IMMIGRATION MATTERS

By Charles Kelly Immigration Adviser & Director of Overseas Consultancy Services and Co Author of “How2 Come to the UK to Live Work Study or Visit”

 

In this month’s edition

 

  • FURTHER UPDATE ON DOMESTIC VISAS

 

  • MOST RESIDENTS FAIL NEW CITIZENSHIP TEST

 

  • UK CIVIL PARTNER VISIT VISA APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED

 

 

FURTHER UPDATE ON DOMESTIC VISAS

 

Would you like your Nanny to join you in the UK?

 

Many of you may have seen last month’s Mizmo and the recent interview on TFC with Labour Attaché Vic Ablan, in which he discusses the issue of Filipino Nurses and Carers bringing their domestics or nannies to the UK to look after their children.

 

Filipino nurses working in the UK with young families have often previously employed a Nanny or Domestic person whilst in the Philippines to look after their children. Most are unaware that they could have their Nannies join them in the UK.

 

Domestic workers provide personal services e.g. chauffeurs, gardeners, cooks and nannies linked to the running the employer's household.

 

General Rules for Domestics

 

You should be aged between 18 and 65. You will need to prove that you have worked as a domestic worker in the same household as your employer for one year prior to your application, or that you have been working in a household that your employer uses regularly for at least one year prior to your application. You will need to show a connection between you and your employer, your employer’s husband or wife or your employer’s child (under 18). The position should be a full-time domestic worker in the same house as your employer.

Source How 2 Come to the UK to Live Work Study or Visit

 

UK RESIDENTS FAIL NEW BRITISH CITIZENSHIP TESTS

From 2nd November 2005 all immigrants wishing to acquire British citizenship must pass a test to demonstrate their knowledge of the country's customs and history. Potential citizens must answer 75% of the 24 questions correctly to pass the test which costs £34.

Immigration minister Tony McNulty says it is not a test about being British:"It doesn't measure how good a citizen they are going to be, but it is an important pathway from their previous status to the status of a full and productive citizen."The number of people granted British citizenship rose to more than 140,000 people last year, up 12 percent on 2003.

Do you know what an MP is, or can you name the head of the Church of England?

Just for fun Immigration Matters posed some of the questions (see sample questions below) to a group consisting of Filipino Work Permit holders, UK residents and British Citizens of Filipino origin. Of those questioned not one would have passed the test and many failed to correctly answer a single question.

None of the participants knew where “Geordie” or “Scouse” was spoken or could name the dates of St Davids Day or St Andrews Day, however one of the girls in the group was able name the date of St Patricks Day! The only question they were all able to answer correctly was the one on trade union rights.

Although this was just a light hearted bit of fun, it did highlight how obscure some of the questions are, especially when the natives can’t even answer them. The Guardian Newspaper reported that that at a recent training day held at the University of Chester only one of the 20 teachers who took the test passed it.

Cynthia Barker, Immigration Adviser and Recruitment Manager of Bison Management UK, a leading Nursing and Healthcare Recruitment Company which has helped thousands of people come to the UK, also felt the test could be tough. “People will have to do some serious study if they are going to have any chance of passing these tests” she said, and added “how can people born abroad be expected to know when St Andrews Day is when most English people don’t even have a clue!”.

Cynthia is also co author of a new book designed to help people come to the UK, “How 2 Come to the UK to Live Work Study or Visit”.

Some of the questions would-be citizens will be grilled on in multiple-choice format.
Q. Where are Geordie, Cockney and Scouse dialects spoken?
A. Tyneside, London’s East End, Liverpool
Q. Is the statement below true or false: Your employer can dismiss you for joining a trade union. A. False
Q. Which of these statements is correct?
A television licence is required for each television in a home OR A single television licence covers all televisions in a home.
A. The second statement is correct

 

UK CIVIL PARTNER VISIT VISA APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED

The Civil Partnerships Act 2004 came into force on 5 December 2005. A visa is necessary for anyone who is not British, settled in the UK, or an EEA or Swiss national. Civil partnerships are a new legal relationship which can be registered by two people of the same sex and give the couples legal recognition for their relationship. Same-sex couples can now register a civil partnership, and will have equality of treatment in a wide range of legal matters with those opposite-sex couples who enter into a civil marriage. Civil partners will have rights including recognition for immigration and nationality.

Anyone involved in a civil partnership may wish to apply for this visa in order to come to the UK and then apply for permission to remain in the UK.

Those subject to immigration control must demonstrate to the registrars that they hold either:

*       Entry clearance granted to register a civil partnership; or

*       The written permission of the Secretary of State; or

*       Settled status in the UK;

Written permission of the Secretary of State is granted in the form of a Certificate of Approval, like those for a marriage. To qualify for a certificate of approval applicants need to have been granted over six months leave in the United Kingdom with at least three months remaining.

We cannot cover this complex subject in one article, however, if you should have any questions or views you would like to express concerning any Work Permit, Visa Extensions, Leave to Remain or any other issues please email Charles Kelly at info@overseasconsultancy.com, visit www.overseasconsultancy.com or call 0870 041 4658 to speak to one of our advisers.

 

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If you would like to see previous Immigration Matters articles published in Mizmo visit www.overseasconsultancy.com or www.recruitnurse.com