Processing problems with the City & Guilds certificates in Bangladesh (24 April 2013)

Due to processing problems the City & Guilds English language certificates issued in Bangladesh are temporarily not accepted, in support of your visa applications.

Until further notice, if you are submitting a certificate from this institution then please be aware that this could affect the outcome of your visa application.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please check this website for further updates.

Changes to Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route from 31 January 2013 - updated

19 March 2013

This page provides guidance on the changes to the Immigration Rules for the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category, in particular for applicants who applied before 31 January 2013 and are waiting for a decision on their Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) application.

Over the next 4 weeks, we will be writing to all applicants who applied before 31 January 2013 to you to explain how the changes will affect you and what steps you will need to take to continue your application. We may need additional information from you to process your application.

We may ask you to:

• provide additional information, for example business plans and evidence of market research, to confirm the genuineness of your application; and
• demonstrate that you continue to have access to the funds ahead of them being invested in a UK business. You may have moved money into your business in the meantime. If so, you will need to provide the business accounts or accountant certificate showing that you have invested the funds in the business, together with the updated evidence of any remaining monies to make up your full investment.

You will have 28 days in which to provide the information we request. We may also carry out checks to verify the information provided and you could be invited to attend an interview to discuss your application.

If you are applying on or after 31 January and are relying on funds from a third party, the declarations you provide from those third parties will need to confirm that the funds will continue to be available to you until they are used.

Further information about the evidence you need to supply as part of your application can be found in the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) policy guidance.

If we had not decided your application before 31 January or you apply on or after this date, we will consider it under the new rules.

We will keep this page updated with the latest information.

Changes to the Immigration Rules come into effect on 13 December 2012

A number of changes to the Immigration Rules come into effect today (13 December 2012). These changes will affect non-European Economic Area nationals applying to enter or remain in the UK.

The changes include:

• Non substantive changes to all PBS tiers.
• Establishing a more robust and clear criminality framework against which immigration applications will be assessed.
• Amendments to clarify the absences from the UK that are allowed during the continuous residence period for settlement for Tier 1 (General), Tier 2 and pre-points based system work routes (for example work permits, self-employment and business person).
• Minor changes to the child and parent routes to make them as clear and comprehensive as possible and changes to simplify the operation of the income threshold for sponsoring family migrants.

We have also updated our application forms and guidance, please see our application form news item for further information.

Further information, including the Statements of Changes to the Immigration rules (HC 760 and HC820), and the Explanatory Memorandum can be found in the news story published on 22 November 2012.

Processing fees are regulated on 1 January 2013

If you plan to apply for a residence permit or an extension of a residence permit based on work or studies around 1 January 2013, please note that processing fees are regulated on 1 January 2013. 

If you wish to apply before the fees are regulated, you must create a Case Order ID and submit your application before 1 January 2013. It is not possible to create a Case Order ID with the 2013 fee prior to 1 January 2013. This means that if you wish to submit your application after 1 January 2013, it is important that you create your Case Order ID on 1 January 2013 or later.

In other words, it is the date on which you submit your application to the Danish Agency for Labour Retention and International Recruitment, to the Danish police, or at a Danish diplomatic mission, which decides the amount of the fee. If you have paid less than the required amount, your application will be rejected, that is, it will not be processed.

The processing fees for applying for a residence permit are regulated every year on 1 January. 

Business Skills Program Reforms – 1 July 2012

On 25 May 2012, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, the Hon Chris Bowen MP announced changes to the Business Skills visa program - now named the Business Innovation and Investment program. These changes will be implemented from 1 July 2012.

The changes are the result of a comprehensive review which was conducted during 2011.

See:

Reforms to the Business Skills Program ( 69KB PDF file) 

Frequently Asked Questions Reforms to the Business Skills Program ( 73KB PDF file)

Diagram of Changes for the Business Skills Program (115KB PDF file) 

Innovation Points Test ( 72KB PDF file)

Significant Investor ( 61KB PDF file)