Changes to Tier 1 application requirements (13 February 2012)

From today we have revised the guidance notes for all Tier 1 categories, and made changes to the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) application form for use by applicants who are already in the UK.

We have revised policy guidance in all Tier 1 categories to include a paragraph about the circumstances when we will contact applicants about missing or incorrect documents.

The Tier 1 (General) policy guidance also includes a change to the list of governing bodies for accountants.

The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) application form and policy guidance have been revised to allow applicants to use money invested in a UK business while they were here in a different immigration category.

Applicants should use the new form with immediate effect, but we will continue to accept applications made on the previous version of the form up to and including 5 March 2012.

Full details of all the changes can be found in the change tables on the right side of this page.

New student rules to welcome the brightest and best while tackling abuse (13 February 2012)

New rules will come into force within weeks to cut abuse of the student visa route and ensure that only the brightest and the best students can stay and work in the UK, Immigration Minister Damian Green announced today.

Students can currently work in the UK for 2 years after their studies have finished, under the Tier 1 (Post-study work) route. But from 6 April, a more selective system will come into effect so only the most talented international graduates can apply to stay in the UK for work purposes.

Only those who graduate from a university, and have an offer of a skilled job at a salary of at least £20,000 (or more in some cases) from a reputable employer accredited by the UK Border Agency, will be able to continue living and working in the UK in order to benefit the British economy.

The rules are part of a radical overhaul of the student visa system, which will:

• encourage growth - a new Graduate Entrepreneur route will open, with up to 1,000 places for students working on world-class innovative ideas who want to stay and develop them but do not meet the requirements of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route;
• boost the economy - young entrepreneurs or small company directors will get the chance to stay on in the UK after their studies if they have £50,000 to invest in their business;
• ensure that students can support themselves - for the first time since 2008, there will be an increase in the amount of money that students and working migrants (and their dependants) must prove they have to support themselves financially during their time in the UK; and
• tackle abuse - restricting work placements to one-third of the course for international students who are studying below degree level will ensure that those coming to the UK are here to study, not to work (as was often the case in the past). Additionally, the time that can be spent studying at degree level will be restricted to a general limit of 5 years.

Damian Green said:

'It is vital that we continue to attract the brightest and the best international students, but we have to be more selective about who can come here and how long they can stay.

'In the past, too many students have come to the UK to work rather than study, and this abuse must end. With the introduction of the Graduate Entrepreneur route and the restrictions on student work, we are reforming the system to deliver immigration to benefit Britain.'

For full details of the changes that are coming into effect, you can download a statement of intent from the Home Office website.

Appealing immigration and asylum decisions from (19 December 2011)

From today, the UK government's Ministry of Justice is introducing new fees for some asylum and immigration appeals, and changing the way customers can submit their appeals.

This new policy reflects the government's view that users of the appeals system, who can afford to pay, should contribute to the system's cost. Fees of £80 for a paper consideration and £140 for an oral hearing will be applied to appeals against decisions taken on or after 19 December 2011.

These are low-level fees that should be affordable for people who are required to pay. The proposed fees are not set at full cost recovery, but only recover around 25 per cent of the full cost of administering the appeal system. The government considers that it is an appropriate balance between low, affordable fees which enable access to justice, and a meaningful contribution towards the costs of the Tribunal.

Applicants who appeal decisions dated 19 December 2011 or later from outside the UK will be required to submit their appeals directly to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in Leicester and will no longer be able to send them to the visa application centre overseas that made the initial decision. For more information about this process please see the Ministry of Justice website.

Applicants who want to appeal a decision dated before 19 December 2011 from outside the UK are still able to send their appeal to the visa section that made the initial decision. For further information about this process please see the Appeals section on our website.

A new online payment facility will be available shortly. This will allow applicants to make an appeal and payment online for decisions dated from 19 December 2011. Appellants must be able to pay using a MasterCard or a Visa credit or debit card or be submitting an appeal which does not require a fee to be paid. Appellants can ask another person to pay the fee on their behalf using their payment card details, with their permission. For more information about submitting appeals online please see the Ministry of Justice website.

UK opens its doors to exceptionally talented migrants (20 July 2011)

The government has today announced the way that it will encourage exceptionally talented leaders in the fields of science, humanities, engineering and the arts to come to the UK.

The new Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) category will open on 9 August 2011. This new category will facilitate not only those who have already been recognised but also those with the potential to be recognised as leaders in their respective fields. There is a limit of 1,000 places in the first year of operation. There will be 500 places available between the 9 August and 30 November and a further 500 places available from the 1 December to 31 March 2012. The number of places will be reviewed at the end of March 2012.

Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) will be overseen by world-renowned 'competent bodies', which will advise the UK Border Agency on these 'exceptionally talented' migrants to ensure that they are the brightest and best in their field:

• the Royal Society, a fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists, will be able to nominate up to 300 places;
• Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts, will also be able to nominate up to 300 places;
• the Royal Academy of Engineering, Britain’s national academy for engineering, will have up to 200 places to nominate; and
• the British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences will be able to nominate up to 200 places.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said:

'The UK is a global leader in science, humanities and engineering and we are a cultural centre for the arts: we will continue to welcome those who have the most to offer and contribute to our society and economy.

'Our new exceptional talent route, available for up to 1,000 applicants, will ensure that we continue to attract the brightest into the UK and keep the UK a global leader.

'This comes at a time of major reform of the immigration system to bring net migration back down to the tens of thousands, tackle abuses and make sure that the immigration system meets the needs of the country.'

Migrants seeking entry to the UK under Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) will not need to be sponsored by an employer, but will need to be recommended by one of the competent bodies.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said:

'We welcome the launch of this special visa scheme, which will enable the very best artists of international standing to live and work in the UK.

'The international exchange of artists enriches their art, and I’m sure audiences will welcome the opportunity to experience the finest artistic talent from across the world.'

It will be for each competent body to select those who will qualify for recommendation, and we have also published the criteria for their endorsement.

The President of the British Academy, Sir Adam Roberts, said:

'The Humanities and Social Sciences are flourishing in the UK and attract many excellent scholars from overseas. 

'The British Academy is ready to play its part in identifying those outstanding scholars for whom Tier 1 is the appropriate visa category.'

While the government has allotted a number of places to each body, it will be open to the bodies to transfer additional places to those with more demand if this becomes necessary.

The President of the Royal Society, Sir Paul Nurse, said:

'The UK is a global leader in science because we can attract the best minds from around the world to work with our own home-grown talent. 
  
'The government has listened to the science community’s concerns about jeopardising our international leadership by restricting the immigration of scientists and the Royal Society will play its part in ensuring that the very best international talent can continue to come to the UK to work.'

Those admitted under Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) category will initially be granted permission to stay for 3 years and 4 months. They will then be able to extend their stay for a further 2 years, and settlement may be available after 5 years’ residence in the UK.

President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Sir John Parker FREng, said:

'In order to safeguard the UK's future competitiveness, we must ensure that it remains an attractive destination for world class engineers.
'I am confident that this new visa route will help to encourage global excellence to come to the UK.'

Free Education in Germany, Norway & Finland

If you any one student shows the interest for going to free education in Germany & Norway I define in detail about two countries.

Germany Education

Germany, the largest economy in the European Union and third in the world, is home to some of the most renowned researchers of the history, like Albert Einstein, Max Planck or Alexander von Humboldt, just to mention a few of them. Germany is also a highly popular educational destination among students from other states of the European Union as well as from outside Europe. Whether you plan to study in Germany as an exchange student, free mover or a full degree student, you will benefit from low tuition fees and the world-known quality of the higher education in Germany.

Following a judgement of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), students are charged registration and tuition fees at universities and colleges in Germany as of 2005. However, there are some federal states (Länder) where universities still do not charge tuition fees. In general, tuition fees are approximately 500€ per semester and registration fees are about 50€ per semester.

The lists below show you which federal states (Länder) charge registration and tuition fees so that you can prepare your bugdet to study in Germany:

Federal states (Länder) that charge tuition fees of approximately 500€ per semester:

Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland

Federal states (Länder) that charge registration fees of approximately 50€ per semester:

Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western

Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Thuringia

Norway Education

Would you like to study in Norway? Norway, the country of the fiords, perpetual snows, northern lights, trolls and vikings, offers a unique combination to enjoy your time as a student. Whether it is the large array of international study programs and courses, the informal atmosphere that makes it very easy to approach teachers, free tuition or the opportunity to meet students from other parts of the world, many students like you decide to study in Norway each year.

Students don´t have to pay tuition fees at public universities in Norway. However, they have to pay a small but compulsory fee of around 50€ per semester to the student union. Paying the student union fee will give you access to various benefits, like discounts in meals or public transportation system, as well as access to other services to help you while you study in Norway.

Requirement for Admission

1.       Secondary School Certificate & Transcripts

2.       Intermediate Certificate & Transcripts

3.       Bachelor Degree & Transcripts

4.       Master Degree & Transcripts

5.       Two Reference Letter from Last attending institute

6.       IELTS Certificate ( 5.0 to 6.0)

7.       Detail CV (Discus with our concern person)

8.       Motivation letter

If you need any further information requirement please contact with us.

Regards

Fawad Ullah

Chief Executive Officer

Brightspark Education Consultants (BEC)

Phone: +92 (0)91 570 2952 | Fax: +92 (0)91 570 2953 | Cell: +92 (0)313 859 9100

Email: fawad@brightspark.com.pk | fawad@brightsparkconsultants.co.uk

Website: www.brightspark.com.pk | www.brightsparkconsultants.co.uk

Registered office: 146 Halley Road London, United Kingdom, E7 8DU

Registration number: Registered in England and Wales No. 07498643

Changes to the new list of English language test and providers (8 July 2011)

On 6 April we published a new list of approved English language test providers for applications made under Tiers 1, 2, and 4 of the points-based system and for spouse or partner applications. Today, we have made some changes to this list.

The updated list includes:

• new acceptable test certificates for business language testing service (BULATS);
• clarification that we accept the test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) ibt test (internet based test); and
• new test scores for tests conducted by Pearson.

You can download the revised list from the right side of this page.

Details of the list can be found in our news story published on 6 April 2011.

New application forms for Tier 4 and dependants under the points-based system (4 July 2011)

Today we have published new versions of application forms for Tier 4 (General), Tier 4 (Child) and dependants under the points-based system. These forms are for use by applicants who are already in the UK.

You can download the forms from the right side of this page, and should use them with immediate effect.

In line with paragraph 34(I) of the Immigration Rules, we will continue to accept applications made on the previous version of each form up to and including 24 July 2011. From today, we will consider all applications under the current Immigration Rules (which were also revised today), regardless of the application form that was used.

We have updated the Studying in the UK section of this website with current information for Tier 4 migrants, including changes to their right to bring their dependants to the UK.