK.
Around 323,000 people may have left the UK, slightly up on
the previous year by 26,000.
The levers are estimated include 128,000 British citizens,
103,000 EU citizens and 93,000 non-EU citizens, although exact figures for legal and illegal immigration in the UK are almost impossible to calculate.
In summary, the overall number of people arriving to work in
the UK is about the same as previous years. The UK has jobs and low skilled work, while other
EU countries, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece all
have high levels of unemployment, especially for the youth.
Over 16,000 EU citizens were granted UK citizenship last year, indicating that despite Brexit many Europeans want to remain living in Britain.
Over 16,000 EU citizens were granted UK citizenship last year, indicating that despite Brexit many Europeans want to remain living in Britain.
Meanwhile, property prices in London and the south east of England have reached levels beyond the means of young first time buyers, many of whom have become long-term renters or are living at home with their parents well into their 30's. Home ownership levels are falling.
The UK is still an attractive place to work, start a business and buy property – no restrictions on foreign buyers - a vibrant mortgage market with record low interest rates.
Learn how you can get involved in the buy-to-let boom with this free CD training programme:
Learn how you can get involved in the buy-to-let boom with this free CD training programme:
See also:
Immigration Matters: UK net migration drops but immigration from Romani...
Immigration Matters: UK net migration drops but immigration from Romani...: UK net migration fell by 49,000 to 273,000 in the year to September 2016. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures reveal. This is...
UK net migration drops but immigration from Romania and Bulgaria soars to record levels
This is the first time in two years that the net migration
figure - the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the
UK - had dropped below 300,000.
Overall immigration to the UK is estimated to be 596,000 – made
up of 268,000 EU citizens, 257,000 non-EU citizens and 71,000 British citizens.
Whilst EU immigration from several countries fell, record
numbers of Romanians and Bulgarians - 74,000 – came to live in the UK.
Around 323,000 people may have left the UK, slightly up on
the previous year by 26,000.
The levers are estimated include 128,000 British citizens,
103,000 EU citizens and 93,000 non-EU citizens, although exact figures for legal and illegal immigration in the UK are almost impossible to calculate.
Anglicising the figures, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent,
Dominic Casciani, said:
“Net migration is down. But while the net decrease looks
substantial, nobody can say for sure what's triggered the change because these
quarterly figures could have been influenced by a string of short-term factors.
“For a start, there appears to have been a rise in
emigration - and when that goes up, net migration can come down.
“Secondly, some of the change could be down to seasonal
fluctuations in student numbers.
“Thirdly, although there were significant departures by
people from some parts of Eastern Europe, the number coming from poorer Romania
and Bulgaria went up.”
In summary, the overall number of people arriving to work in
the UK is about the same as previous years. The UK still has jobs, while other
EU countries, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece all
have high levels of unemployment.
Over 16,000 EU citizens were granted UK citizenship last year, indicating that despite Brexit many Europeans want to remain living in Britain.
Over 16,000 EU citizens were granted UK citizenship last year, indicating that despite Brexit many Europeans want to remain living in Britain.
The UK is an attractive place to work, start a business or buyproperty – no restrictions on foreign buyers - a vibrant mortgage
market with record low interest rates.
See also:
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Immigration Matters: Minimum £18,000 income for foreign spouses lawful ...
Immigration Matters: Minimum £18,000 income for foreign spouses lawful ...: The Supreme Court has ruled that controversial minimum income rules for non-EEA spouses set by the Home Office, which campaigners say have...
Minimum £18,600 income for foreign spouses lawful "in principle", Supreme Court rules
The Supreme Court has ruled that controversial minimum income
rules for non-EEA spouses set by the Home Office, which campaigners say have
split thousands of families apart preventing British citizens bringing their
foreign spouse to the UK, are lawful "in principle".
Children's welfare, Judges said, must be protected in
immigration decisions. In their judgement, the Judges conceded that the UK government's
rules had the "legitimate" aim of ensuring "that the couple do
not have recourse to benefits and have sufficient resources to play a full part
in British life".
However, tossing a legal ‘spanner in the works’, they added
the rules fail because they do not treat "the best interests of children
as a primary consideration".
Prime Minister Mrs Theresa May
Since 2012, when Theresa May was Home Secretary, British citizens have been required to earn over
£18,600 ($23,140) before a husband or wife from outside the European Economic
Area (EEA) could be allowed to settle in the UK.
Seven Judges sitting at the highest court in the land rejected
an appeal by families who argued that the rules breached their human right to a
family life, stating that the minimum income requirement was "acceptable
in principle". But said that the rules failed to take "proper
account" of the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children when
making decisions which affect them.
Judges want an amendment to the law, introduced to prevent
foreign souses becoming dependent on taxpayer benefits, allowing alternative
sources of funding, other than a salary or benefits, to be considered in a
claim.
The minimum income rises to £22,400 ($27,870) where couples
have a child who does not have British citizenship - and then by an additional
£2,400 ($2,986) for each subsequent child.
Previously, applicants had to demonstrate to the Home Office
that the incoming partner would not be a drain on public resources and that the
couple or family could adequately support themselves.
The Immigration Rule on income, as well as English tests, has
proved controversial throwing up many anomalies, such as a British citizen who
marries a non-EEA person while working abroad for a period of time who then cannot
take their spouse back to the UK because their work contract has ended and they
have no job in Britain, let alone six month pay slips.
The threshold does not apply to spouses from within the EEA
and some British citizens have taken advantage of earlier judgements, such as Surinder
Singh to bring in souses via the EEA without the need to show the minimum
income.
The UK is an attractive place to work, start a business or buy property – no restrictions on foreign buyers - a vibrant mortgage market with record low interest rates.
Learn how you can get involved in the buy-to-let boom with this free CD training programme:
Learn how you can get involved in the buy-to-let boom with this free CD training programme:
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Immigration Matters: Uber offering free English courses to migrant work...
Immigration Matters: Uber offering free English courses to migrant work...: Uber has said it will offer free courses for its drivers in response to a ruling by Transport for London (TfL), which has delayed its new ...
Uber offering free English courses to migrant worker drivers
Uber has said it will offer free courses for its drivers in
response to a ruling by Transport for London (TfL), which has delayed its new
English tests until September.
The Uber app will give drivers the option to cash their
income at any time, as opposed to at the end of the week, as well as offer
“earnings advice sessions” on improving revenue. The advice will be targeted at
drivers earning less than the hourly average.
Uber driverless vehicles are already here
The multi-billion dollar company - which does not operate
taxis or employ drivers - will also offer drivers free “skills” courses, so
they can learn a language or improve their financial planning. Uber has brought
in outside expertise from online investment firm Moneyfarm in a deal which will
make available discounted products like ISAs to pensions to its drivers.
The charm offensive follows an intense period of damaging public scrutiny of the company
and the treatment of drivers. Last October, Uber lost an important ruling at an employment
tribunal in London that its drivers should be employed as workers, as opposed
to self-employed contractors, and be entitled to workers’ rights including
holiday or sick pay. Uber will appeal the decision, which threatens the company’s
business model.
The government is not only concerned about workers rights,
but also the loss of tax and employer National Insurance contributions from
self employed workers (Uber, Hermes and Deliveroo) who legally pay less tax, which is estimated to cost the treasury
£2 billion a year.
Whilst companies like Uber provide UK job opportunities for
migrant workers, however, when you take into account the number of hours worked
and the cost of running a vehicle, dealing with accounts and tax, many people
are probably earning less than the minimum wage.
More worrying for Uber and other delivery drivers is the
rise of robot technology, which will see driverless vehicles and drone
deliveries not in a distant science fiction-based future, but within the next
few years. The U.S. tech giant is already rolling out plans to allow
users to hail self-driving cars, and put Volvo driverless cars on the road last year in a Pittsburgh based
trial.
New technology will wipe out millions of jobs in the next
few years. Not just driving jobs, but white collar and professional jobs too.
How we adapt to this new era will be crucial to all our futures.
In a recent survey, it was revealed that millions of people
in the UK have less than £100 in savings and are totally unprepared for
retirement. Millions will have to work until they drop, especially the
self-employed and ‘zero hour’ contract workers who have little or no pension
provision.
Home-based business revolution
Some are turning to second jobs in the form of home-based
businesses, e.g. making money online with using platforms to sell goods with Ebay or Amazon, while others are dipping their toes in the buy-to-let property
market. Both are viable options provided you know what you are doing and have
the right training.
I have attended a number of free courses and webinars with a
company called Progressive Property Group. Their founders, Rob Moore and Mark
Homer own over 700 properties. They are academics, but entrepreneurs who have ‘been
there and done it’, which is why I listen to their advice.
A common myth is that you have to have loads of money to
become a property investor, not true. I know many migrants who have come to the
UK with pennies in their pockets who are financially free through property.
In a special report: -
Mark Homer explains the strategies that have helped thousands
of people buy property with none of their own money.
You can obtain the report free, by clicking here...
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Immigration Matters: How many illegal migrants and visa overstayers liv...
Immigration Matters: How many illegal migrants and visa overstayers liv...: The short answer is that nobody knows, even the Home Office can only estimate the number of visa overstayers, illegal entrants or undocume...
How many illegal migrants and visa overstayers live in the UK?
The short answer is that nobody knows, even the Home Office
can only estimate the number of visa overstayers, illegal entrants or
undocumented migrants there are in the UK.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated migration
to the UK for just one year, ending June 2016, at over 650,000. Prior to
the Brexit vote, immigration from the EU was the highest on record, while immigration
from non-EU countries was similar to previous years, despite measures to curb
it.
In another report, it has emerged that the number of EU nurses registering to work in the UK has dropped by 90% since the Brexit vote last June.
How do we work out the number of illegal immigrants?
Illegal immigrants in the UK exist largely as an unregistered
collective, according to the New Statesman, because if the registered they
would risk being deported and banned from returning to the UK for many years.
The ONS said that “by its very nature it is impossible to
quantify accurately the number of people who are in the country illegally.” Population
Surveys or the official Census figures are based on information provided
voluntarily by householders.
The last official estimate was compiled in 2005 when the government
assessed methods used by other countries to estimate their level of illegal
immigration, and applied the finding to the UK. They predicted the number at
430,000, but the London School of Economics produced a report in
2007 estimating the number of ‘irregular’ migrants at 533,000.
The Home Office collect “Immigration
Enforcement Data”, such as number of enforcement raids based on tip-offs,
number of people refused visa entry and number of overstayers deported from the
UK.
In the second quarter of 2016 there were just 941
enforcement visit arrests. However, the Migration Observatory at the
University of Oxford said that 40,896 immigrants were deported in 2015,
which would include migrants refused visa extensions or overstaying students.
At 40,000 removals a year it would take almost 11 years to
remove all illegal immigrants based on the government’s own estimates and
assuming no increase in numbers.
The ippr estimated that it would take 20 years to remove 500,000 illegal migrants at a cost of £5 billion. It costs an average of £10,000 to remove someone from the UK, so those figures are not so far fetched.
Other organisations, such as Migration Watch, estimate much higher numbers of undocumented migrants and the number could be between 750,000 and 1,000,000 people living illegally in the UK. This has prompted calls for an amnesty, which even Boris Johnson supported when he was the London Mayor.
Other organisations, such as Migration Watch, estimate much higher numbers of undocumented migrants and the number could be between 750,000 and 1,000,000 people living illegally in the UK. This has prompted calls for an amnesty, which even Boris Johnson supported when he was the London Mayor.
The 2016 Immigration Act will make life harder for illegal as well
as legal migrants wishing to work in the UK on a working or student visa.
Private property owning landlords can be fined up to £3000
for letting to anyone who does not have the right to reside in the UK and can
face criminal charges and jail for knowingly renting to illegal immigrants.
The UK is still an attractive place to work, start a business and buy property – no restrictions on foreign buyers - a vibrant mortgage market with record low interest rates.
Learn how you can get involved in the buy-to-let boom with this free CD training programme:
Learn how you can get involved in the buy-to-let boom with this free CD training programme:
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Immigration Matters: EU nurses coming to UK drops by 90% since Brexit
Immigration Matters: EU nurses coming to UK drops by 90% since Brexit: The number of EU Nurses registering to work in Britain has fallen dramatically by 90% since the Brexit referendum according to new figures...
EU nurses coming to UK drops by 90% since Brexit
The number of EU Nurses registering to work in Britain has
fallen dramatically by 90% since the Brexit referendum according to new figures
by the UK nursing regulator and reports in The Telegraph and BBC.
Last July, just after the referendum where 52% of
British people voted to leave the European Union, 1,304 nurses joined the
nursing and midwifery register to work in the UK, official figures show. Last month the number
had plummeted to just 101 nurses.
Figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) also report
more EU nurses deciding to stop working in the UK at a time when every hospital
in the country reporting a shortage of nurses and many European countries, such
as Romania, Spain and Portugal have high unemployment and little opportunity for newly qualified nurses.
The NMC register shows that 318 decided to leave almost
double the number who left in June 2016
when the referendum took place.
European nurses, like their non-EU counterparts, are now
required to take a language test, which may partly account for the drop in registrations.
There is also a fall in of overseas nurses requesting an application pack to
register to work in the UK, with only 453 enquiries in December compared with
697 in July.
In January 2016, just under 3,700 EU nurses and midwives applied
for an NMC application pack, but following the introductions of English
language test the following month, the number fell to 861. EU nurses do not
need to carry out competence tests, as their qualifications are accepted by the
NMC.
The health sector and NHS depends on overseas workers and in
2015/16, 9,388 overseas nurses and midwives registered to come work in the UK.
NMC chief executive Jackie Smith, said: “This is the first
sign of a change following the EU referendum and it is our responsibility as
the regulator to share these figures with the public.”
She said it was too early to “definitively” link the trends
to Brexit.
Janet Davies, chief executive of the Royal College of
Nursing, said: “If this is the beginning of a long-term drop in the number of
nurses coming to the UK from other parts of the EU, that’s a serious concern at
a time when we’re already facing a crisis in nurse staffing numbers.”
“With 24,000 nursing vacancies across the UK, the NHS could
not cope without the contribution from EU nurses. Without a guarantee that EU
nationals working in the NHS can remain, it will be much harder to retain and
recruit staff from the EU, and patient care will suffer as a result.”
The 2016 Immigration Act has introduced tough new measures
for illegal migrants and visa overstayers, but the new £30,000
minimum salary for a work permit and settlement rules may be deterring
overseas nurses,
Based on my own previous experience on recruitment trips to Romania, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria, the UK is not always the first choice for EU nurses.Many would choose Germany, France or Belgium, which offer excellent packages. Unlike non-EU nurses on work permits, EU nurses are more transient and prepared to return home after a period on working in the UK.
Based on my own previous experience on recruitment trips to Romania, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria, the UK is not always the first choice for EU nurses.Many would choose Germany, France or Belgium, which offer excellent packages. Unlike non-EU nurses on work permits, EU nurses are more transient and prepared to return home after a period on working in the UK.
Sunday, February 05, 2017
Immigration Matters: Immigration Act 2016 - main highlights in a nutshe...
Immigration Matters: Immigration Act 2016 - main highlights in a nutshe...: After writing about some of the effects of the far reaching 2016 Immigration Act (or Law) on migrants wishing to work in the UK on a worki...
Immigration Act 2016 - main highlights in a nutshell
After writing about some of the effects of the far reaching 2016
Immigration Act (or Law) on migrants wishing to work in the UK on a working
visa, I received many questions about other issues.
You can read the whole Act here at
the legislation.gov website (you would be surprised at how many lawyer don’t
even read the entire Act), but if the you prefer a brief summary, see below.
What are the main points of the Immigration Act 2016?
Companies or employers who employ illegal migrants face
criminal charges and this could also apply to the worker.
Visa overstayers and migrants who do not have permission to
be in the UK could have their bank accounts can be frozen and their driver’s
license confiscated.
For the first time a landlord to knowingly renting a property
to an illegal migrant will be committing a criminal offence and could go to
jail for up to five years.
The Home Office ‘deport first, appeal later’ scheme will
apply to all migrants, not just convicted criminals with no residency rights or
to people the Secretary of State considered in the ‘public good’ to remove.
Even migrants lodging a human rights or asylum claim will
soon be removed to their home country pending the outcome of their appeal against
the decision to remove them, except where removal would cause them ‘serious,
irreversible harm’.
The new Immigration Act will have serious consequences for
visa overstayers, illegal immigrants and human right claimants. If in doubt,
seek legal advice.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s (pictured above) temporary ban on migrants entering
the U.S. from a number of Muslim countries and been overruled by a Judge. Trump
said he will press ahead and press ahead with the executive order, which does
not need approval by Congress.
The digital revolution is also having far reaching effects on
work in the UK and America. Millions lack the right skills, but I am convinced
that you can work from home and make
money online provided you have the right internet training and
support and real products of value to market.
See also:
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