Mohammed Hussain, 29, of Euston Avenue, Watford, was the last to be imprisoned when he was sentenced to 13 months on 3 February 2012 at a hearing at St Albans crown court. He had pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of the UK’s immigration laws.

Hussain, along with fellow Sri Lankan nationals Aslam Riyas, 27, and Mohammed Fayas, 21 – also of Euston Avenue – and Mohamed Ibrahim, 26, of Grant Road, Harrow, had all sourced fake passports and residence permits with the intention of using them to illegally secure employment in the UK.

Riyas and Fayas were jailed for 12 months and Ibrahim for 6 months at earlier hearings. Riyas and Fayas had both pleaded guilty to charges of possessing fraudulent documents. Ibrahim had pleaded not guilty, but was convicted of a charge of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of the UK’s immigration laws.

The UK Border Agency smashed the gang on 20 July after officers based at Heathrow airport intercepted a parcel containing fake passports and resident permits addressed to Hussain at his Watford home.

Officers from the agency’s criminal and financial investigations team executed a warrant at the address shortly after 8:30am. Inside, they found fraudulent documents in the names of Riyas, Fayas and Ibrahim.

Riyas, Fayas and Hussain were all arrested on site. Ibrahim was arrested in a separate raid on his Harrow address on 31 August.

UK Border Agency inspector Andy Radcliffe said:

‘Hussain was supplying fake documents to help others stay in the UK illegally and secure work to which they were not entitled. They were high quality fakes and prospective employers would have had no idea that what they were looking at was anything other than legitimate.

‘These offenders had only one intention, to take employment opportunities away from genuine jobseekers – clearly a serious offence.’

Hussain, Riyas and Ibrahim had all overstayed visas. Fayas had a valid student visa at the time of his arrest, which has subsequently been revoked. Work to remove them from the UK at the end of their sentences will be carried out.

The operation involved seconded police officers working together with warranted UK Border Agency officers to investigate organised immigration crime. Source: UK Border Agency.

See also:

Romanian man jailed for smuggling immigrants into UK

Church of England Vicar facing jail for 31 sham marriages for illegal brides and grooms

People smuggling gang ring leader jailed for 5 years

Sham marriage fixers jailed

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

Sham marriage vicar John Magumba jailed

UK Immigration crackdown on Tier 4 students sees 70% fall in applications to private colleges

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Mr Green also announced that he wanted to break the link between temporary and permanent migration and look at the way courts interpret the human right to family life, which he said has led to a “ridiculous and damaging situation” and risks a “dangerous” stand off between parliament and judges.

The government is also proposing to set a minimum income level for any sponsor seeking to bring in a foreign spouse – and said the recommended level was between £18,600 and £25,700.

The news will be of grave concern to the thousands of skilled workers on Work Permits and Tier 2 Working Visas who are earning less than £31,000.

Whilst the UK has never guaranteed working migrants permanent residency under the terms of their work permits, most were expecting to one day qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after working in Britain for 5 years.

The Minister has not announced any transitional arrangements for those already here. But if the new rules are applied to all existing migrants, the minimum threshold would not be reached by most nurses, senior carers, chefs, care managers and many other occupations where the basic pay rate is less than £31,000.

Some of the questions being asked are:

• Will the new earnings test apply to all existing work permit holders or new entrants after a certain point?
• Does my dependant husband’s income count towards the minimum salary requirement?
• How long do I have to be earning £31,000 for or is it my current salary level that counts?
• If I cannot qualify for ILR will I be able to extend my work permit after 5 years?
• If I have children born in the UK do I have a right to stay under Article 8?

The answer to most of these questions are only known to ministers and Home Office officials at this stage because full details of the reforms have not yet been revealed.

The government is committed to reducing net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’ by 2015 and major reforms to the immigration points based system will be needed to reach these targets.

The changes do not affect EU migrants from Eastern European countries such as Poland and Slovakia, or Bulgarians and Romanians exercising Treaty Rights to obtain Yellow Cards.

See also:

Settlement in UK to be linked to a minimum salary of £31,000 says Immigration Minister

Human rights decisions led to ‘ridiculous and damaging’ situation, says UK Immigration Minister

Romanian workers offered UK jobs while 2.7 million claim benefits

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The agency said:

‘You must now book these appointments online, except in very limited circumstances. You can find out how to register online and book an appointment on the Booking an appointment (postal applications) page.

‘We have also introduced an email service to replace our biometric residence permit helplines (0300 123 2412 and 0300 123 4699).’ 

Applicants should now email:

BRPDelivery@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk if there is an issue with the delivery of your biometric residence permit;

BRPError@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk if there is an error on your biometric residence permit;

BRPLost@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk to report the loss or theft of a biometric residence permit; and

employerBRPverification@ukba.gsi.gov.uk if you are an employer or sponsor and you want to confirm that a biometric residence permit is valid.

If you do not have email access, you can send your enquiries by Freepost to:

Freepost RRYX-GLYU-GXHZ
Returns Unit
PO Box 163
Bristol
BS20 1AB

Source: UK Border Agency

See also:

Changes to English language tests for applications under Tiers 1, 2 and 4 of the points-based system announced by UKBA today

New fees for immigration and asylum appeals

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

With Yellow Card student applications for Bulgarians and Romanians taking 3 to 6 months to process, getting it right first time is vital. Bulgarians and Romanians exercising treaty rights as students under Yellow Card registration certificates are reporting that their applications are taking between three and six months to be processed and approved by the UK Border Agency Full story…

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

A recruitment agency in Bucharest is advertising 2,434 vacancies for British jobs according to the report.

The Romanian agency ‘tjobs.ro’ revealed that many of the UK-based posts were for medical staff, tourism workers and skilled staff.

And 25% of the unfilled roles on offer were for labourers and unskilled workers. The news comes as the number of jobless Brits hit a record 17-year high of 2.68million.

And yesterday Sir Andrew Green, chairman of campaign group Migration Watch UK, said: “One has to ask why employers feel the need to go abroad to recruit for these jobs.”

Unemployment in Britain currently stands at 8.4%, the worst figure since 1994.

The Daily Star revealed this month how 23 British jobs were lost for every 100 migrants let in.

A hard-hitting report by the Migration Advisory Committee showed 160,000 UK-born workers had missed out on employment since 1995 as a result of immigration.

The study looked at the problems immigration was causing for Britain’s stretched public services.

Researchers found average earnings have remained the same, but wages at the bottom have fallen. Source: Daily Star.

The question we should be asking is why British firms are advertising jobs in another EU country when so many unemployed workers are supposedly available to work on their doorstep?

The newspaper article does not point out that there are hundreds of thousands of job vacancies in the UK being advertised on a regular basis, and not all of these jobs vacancies are filled by local workers.

For instance, despite high UK unemployment healthcare support workers or care assistants are still desperately needed by employers who cannot fill vacancies locally.

Even though millions of British people are unemployed and the country’s economy in the doldrums, the care industry still has massive problems in finding care or support workers for the 20,000 plus homes. 

A recent search on one Government Job Centre Plus website, Job Seekers Direct Find a Job Now, revealed over 300 job vacancies within a 75 mile radius of central London region alone. 

Some employers are offering as much as £10.50 per hour, £4.57 above the national minimum wage, for a Health Care Assistant for a dementia care unit in London. 

The website quoted in the article offers jobs all over Europe. They appears to be mainly advertising vacancies for Au Pair, baby sitting and care jobs in the UK, all of which are hard to fill locally.

The news that employers are recruiting in Romania will surprise many as, despite being members of the European Union, Romanians cannot work in the UK as employees without permission.

Employers wishing to hire a Romanian, or fellow EU2 member citizens from Bulgaria, need to apply for a work permit and low skilled jobs do not normally qualify.

However, in the case of temporary low skilled workers, such as seasonal agricultural workers where there are always shortages, employers or agencies can apply to the UK Border Agency for a six month SAWS (Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme) permit.

SAWS allow farmers and growers in the UK to recruit low-skilled overseas workers to do short-term agricultural work only. The scheme works on a quota basis. Farmers and growers who participate in the scheme can employ a fixed number of overseas workers though the scheme each year. In 2010 and 2011 the quota is 21,250 places.

To be able to apply to come to the UK under the SAWS, you must be a national of Bulgaria or Romania. Workers get a work card which gives them permission to work in the UK under the scheme for a maximum of 6 months.

There is also a scheme for Au Pairs coming from Romania and Bulgaria, but this type of work is low paid and traditionally taken by students wishing to learn English.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can study and work full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care or customer service by exercising their Treaty Rights under Article 39.  They can also apply for a self employed yellow card, but the application must be supported by a genuine case for setting up a business.

UK work restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals were recently extended until the end of 2013 by Immigration Minister Damian Green.

See also:

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk 

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

The Reverend Canon Dr John Magumba, 58, performed 31 bogus wedding ceremonies at two churches in Rochdale in the North west of England.

Magumba, originally from Uganda, pleaded guilty in December to conspiring to facilitate a breach of UK immigration law.

The shamed priest was jailed last week for two-and-a-half-years at Bolton Crown Court.

The father-of-six had also pleaded guilty to theft of more than £8,000 from his church councils by not declaring income from weddings and funerals.

The court heard that Magumba, originally from Uganda, “asked no questions” when marrying a stream of Nigerian men and eastern European women who went to his Rochdale parish.

He took on so many weddings involving foreign nationals that his diocese made him head of a party on how to spot sham marriages.

Fran Gough, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “He conducted these wedding ceremonies knowing full well that they were [shams], purely to assist non-EU citizens in their bid to gain UK residency.

“His dishonesty in effectively plundering church funds is also difficult to believe in someone whom others looked to for moral guidance.”

Magumba arrived in the UK in 2004 on an ecclesiastical visa, bringing his family with him from Uganda.

Investigators said that money was “always an issue” for him, that he had requested crisis loans from the Church and even asked parishioners for money to “clothe his children”.

He was arrested last March as part of an investigation by the UK Border Agency.

Sham marriages usually involve a non-European marrying an EU citizen to secure long-term residency, the right to work and the right to claim benefits in the UK. Source: BBC.

The conviction follows a series of successful crackdowns on marriage fraud by the UK Border Agency.

The agency has set up a special taskforce with the Church of England to detect sham marriages between European Union nationals and non-EU migrants trying to gain indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and UK naturalisation in the UK.

Each Diocese now has a ‘sham marriage officer’ who can pass on Vicars’ concerns over weddings to the immigration authorities.

See also:

Romanian man jailed for smuggling immigrants into UK

Church of England Vicar facing jail for 31 sham marriages for illegal brides and grooms

People smuggling gang ring leader jailed for 5 years

Sham marriage fixers jailed

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

East London sham marriage couple jailed

Changes to English language tests for applications under Tiers 1, 2 and 4 of the points-based system announced by UKBA today

Judge attacks immigration ‘merry-go-round’ after Pakistani man made 16 applications to remain in UK at a cost of £250,000 to taxpayer

Immigrants on benefits – figures revealed

New fees for immigration and asylum appeals

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Speaking in Strasbourg, he said there was “credible democratic anxiety” about rulings on immigration and prisoner voting by the European Court.

The prime minister said he wanted decisions made at a national level to be “treated with respect”.

Labour accused the PM of “peddling myths” that “denigrate” the court.

The UK currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe, and in his speech to its Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Cameron promised to use the remaining months of its term to press for change.

The UK has clashed with the European court, which is not part of the European Union, over a number of issues.

Last week, Strasbourg upheld a challenge by radical preacher Abu Qatada that deporting him from the UK to Jordan would breach his human rights.

Westminster is also embroiled in a row with the court over voting rights for prisoners. The UK’s blanket ban on prisoners voting has been held incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights but last year MPs voted to keep it – although the vote was not binding. A new ruling is due on the case soon.

In his speech, Mr Cameron said no-one should “doubt the British commitment to defending human rights”, but that did not mean “sticking with the status quo”.

He argued there were three main problems facing the court – the first being the huge backlog of more than 150,000 cases.

Second, he said, was the fact that many of the waiting cases were trivial and were effectively turning the institution into “a small claims court”.

He gave the example of an individual whose complaint was that his busy trip from Bucharest to Madrid “hadn’t been as comfortable as advertised”.

“In effect that gives an extra bite of the cherry to anyone who is dissatisfied with a domestic ruling, even where that judgement is reasonable, well-founded, and in line with the convention.

“Quite simply, the court has got to be able to fully protect itself against spurious cases when they have been dealt with at the national level.”

The third problem, Mr Cameron said, was that the court is failing to take “enough account… of democratic decisions by national parliaments”.

“Yes, some of this is misinterpretation – but some of it is credible democratic anxiety, as with the prisoner voting issue.

“I completely understand the court’s belief that a national decision must be properly made, but in the end, I believe that where an issue like this has been subjected to proper, reasoned democratic debate and has also met with detailed scrutiny by national courts in line with the convention, the decision made at a national level should be treated with respect.”

He said public concern around issues such as deportation mean that “the very concept of rights is in danger of slipping from something noble to something discredited – and that should be of deep concern to us all”.

“And at the heart of this concern is not antipathy to human rights; it is anxiety that the concept of human rights is being distorted.”

Mr Cameron said he wanted to introduce new rules to improve the court’s efficiency, its process for appointing judges and to “push responsibility to the national system”.

“That way we can free up the court to concentrate on the worst, most flagrant human rights violations – and to challenge national courts when they clearly haven’t followed the convention.”

The BBC’s deputy political editor James Landale said it was likely to be a slow process as the UK had to get the unanimous backing of the 47 member states. It only holds the Council of Europe presidency until May.

But Attorney General Dominic Grieve told the BBC he believed the chances of getting reform were “extremely good” because there was widespread backing for the UK’s proposals.

Ahead of Mr Cameron’s speech, the court’s top judge, Sir Nicolas Bratza QC, said “the criticism relating to interference” in UK affairs was “simply not borne out by the facts”.

“It is disappointing to hear senior British politicians lending their voices to criticisms more frequently heard in the popular press, often based on a misunderstanding of the court’s role and history, and of the legal issues at stake,” he wrote in the Independent newspaper.

He said it was unfortunate that the prisoner voting issue “has been used as the springboard for a sustained attack on the court “.

Labour peer and human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy QC said British cases making it as far as the court were few – and most cases came from countries with poor human rights records.

Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party which campaigns for the UK to withdraw from the European Union, accused Mr Cameron of “blustering to no avail about the harmful effect of the European Court of Human Rights”.

“The stream of ridiculous judgements from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, protecting drug dealers and known terrorists, will continue to bind us in knots while we are signed-up members of the EU.”

But Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the court had “protected the rights of many UK residents who have been let down by our justice system and it is important that this safeguard exists to hold our government to account when necessary”.

The European Convention on Human Rights protections – such as the right to a private and family life and freedom of expression – became directly enforceable in UK courts in 2000 via the Human Rights Act.

In their 2010 election manifesto, the Conservatives pledged to replace the Human Rights Act with a UK Bill of Rights.

But when their entered government in coalition with the Lib Dems, who support the Act, they instead agreed to “establish a Commission to investigate the creation of a British Bill of Rights that incorporates and builds on all our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights”. Source BBC

GUIDE TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND EUROPEAN COURT

• Council of Europe: Body of 47 countries which aim to promote democracy and human rights
• European Convention on Human Rights: Drawn up in aftermath of World War Two. Signed by members of the Council in 1950 – UK and Winston Churchill was one of its architects
• European Court of Human Rights: Strasbourg-based, court which considers cases brought against countries bound by the Convention

See also:

Judge attacks immigration ‘merry-go-round’ after Pakistani man made 16 applications to remain in UK at a cost of £250,000 to taxpayer

Student wins article 8 human rights appeal after claiming he played cricket with friends

Student allowed by Immigration Judge to remain in UK despite buying a fake English certificate

‘Pet cat Human Rights Appeal’ overstaying student was a shoplifter

New fees for immigration and asylum appeals

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

371,000 migrants on benefits according to Government estimates. The UK Government has published its first ever estimates for the proportion of foreign-born people who are claiming working-age benefits in the UK.

Judge attacks immigration ‘merry-go-round’ after Pakistani man made 16 applications to remain in UK at a cost of £250,000 to taxpayer

A senior judge this week condemned the immigration ‘merry-go-round’ that allowed an asylum seeker to stay in Britain for a decade. The Pakistani national was allowed to make a staggering 16 appeals or new applications despite being rejected at every turn, at an estimated cost to taxpayers of at least £250,000.

Immigration critic calls Canada “Super Visa” a sham

There has been much discussion about the Canadian Conservative government’s new “Super Visa” in the community recently, but unfortunately it has turned out to be an insult to families desperate for their parents to visit or migrate to Canada.

Bulgarian and Romanian applications – UKBA issue new application form and guidance

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has published revised guidance notes for Bulgarian and Romanian accession worker card applicants and employers, and a new version of Form BR3.

Pop star Adam Ant raided at dawn over ‘illegal immigrant’

1980’s pop legend Adam Ant was awoken by immigration border police yesterday when his London home was raided at dawn

Rapper Garry Sandhu deported to India after losing immigration appeal

Asian singing star Garry Sandhu has been deported back to India by the UK Border Agency after losing an appeal…

London to become major player in Yuan trading

The UK Treasury has announced plans to make London the leading international centre for trading China’s currency, the Yuan, also known as the Renminbi.

New procedure announced for Arts Council England endorsement under Tier 1 Exceptional talent applications

The UK Border Agency has announced that from this month applicants under Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) of the points-based system must follow a new procedure if they want Arts Council England (ACE) to endorse their application.

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

With Yellow Card student applications for Bulgarians and Romanians taking 3 to 6 months to process, getting it right first time is vital. Bulgarians and Romanians exercising treaty rights as students under Yellow Card registration certificates are reporting that their applications are taking between three and six months to be processed and approved by the UK Border Agency Full story…

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

It found that 371,000 migrants made claims last year, the vast majority of which were legitimate.

The research suggests workers born abroad may be less likely to claim benefits than UK nationals.

A sampling exercise found 2% may not have rights to benefits – but the government could not say for certain.

Before the coalition government came to power the nationality of benefit claimants was not recorded.

The government has now tried to link records on benefits, border control and tax for those who came to work, study or visit.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) research found:

As of February 2011, there were 5.5m people receiving working-age benefits. Some 371,000 of those were foreign nationals when they first came to the UK, representing 6.4% of the claimants.

Almost 17% of all British nationals receive these benefits compared with almost 7% of all those classed as non-UK nationals when they first arrived in the UK.

More than half of those receiving a benefit had in fact at some point become British citizens, meaning they had the same rights as people born British.

Working-age benefits include income support, job seeker’s allowance, carer’s allowance and disability living allowance.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling denied that the report was scaremongering and said the full picture was not clear. He said the study showed the vast majority of foreign-born nationals who claimed benefits were entitled to them.

“I think it’s really important for the credibility of our benefits system… that we should understand the mix of people who come from other countries who are claiming benefits,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“We are now going to go through all the people who we’ve not being able to identify and we’re going to repeat that exercise across the full 250,000 to have a system in which people can have confidence.”

The employment minister said he wanted to reduce net migration and ensure the UK system did not attract “benefit tourists”.

But Scott Blinder of Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, an expert study group, said: “It’s perfectly reasonable for the government to want to understand the interaction between immigration and the benefits system, but the way this has been reported has been problematic and significantly misleading for two reasons.

“Firstly, it has been publicised in manner that has created the impression that migrants are particularly likely to claim benefits, when even the report itself clearly identifies that migrants are substantially less likely to claim benefits that the UK-born population.

“Secondly, the report lumps together all ‘migrants’ including British citizens who were born abroad – and who clearly have the same rights to benefits as all other British citizens – and migrants who have no legal claim to be in the UK at all.”

Benefit rules are complex but in general foreign-born nationals in the UK must pass various tests to show they are eligible to claim working-age benefits.

A follow-up sample by the DWP looked at 9,000 people who had come to the UK from outside of Europe. In a quarter of cases, it did not have enough information to assess whether claims were legitimate. Of those that remained, 98% were found to be valid.

The remaining 2% of claimants – 125 people – appeared to have no right to claim benefits. The DWP said it would need to investigate further because some of these could have made valid claims before later losing their entitlement to the benefit.

The government does not produce comparable figures for British-born benefit fraudsters – but estimates that 2% of all payments are down to fraud or error.

The opposition Labour party launched a furious attack on ‘nasty’ Conservative ministers for publishing statistics.

Shadow Immigration Minister Chris Bryant told the BBC Mr Grayling’s figures were not helpful.

“More than half the people that he’s talking about are British citizens – we have no idea when they came to this country,” he said.

“These could be people who came in the late 1930s or 1940s as children, then got British citizenship, worked all their lives, paid National Insurance, paid tax and are now in receipt of benefits.”

He added: “What the figures do show is that migrants into this country are more likely to be in work than British people. 6.6 per cent of working-age non-UK nationals were claiming benefits, compared with 16.6 per cent of  working-age UK nationals.”

He suggested the real intention was to “divert attention” from the fact the government was struggling to meet its pledge to cut net migration to below 100,000 by the end of this Parliament.

MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns for tougher controls on immigration, said the evidence was unclear but something was “clearly not right”.

Chairman Sir Andrew Green told Today: “I’m very glad that ministers now responsible are saying in turns that the immigration system is in a serious mess.”

He said the sheer scale of immigration put “huge pressure” on public services and there had been no link until now between the immigration and benefit systems. Source: BBC

Last week ago anti-immigration groups were complaining that migrants were taking too many jobs away from British workers. Now they are implying that migrants are all on benefits.

A recent Office for National Statistics report looked at trends in Eastern European migration and it said that just over 300,000 workers arrived in the UK during the recession. It said there was a “growing body of evidence” that A8 workers were taking jobs that local employers find hard to fill with domestic workers.

The Home Office said it was working to reduce net migration.

“Controlled migration can bring benefits to the UK economy, but uncontrolled immigration can put pressure on public services, infrastructure and community relations,” a spokesman said.

“That is why we are ensuring graduates and the workforce get the opportunities and skills they need so that they can find work, and why we have maintained restrictions on workers from Romania and Bulgaria, and made it clear we will always introduce transitional controls on new European Union member states to stop unregulated access to British jobs.”

Even though they are EU members, when it comes to employment Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries. See: Free Movement of EU nationals explained.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can work and study full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care.  

See also:

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals 

Bulgarian and Romanian applications – UKBA issue new application form and guidance

British youth unemployment link to immigration rise pressure group claims

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Health care workers needed in UK now

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

The Pakistani national was allowed to make a staggering 16 appeals or new applications despite being rejected at every turn, at an estimated cost to taxpayers of at least £250,000.

Lord Justice Ward said the ‘depressing story’ was typical of asylum cases in which ‘endless fresh claims’ were allowed to ‘clog up’ the system.

He said: ‘This is another of those frustrating appeals which characterise – and, some may even think, disfigure – certain aspects of the work in the immigration field.

‘Here we have one of those whirligig cases where an asylum seeker goes up and down on the merry-go-round leaving one wondering when the music will ever stop.

‘It is a typical case where asylum was refused years ago but endless fresh claims clog the process of removal.’

The Court of Appeal judge rejected the man’s latest appeal and insisted he should now be returned to Pakistan.

He concluded: ‘I would therefore dismiss this appeal. It is time the music stopped and the merry-go-round stops turning.

‘His claim for judicial review is now dismissed. Enough of the whirligig. The Secretary of State is now entitled to take steps to remove him.’

The 38-year-old man, whose identity is hidden by the court, first arrived in Britain in August 1998, and claimed asylum one month later.

His claim was rejected by the Home Secretary two years later after an official rejected documents he presented as evidence as ‘false’ and found they ‘cast doubt on his credibility’.

The man claimed he was a member of a religious minority in Pakistan and faced persecution in his home country.

He appealed to a tribunal and lost and in November 2001 he was due to be deported – but this was stopped after he claimed it would breach his ‘human rights’.

At this point, Lord Justice Ward said ‘the merry-go-round had started’.

The new application was refused in December 2001. The man appealed, and lost his case before an official adjudicator in 2004.

Recounting these events, LJ Ward commented: ‘Notwithstanding that setback, the carousel continued to go round and round, because, nothing daunted, the appellant had submitted a fresh claim.’

The new claim was rejected on October 1, 2004, but new claims were made two weeks later, and again in January, May and December of the following year.

He was arrested in February 2006, but made another new claim, which was rejected by the Home Office in March 2006.

But according to the judge, the ‘whirligig kept turning.’

On March 13, 2006, the applicant made a new claim for judicial review of the decision to remove him, which the High Court approved in July 2008.

Lord Justice Ward said: ‘This was to all intents and purposes a new challenge, another ride on the roundabout. On my count, this was the 15th submission of a fresh claim.’

The claim for judicial review was dismissed, but the case then went before the Court of Appeal, leading to a hearing in July this year, and yesterday’s written ruling.

Around £100million is spent annually on legal aid for asylum seekers, but this does not include the cost of courts and tribunal system hearing the cases or the cost to the government of fighting the cases and processing the paperwork.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has pledged to end abuses of the legal aid system by failed asylum seekers. Source: Daily Mail.

To be fair to the Home Office one could argue that it is Judges who help perpetuate the ‘immigration merry-go-round’ by granting further appeals and allowing even convicted criminal and terrorists to remain after removal orders have been issued.

The judiciary of course would argue that they are merely interpreting the laws made by Parliament.

Then there are EEA rules and European Court rulings which overrule UK Judges, as in the recent ECHR case of a terror suspect who cannot be sent to Jordan because it could infringe his human rights.

The case has been going on for 10 years and has cost the UK taxpayer more than £250,000. Meanwhile he and his large family live on benefits in a house in London all paid for by the British taxpayer.

The simple fact is, migrants and immigration advisers and lawyers know that you always have a chance of overturning a UK Border Agency refusal decision on appeal before a Judge.

In three recent cases Judges overruled the government and allowed overstayers who had broken the law to remain in the UK against the wishes of the UK Border Agency or Home Office.

Firstly, a Bangladeshi student won an Article 8 ‘private life’ appeal in Upper Tribunal to remain in the UK after claiming he ‘played cricket with his friends’ and established a life in the UK. 

In the second case a Pakistani student was allowed by Immigration Judge to remain in UK despite buying a fake English certificate.

Finally there was the so called ‘pet cat appeal’ student who was allowed to stay in the UK partly because he owned a cat, even though he had overstayed his student visa and had previously been arrested for shoplifting.

In December 2011 the UK government brought in new charges for some asylum, immigration and visa appeals and introduced new procedures for submitting appeals against refusals. Fees of £80 for a ‘paper consideration’, a decision made by an Immigration Judge on papers without a hearing, and £140 for a full oral hearing at a tribunal will be applied to appeals against decisions taken on or after 19 December 2011.

The new charges do not represent the full cost of administering or conducting an appeal. You should not, therefore, be put off from lodging an appeal against a refusal if you think the decision is unjust, unfair or unlawful.

If you have been refused a visa or renewal or face deportation and need advice on how to appeal, email info@immigrationmatters.co.uk

See also:

Student wins article 8 human rights appeal after claiming he played cricket with friends

Student allowed by Immigration Judge to remain in UK despite buying a fake English certificate

‘Pet cat Human Rights Appeal’ overstaying student was a shoplifter

New fees for immigration and asylum appeals

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Looking for a Tier 4 college or University or need advice?

UKUS is a free University and College Admissions and advice service based in London, UK. Students interested in studying abroad can complete the Online UKUS Registration Form for more details.

Accession worker card applicants from Bulgaria and Romania should now use the new ‘01/2012’ versions of the BR3 form and ‘guidance notes for Bulgarians and Romanians who want to work in the UK‘ when applying for an accession worker card.

The UKBA said the ‘amended versions have been published to make changes to the BR3 application form to allow for a Bulgarian or Romanian work permit application and the BR3 application to be caseworked simultaneously to avoid delays’.

You can download the form and notes from the ‘Work permits and accession worker cards‘ page on the UK Border Agency website. Source: UK Border Agency.

Bulgarian and Romanian yellow card applicants for student or self employment should continue to use Form BR1.

Unlike other EU members, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will not have unrestricted ‘free movement’ rights to work in the UK until at least the end of 2013. 

See also:

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Health care workers needed in UK now

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org