United Kingdom

• Immigration System

Before making any plans to live or work in Britain, you must ensure that you have the appropriate entry clearance (e.g. a visa) and permission, as without the correct documentation you will be refused permission to enter the country. If you are a national of a non-EEA country you may need to obtain entry clearance, (e.g. persons intending to stay permanently, coming to work or who are visa nationals).

Britain's immigration laws are among the most draconian in the western world and there are strict regulations regarding the entry of foreigners seeking political asylum or those who intend to look for work illegally. With the exception of those who are not subject to immigration controls (e.g. EEA citizens and Commonwealth citizens with a parent born in Britain), the onus is on anyone coming to Britain to prove that he will not break the immigration laws. You must ‘satisfy the immigration officer' that you qualify under the immigration rules, which may depend on your nationality and the economic situation in your home country.

• Immigration Services

The British Government has an extensive and complex immigration system dealing with all scenarios from just visiting to citizenship. The following areas of U.K. immigration policy are frequently asked for consultations:

• Visitors
• Students
• Working Holidaymakers
• Work Permits
• Marriage
• Family Visas
• Business and Investment
• Right to Abode
• Ancestry
• Citizenship

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2.1 Student

Overseas students who are non-EEA nationals are permitted to enter Britain for the duration of a course, providing they have been accepted at a bona fide educational establishment and intend to leave Britain at the end of their course of study. Your course must be full or mostly full-time and must occupy a minimum of 15 hours a week during the daytime (0900 to 1700). You cannot combine a variety of part-time courses in order to make up the required 15 hours study per week, and evening courses do not qualify as full-time study. Your fees must have been paid in full and you must show that you can financially support yourself and, in the case of married students, your spouse and children under 18 years of age (if accompanied by them), without recourse to public funds. You must prove that you are married by producing a marriage certificate. If you country of residence has strict foreign exchange controls, it is import to make arrangements for banking facilities in Britain or for money to be sent to you.

On arrival in Britain you must have a letter from the college or school where you have been accepted as a student, stating your study hours, the length of your course and that you have paid (or can pay) your fees. If the immigration officer suspects that the course is merely a subterfuge to enable you to enter and remain in Britain, he can refuse your entry. The authorities may also check that you are attending classes. If you are permitted to enter Britain to study, you will usually be granted permission to remain for the period of your course or at least one year, unless you are enrolled in a short course.

Overseas students are not permitted to work in Britain after completing their studies unless there are exceptional circumstances, (e.g. a student is highly qualified in a field of work where there is an acute shortage of skills). Students who have studied in Britain may be permitted to gain a further qualification as a trainee or to gain work experience.

2.2 Working Holidaymakers

The working holidaymaker scheme is an arrangement whereby (primarily) single persons aged from 17 to 27 can come to Britain on an extended holiday for a maximum period of two years. To qualify you must be a Commonwealth citizen, British Dependent Territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen. Married persons also qualify if a couple both qualify for entry as working holidaymakers and they intend to holiday together. Couples must not have dependent children who are five years of age or over or who will reach five years of age before they complete their holiday. You must have the means to pay for your return fare home and be able to support yourself without recourse to public funds.

During the two-year period you may take employment that is incidental to your holiday, i.e. part-time or casual employment. You may not engage in business, provide services as a professional sports person or entertainer, or pursue a career. You cannot take full-time work

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(classified as over 25 hours a week) even on a casual basis for more than half you stay, i.e. one year. Any time spent outside Britain during the two-year period counts towards the maximum two years allowed (from the date you were first given permission to enter Britain).

Entry clearance must be obtained from a British Diplomatic Post before traveling to Britain, as it is not possible to arrive as a visitor and change your status to that of a working holidaymaker. However, a person who is in Britain for a temporary purpose, e.g. as a student, may be granted an extension to stay as a working holidaymaker.

2.3 Work Permits

It is difficult to obtain entry clearance to work in Britain if you do not qualify under a permit-free category, particularly if your prospective employer is located in an area of high unemployment. A work permit must be obtained by an employer for a named worker and is always issued for a specific job and for a specified period. Permits are issued providing no other person who is already allowed to live and work in Britain can be found to do the job, which must be proven by providing copies of advertisements and explaining why any applicants (who do not require a work permit) were not suitable.

Vacancies must be advertised in the local, national and European press, as well as in any appropriate trade and professional journals. The salary and conditions of employment offered must be equal to those prevailing for similar jobs; the qualifications and experience must be exactly what is required; and they must usually have been acquired outside Britain. Employees should usually be aged between 23 and 54 (inclusive) and are normally expected to have an adequate knowledge of the English language. The lower age limit does not apply to sportsmen and sportswomen and neither limit applies to artists and entertainers.

Spouses and children under 18 wishing to accompany or join a work permit holder in Britain must obtain entry clearance from the nearest British Diplomatic Post to where they live, before traveling to Britain. Failure to do so may mean they are refused entry. A work permit holder must be able to provide accommodation and support his dependants in Britain without the use of public funds and must state this in writing. Permit holders are not permanently restricted to the particular job for which their permit was issued, but are expected to remain in the same occupation. The consent of the Department of Education and Employment is required in order to change jobs.

A work permit is valid for entry into Britain within six months of its date of issue and is usually issued for a period of one year unless limited to a shorter period. Permits valid for one year can usually be extended on application to the Home Office. It is difficult to obtain permission to employ someone who is already in Britain and who came here for a reason other than employment, e.g. as a visitor or a student. First, the Home Office must decide whether his conditions of stay allow him to employment, or, if not, whether the conditions can be changed.

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Shortly before completing four years employment in Britain, work permit holders may apply to the Home Office for the removal of the time limit on their stay, called ‘settlement'. When the time limit is removed, you may take any employment without referral to the Department of Employment.

2.4 Spouses

The spouse of a non-EEA national with permission to live or work in Britain is granted entry clearance, providing the marriage is genuine, both partners intend to remain married and have actually met (the marriage cannot be arranged blind, as many are in Asian countries), they have somewhere to live and can support themselves without recourse to public funds. The spouse must not be under the age of 16. An application for entry clearance must be made to a British Diplomatic Post before traveling to Britain. The spouse of a non-EEA national entitled to work in Britain is also eligible to work there, although if he enters alone, his passport may be stamped to prohibit him from working. This can usually be changed on application to the Home Office. On arrival in Britain, the spouse is given permission to stay and work for 12 months. Towards the end of the 12-month period, providing the couple are still married and intend to live together, the spouse may apply to remain in Britain permanently. A parent of a child resident in Britain with access rights granted by a British court can enter Britain providing he has entry clearance for this purpose.

2.5 Fiancés

The fiancé of a non-EEA national settled in Britain, who wishes to enter for marriage and settlement, must obtain entry clearance in the form of a Letter of Consent from a British Diplomatic Post before traveling to Britain. Applicants must satisfy officials that a marriage will take place within a ‘reasonably short time of their arrival in Britain' (usually six months) and that the ‘primary purpose of marriage is not to obtain entry or remain in Britain'. Both marriage partners must also intend to live together permanently and must have actually met. You must also show that you will not use public funds and that you have access to funds and accommodation in Britain.

If you are permitted entry to Britain as a fiancé, you will initially be granted entry for six months in order to get married, during which time you are forbidden to work. If you enter Britain for a purpose other than marriage, e.g. as a tourist of student, and subsequently get married to someone who has permanent resident status in Britain, you may eventually also be granted resident status. However, you should ensure that your leave to remain in Britain has not expired before you get married or is due to expire within a few days or weeks of you planned marriage, otherwise the authorities may think that you got married solely to remain in Britain, and can refuse your permission to remain. After marriage you must write to the IND who require:

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• your passport;
• your spouse's passport or birth certificate;
• your marriage certificate;
• evidence that you can support your spouse and provide accommodation;
• a letter requesting leave to remain in Britain as the spouse of a British citizen or of someone with permanent residence.

After marriage you are initially permitted to stay for 12 months with no restrictions on working and after 12 months you are eligible to apply for settlement.

2.6 Children

Children under 18 (including natural children, step-children and adopted children) are granted permission to remain in Britain when both their parents are temporarily resident in Britain or have been granted permission to settle. An application for entry clearance for children must be made to a British Diplomatic Post before traveling to Britain. If one parent only is resident in Britain, he (or she) must show that he (or she) has sole responsibility for a child's upbringing or that serious of compelling family or other circumstances render their exclusion undesirable. In practice, it is usually for a child under 12 to be allowed to join a single parent, particularly the mother, in Britain. Children over 18 must usually qualify for entry clearance in their own right, although special consideration is given to unmarried daughters under 21 with no close relatives in their own country.

2.7 Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP)

On 28 January 2002 the Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, launched HSMP as a new initiative to allow individuals with exceptional personal skills and experience to come to the United Kingdom to seek and take work or self-employment. The programme aims to provide an individual migration route for highly skilled persons who have the skills and experience required by the UK to compete in the global economy.

The programme was initially set up as a pilot for 12 months. Following the success of the programme it has been decided to extend HSMP indefinitely.

To make a successful application you will need to provide evidence that you score 75 points or more in the categories set out by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and demonstrate that you will be able to continue your career in the United Kingdom. Please note that you do not have to score points in all categories to qualify under the programme, as long as you score at total of at least 75 points.

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2.8 Self-employed Persons

If you wish to enter Britain to set up in business or self-employment and are not an EEA national, you must obtain entry clearance in the form of a Letter of Consent specifically for that purpose, before arrival. To set up in business, you must show that you will be investing a minimum of ￡200,000 of your own money and that your business will create new, paid, full-time employment for at least two people already resident in Britain. You must also show that there is a genuine need for your services and investment; that you will be occupied full-time in the running of the business; and that you will be able to support yourself and your dependants from the profits of the business without recourse to public funds.

Incentives to set up in business are available to people from overseas on the same basis as they are to British nationals, including grants, training assistance and government factories for rent or lease. Financial assistance is available for manufacturing investment that is judged to be particularly beneficial to the British economy. Both British government and EEA financial incentives may be available for businesses established in areas where there is high unemployment or other economic problems (designated ‘assisted areas'). His or her spouse and any children under 18, who will initially be admitted for one year providing they also have entry clearance, may accompany a businessperson with the appropriate entry clearance. Annual extensions are granted, so long as the immigration rules continue to be met and settlement is normally granted after four years residence.

2.9 Investors

A non-EEA national who has the sum of ￡1 million under his control and disposal, and who intends to live in Britain permanently, can obtain permanent leave to remain. Entry clearance is required. An investor must plan to invest at ￡ 750,000 in British government bonds or in the share or loan capital of British companies.