Frequently Asked Questions

It’s the Government’s approach towards the legal admission of foreign nationals (ie non EU nationals) who are subject to immigration controls. It covers all legal routes in which foreign nationals can come to the UK – ie work permits, working holidaymakers, low skilled employment schemes, spouses and students.

For more information on working in the UK and the points-based immigration system, go to the UK Border Agency website.

For more information on visa requirements go to:
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

ILR = Indefinite Leave to Remain = permission to remain in the UK permanently.

Settlement = Permission to stay in the United Kingdom permanently (another term for 'indefinite leave to remain' )

Leave to remain = Permission to stay in the UK.

An extension of permission to stay granted to someone who is already in the United Kingdom.

Naturalisation = A way of applying for British citizenship which is open to people who have indefinite leave to remain and have lived in the United Kingdom for a minimum period.

A collective term for visas; entry certificates and family permits for family members of EEA nationals.

British diplomatic posts overseas issue entry clearance which acts as evidence of a person's eligibility for entry into the United Kingdom. As of now, visas and entry certificates (with the exception of Direct Airside Transit Visas and exempt visas) will give the holder leave to enter the UK.

We do not comment on individual immigration cases.

A husband, wife, fiancé or fiancée may apply to come with or join their partner in the United Kingdom as long as the partner:

• currently lives and is settled in the United Kingdom; or
• is returning to the United Kingdom with them to live here permanently
• and are aged 18 or over

He or she must also show that:

• they legally married to each other;
• they are going to live together permanently as man and wife;
• they have met each other;
• they can support themselves and any dependants without help from public funds;
• they have adequate accommodation where they and their dependants can live without help from public funds; and
• he or she is not under 16.

If an individual has more than one husband or wife, only one of them will be allowed to join their partner here as their husband or wife.

When the husband or wife arrives in the United Kingdom, they will be given permission to stay and work for 2 years. Near the end of the 2 years, if the couple are still married and plan to live together, the husband or wife may apply to remain here permanently. Or;

In some cases, we can grant settlement entry clearance. This gives the husband or wife permission to settle in the UK permanently as soon as he or she arrives. To get settlement entry clearance, the individual must:

• have married four years ago;
• have spent that four years living together with their spouse outside the United Kindgom; and
• now be returning to the UK to settle here together.

Designated Register Offices: From 1 February 2005 non- EEA foreign nationals, who wish to marry in the United Kingdom, will be required to produce a certificate of approval or proof of entry clearance as a spouse or marriage tourist and give notice of intended marriage at a specially designated register office, which they must attend with their partner. All register offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland and 76 register offices across England and Wales will be designated.

Family Permits: From 7 February 2005, a non EEA national family member will need to demonstrate their lawful residence in a member state before they can be issued with a family permit to enable them to accompany - or join - their EEA partner in the UK. The changes will help us to identify marriages of convenience, and so limit the movements of people in these marriages. The length of a family permit is also reduced from twelve months to six, bringing it into line with the length of a visit visa. This will help ensure those seeking to reside in UK without their EEA partner are unable to do so for any length of time.

From 15 March 2005, Entry Clearance Officers at points of entry will be able to refuse a person entry to the UK if they are not satisfied about a person's marriage plans.

Overseas students (outside of the EU) are able to come to the UK to study if they can show that they have been accepted on a course of study and can support themselves without recourse to public funds. If a prospective student is from a visa national country they will need a visa to enter the UK. Nationals from all non visa national countries will now need a visa if they are staying longer than six months.

If a student is in the UK and wants to extend their stay for further studies they will need to apply for further leave to remain. From 1st July 2005 - the basic student visa charge when applying from your home country rose to £85 from £36. The fee for further leave to remain for a student application made by post is £250. A fee of £500 will be charged for all applicants using the voluntary, premium service, for a same-day decision.

The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme is part of the Scottish Executive's Fresh Talent Initiative. The aims of the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme are to encourage participants to gain some work experience in Scotland after study and to consider pursuing their long term career there. It will do this by:

• helping overseas students who have studied in Scotland to remain and work in Scotland after their studies; and
• making it easier for these students to move into other managed migration routes by giving them two years experience of working in Scotland.

An Act of Parliament that orders carriers to make payments to the Secretary of State for any passengers brought into the United Kingdom without the correct documentation.

A visa issued solely to permit a person to pass through an airport in the UK on the way to their final destination. It does not allow them to enter the United Kingdom.

The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill was published on 22nd June 2005. It goes into the Committee Stage on 18th of October.

The development of the Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) was initiated because a need for low skilled short-term casual labour. The pilot has been operating since 30 May 2003, and allows UK employers to recruit overseas nationals to fill certain, specified low-skilled posts (below NVQ level 3) within hospitality and food processing sectors. The SBS permits are issued on an annual quota basis. The quota for 2004/05 was set at 15,000, with 9,000 allocated to the hospitality sector, and 6,000 to Food Manufacturing.

A full review of SBS started in autumn 2004. Food Manufacturing quota remained the until 31 May 2006. The Hospitality quota was scrapped because of abuse of the scheme, and evidence that many employers in this sector were able to meet their labour needs from an expanded EU. The scheme came to an end on 1st July, 2005 at midnight.

The decision on the immediate future of SBS, should be viewed in the wider context of the Government's Five-Year Strategy for Asylum and Immigration, published in February 2005. This proposed that in the light of the additional labour now available from the new EU countries, the current quota based schemes, such as SBS, would be phased out over time in consultation with the industry sectors

The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme - allows farmers and growers in the UK to recruit overseas workers to undertake work that is both seasonal and agricultural. The scheme helps to meet the shortfall in the supply of seasonal labour from within the UK and European Union.

The SAWS has existed for many years and as well as being an important source of seasonal labour to UK farmers and growers, many overseas workers benefit from the opportunity to earn money and experience some of the culture and sights of the UK.

The SAWS is managed by Work Permits (UK), part of the Home Office. Work Permits (UK) contracts with a number of organisations known as Operators to administer the scheme on its behalf.

Currently the scheme is being run with a limit on the total amount of time that can be spent in employment. Although a two-year stay in the UK will be allowed, only 12 months employment in total will be allowed. In addition, countries who wish to continue to benefit from the scheme will have to show that they are co-operating with us on the return of their nationals who are here in breach of the immigration rules.

Recent changes to the scheme were announced on the same day as the publication of the five year strategy. They are referred to in the strategy document.

The scheme is open to all Commonwealth countries apart from Lesotho, which has said it does not want at the moment to continue to participate.

Citizenship, can be confired through registration or naturalisation, means becoming a British Citizen and obtaining your own passport.

Changes will come into force from November 1st 2005 that will require new applicants to demonstrate knowledge of life in the United Kingdom as well as the existing requirement of a knowledge of English. New regulations came into force on 28 July 2004 requiring all those applying for naturalisation to demonstrate knowledge of English to the standard of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Entry 3 or recognised equivalent qualifications and applies to spouses as well as principal applicants.

Government believes strongly that the acquisition of British citizenship should be recognised and celebrated as a crucial stage in integration into British life.

We want to encourage those who are settled in the UK to play a full part in their wider community and take up British citizenship.

Under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, we expect successful applicants to attend citizenship ceremonies held in their local communities.

This new arrangement applies to all applications we receive on or after 1 January 2004.

At the citizenship ceremony, new citizens make an oath or affirmation to Her Majesty the Queen and a pledge of loyalty to the United Kingdom. After this the citizen receives a certificate.

A website relating to Citizenship Ceremonies  provides more information.

All statistics on numbers and nationalities given leave to remain and all other immigration and asylum statistics can be found at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html