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I hope Living in USA is right forum for threads related to living in UK, Europe or anywhere outside India as well. If not, request admin to move this to more proper place.

There have been recently a lot of changes in UK immigration rules and laws. There are good forums available on the net (like this) on UK immigration.

We can use this thread to discuss / share these.

Permanent Residence in the UK -

The length of time you must spend in the UK before being eligible for Permanent residence in the UK:

Permanent residence - Time needed to gain permanent residency
HSMP and Work permit - 5 years
Ancestry - 5 years
Marriage - 2 years
Unmarried partners - 2 years
Investors - 5 years
Writers, composers and artists - 5 years
Sole reps - 5 years
Persons establishing
themselves in business - 5 years
Unlawful stay or a combination
of lawful and unlawful stay - 14 years
Lawful stay on any basis - 10 years

Some of the times needed to gain permanent residence changed on April 3, 2006.

As of 02 April 2007, persons requesting permanent residence will be required to take the "Life in the UK" test.

Once permanent residence (properly known as indefinite leave to remain) - PR (ILR) has been granted, there are no longer any immigration related restrictions on the work or business you may do in the UK, and no time limits on your stay in the UK.

You should note that to keep your permanent residence you should not spend longer than two years outside the UK. You should maintain ties to the UK and should consider the UK as your home.

If you continue to only spend short periods of time in the UK over many years it is likely that there will come a time when you will lose your indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

It is therefore beneficial in most cases to apply for UK citizenship. You can normally apply for naturalisation as an UK citizen one year after being granted indefinite leave to remain and as long as you meet the residence requirements.

Naturalisation / Citizenship is the next step after Permanent Residence has been obtained. Normally one can apply after one year from getting the PR.

There are two broad categories for naturalisation:

1. Naturalisation after five years in the UK
2. Naturalisation after three years in the UK as a spouse of an UK Citizen

As of November 1, 2005, you also have to pass the UK government's new Life in the UK test before you can apply for citizenship.

1. Naturalisation after five years in the UK

If you are not married to a British Citizen you will need to meet the following requirements to apply for naturalisation:

[LIST=1]

You must be aged 18 or over and are not of unsound mind.

You must be of good character.

You should be able to communicate in the English language (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic).
There are exemptions to this requirement, for example if you are elderly or mentally handicapped.

You should intend to live in the UK or in Crown Service abroad (working directly for an UK Government organisation), or be employed by an international organisation of which the UK is a member, or be employed by a company or association established in the United Kingdom.[/LIST]If you are not married to an UK Citizen you will need to meet the following residence requirements over the last five years.

[LIST=1]

You must have been living in the UK exactly five years before the date the application reaches the Home Office; and

During the five-year period you must not have been outside the United Kingdom for more than 450 days (about 15 months); and

During the last 12 months of the five-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and

During the last 12 months of the five-year period your stay in the United Kingdom you must have held permanent residence/ indefinite leave to remain (ILR); and

You must not have been living in the United Kingdom in breach of the UK immigration rules at any time during the five-year period ending with the date that the application is received by the Home Office.[/LIST]2. Naturalisation after three years in the UK as a spouse of an UK Citizen

The requirements for naturalisation as a spouse of a British citizen are very similar to those mentioned above. The main difference is that there is a shorter residency requirement of three years in the UK as opposed to five years. The three years of the residency requirement are counted from the date your naturalization application is received by the Home Office.

Further details on residency requirements are as follows:
[LIST=1]

You must have been living in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the three- year period; and

On the date that your application is received in the Home Office, you must have permanent residence/ ILR in the UK; and

During the three-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 270 days (approximately 9 months); and

During the last 12 months of the five-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and

You must not have been in breach of any UK immigration rules at any time during this three-year period of residence in the UK.[/LIST]

Life in the UK Test website - Required to pass before applying for PR / Citizenship
Working in the UK - Home - Govt website - giving centralized info on work visa requirements
Immigration and Nationality Directorate | Immigration and ... - UK IND main website

Immigration and Nationality Directorate | Application forms
British Nationality

Working in the UK - Information about the Highly Skilled Migrant ...

British citizenship tests planned

[QUOTE]

Ms Smith said migrants from outside the EEA would no longer have an option of living in the UK without becoming more committed to society over time.
In the future, she said, they would be encouraged to "move on" through a system that leads to citizenship - or choose ultimately to leave the country.
The package of measures includes:

Raising visa fees for a special "transitional impact" fund

More English language testing ahead of nationality

Requirements to prove integration into communities

Increasing how long it takes to become British

Ministers say the impacts fund and its fees are yet to be worked out but would be designed to ease pressures caused by the movement of people.


Press reports suggest it would raise £15m a year

The system could see migrants with children or elderly relatives expected to pay higher application fees. Migrants would find their route to citizenship and full access to benefits, such as higher education, accelerated if they can prove they are "active" citizens.
This would include proof of charity work, involvement in the local community and letters from referees. At the same time, those who break the law would find the process far harder - or would be barred completely from becoming British.

http://www.tier12345.co.uk/
The new 5 tier system H.S.M.P Cheapest Fees UK Visa services London
Five tier system for UK visas

[QUOTE]
From Spring 2008, immigration to the UK will undergo a complete process of reform, replacing much of the current system of UK visas and UK work permits with a five tier points-based immigration service.

The new system will replace specialist routes to living and working in the UK such as the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, or HSMP, and will supersede the UK work permit visa system, streamlining and rationalizing the wide variety of immigration visa services available at present.


How will the new system work?The tier system will simplify the process of applying for a UK visa, restructuring more than 80 types of visa for immigration currently in use into a more straightforward, transparent system.


The new system consists of the following five categories:? Tier 1 visa Migrants with desirable professional skills.
? Tier 2 visa Skilled workers with an offer of employment.
? Tier 3 visa Temporary, low skilled workers.
? Tier 4 visa Students.
? Tier 5 visa Youth mobility schemes/ temporary workers.
Tiers 1 and 2 of the system will offer potential routes to settlement in Britain and may lead to the opportunity to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR), often known as permanent residency. Although details are yet to be finalized, it is estimated that the option of permanent residence would be available after two years for applicants in the first tier and after five years for applicants in the second. Beyond this, subject to meeting the appropriate requirements, an applicant may be able to undergo British Naturalization as a UK citizen.
In tiers 2-5 applicants will need to obtain a certificate of sponsorship from the relevant sponsoring body. For tier 2 visas this would be a sponsoring British company, for tier 3 visas the operator of a specific worker scheme, for tier 4 visas the educational institution and for tier 5 visas the home Government of the candidate.



Introducing the system:Implementation of the tier visa system will begin in April 2008 followed by a stage by stage roll out. The new system will focus British immigration services towards attracting those candidates best equipped to contribute professional skills and experience to the British economy, to reduce the opportunities to abuse the system, and to delegate some responsibility for applicants to their sponsors.

UK unveils Tier 1 points-based immigration system in India- Visa ...

[quote]
Underscoring the importance of skilled Indian immigrants for Britain, the British minister for borders and immigration, Mr Liam Byrne, on Wednesday unveiled the first tier of his country?s new points-based immigration system in New Delhi.

What this means for Indian professionals who wish to make UK their home is that, they will have to qualify on points-based criterion, as in Australia or Canada, to apply for immigration to UK.

?The system is much simpler that the older highly-skilled migrant programme (HSMP) which it will replace and applicants can assess themselves through a simple online form before putting in their applications,? Mr Byrne told ET.

Tier 1 is the topmost tier of Britain?s new immigration system and the next two tiers, namely Tier 2 and Tier 5, will be unveiled next by the fourth quarter of 2008. Tier 2 targets skilled workers with a job offer and Tier 5 is for temporary workers such as musicians, actors and sportsmen.

To be eligible to apply for Tier 1, applicants will have to score points on a scale of 75 + 10 + 10. What this means is that while 75 points will be calculated on educational qualifications, 10 points will be on the basis of previous earnings while the rest will come from knowledge of English, age and work experience in the UK.

?The new Tier 1 immigration is to ensure that we attract the right people to fit in with the economic needs of the country. We will have two independent monitoring bodies that will keep on updating the economic needs and skills shortage areas in Britain, so that the migrants can fit into the right kind of jobs. The first committee is the migration advisory committee comprising labour market economists while the second is a group of public servants. The system will be one of continuous reviews so that it remains flexible,? the minister said.

The new regulations will come into effect in Britain from February 29, while applicants in India can start applying from April 2008. While addressing the concerns of thousands of Indians who moved to the UK under the former HSMP and now find themselves without jobs and hence face deportation, Mr Byrne said that they would be granted three years leave before their cases were reviewed

While that will be a big advantage in terms of an extra year to look for a job and settle down, we have also eased the norms for work permit holders who can calculate their period under work permit towards the five-year settlement requirement,? Mr Byrne said. He also clarified that Indian junior doctors who were already in the UK did not face immediate deportation.

?However, in future the policy towards giving Tier 1 visas to junior doctors from India will be forward facing and not retrogressive. This is because the Labour government believes in reviving medical colleges in Britain and hence we now have a pool of domestic junior doctors,? he said.

One big advantage that the new UK system of immigration for highly skilled immigrants has over US or Australia, is the fact that no upward caps have been announced. ?We feel that the points-based system is the most flexible and scientific and are not looking at any quotas as of now,? Mr Byrne said.
[/quote]

UK Immigration Points Based Tier System

[QUOTE]
Introduction

During 2008, the United Kingdom will be overhauling its immigration law and implementing a points based system for non-European Union migrants wishing to come to the UK to work, study, and train.
The new immigration system will be broken into a five tiers that will replace the current 80 or so routes that exist now. Each tier will have different conditions, entitlements, and entry requirements for migrants wishing to work in the UK.
The United Kingdom recently released information about Tier 1, the first tier to be implemented in early 2008. Tier 1, for highly skilled migrants, will be broken into four sub-categories, including general highly skilled migrants, entrepreneurs, investors, and foreign graduate students of UK educational institutions.
Below is the current outline that the government has provided about the new points based tiered immigration system. However, this information is subject to change as the system comes closer to launch, so please refer back to this page from time to time in case anything changes.
Five Tiers

The five tiers are outlined below. Click each Tier to get more information:

Tier 1: For highly skilled migrants, entrepreneurs, investors, and graduate students. This is designed to replace the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), the Entrepreneur and Investor schemes, and the International Graduates Scheme.


Tier 2: This is for skilled workers who have a job offer. This tier will encompass the current UK Work Permit rules.

Tier 3: For a limited numbers of lower skilled workers to fill temporary shortages in the labour market.

Tier 4: Students.

Tier 5: For youth mobility and temporary workers, such as those who come under Working Holiday agreements with other countries.

Tiers 3 and 5 are temporary migration schemes and migrants who fall under these tiers will not be able to switch to a different tier from within the UK. The UK has also suspended Tier 3 in favour of migrants from the EU; however, this may change depending on labor market demands.
Tiers 1, 2, and 4 will be eligible to switch to another tier once they are in the UK if they can meet the requirements of that tier. Tiers 1 and 2 can potentially lead to settlement if the permanent residence requirements are met at the time of application.
Points Structure

Each tier will require the migrant to score a sufficient number of points to gain entry clearance or leave to remain (permanent residence) in the United Kingdom. Points will be awarded for various criteria specific to each tier. In all tiers, points will be awarded for criteria which indicates that the individual is likely to comply with immigration requirements.
In Tiers 1 and 2, points will be awarded for criteria such as age, previous salary or prospective salary, and qualifications; a system similar to the current Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) which has proven very successful. To get an idea of how this system will work, please see our HSMP Points Calculator.
When more details are known about the points structure, workpermit.com will have tools in place to help people assess themselves to see how likely they are to successfully qualify for each tier.
Sponsorship

All migrants applying under Tiers 2-5 will be required to have sponsorship from a licensed sponsor (an employer or educational institution). The certificate of sponsorship assures that the migrant is able to perform the particular job or course of study.
Highly skilled Tier 1 migrants do not require a job offer and thus do not require sponsorship.
Dependants

Dependants are allowed to come to the UK with the main applicant. However, they will not be allowed to work if they accompany a student under Tier 4 or a temporary worker under Tier 5 if -- in both cases -- the individual has been given less than 12 months leave to remain in the UK.