| Advisory: UK Government Announces Changes to Student Visa Regulations |
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| Written by from pna uk |
| Wednesday, 10 March 2010 12:14 |
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UK Home Affairs Minister Alan Johnson announced on 10 February 2010 a number of changes to Tier 4 (Student Visa) Regulations under the UK Points-Based System of Migration (PBS). The initial Ministerial announcement outlines broadly measures resulting from a comprehensive review of the Tier 4 scheme as relayed initially by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in November 2009. In the Ministerial Statement/Notes released by the UK Home Office, the UK Government announced the following modifications designed to achieve “a balanced and targeted package of measures to tackle the abuse of Tier 4 by economic migrants whilst at the same time continuing to safeguard the ability of genuine international students to come to the UK to benefit from our world class education system and bring benefit to our economy.”: Students will only be allowed to work during the school term for 10 hours a week instead of the present 20 hours a week Students registered in courses of six months or less can no longer bring dependants with them to the UK Students’ dependants are not permitted to work unless they qualify in their own right under Tier 1 (General) as a highly skilled migrant or as a skilled worker under Tier 2 (General worker, sportsperson or Minister of Religion) The above changes will apply to adult students coming to the UK to study below degree level in the further education and English Language sectors. These changes will not apply to students coming to the UK for a foundation degree (broadly the equivalent of the first 2 years of a Bachelor’s degree), courses at degree level or above, and those coming in as child students at independent (private) schools. Minister Johnson announced further that the changes will come into force on 03 March 2010 and all Tier 4 applications submitted on or after this date will be subject to the new restrictions. The Philippine Embassy reiterates its advice for all prospective applicants under Tier 4 to secure up-to-date information on new regulations, procedures, and requirements from the UK Embassy in Manila. Advisory: Latest Warnings on Fake Online Job Offers Filipino online jobseekers looking for employment in the UK are advised to be more cautious in view of the rampant cases of bogus internet job offers. They should be wary of attractive jobs offered by the employers or their agents who would ask them to remit a certain amount of money purportedly to pay for the processing of their visas or work permits and other travel-related expenses. The Philippine Embassy in London, through the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and the Philippine Nurses Association of UK (PNA UK), urges all Filipino jobseekers to be more discerning as these internet job offers come in various schemes to defraud them of their hard-earned money. Among the UK jobs which have been offered to Filipino applicants lately include positions like Nannies, Au Pair, Hotel staff, Store Manager, Salesmen, Engineers, and many others. The following information/advisory should serve as guide to UK-bound Filipino jobseekers: 1. Filipino jobseekers who have been ‘offered’ positions through the internet should advise their prospective UK employers to submit the original copies of their employment documents to the POLO Office, Philippine Embassy in London for verification and authentication. For their part, they should not rely on scanned documents sent to them by emails such as employment contract, appointment letters and the like, as most of these are found to be forged or fabricated; 2. To ascertain the authenticity of the job orders, employment contracts as well as the legitimacy of UK employers, Filipino jobseekers are advised to check with the POEA. They may also send their email-request for verification by POLO London at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (for nurses); It is not enough to know if the employers really exist or that the jobs are available. Filipino jobseekers should also verify for themselves by using internet search engines like ‘Google’ in contacting the UK employers directly through their official websites; 3. The new UK Points-Based Immigration System has done away with the requirement of the old ‘work permit’ which is now replaced by the ‘certificate of sponsorship’. To be able to issue a certificate of sponsorship in favor of a candidate or applicant, the prospective UK employer should be duly licensed as a sponsor by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). Filipino jobseekers should verify the status of their prospective employers in the list of sponsors which can be found at the UKBA website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk. The payment for the certificate of sponsorship is also shouldered by the UK employer; 4. Application for UK visa is done in the country of origin, i.e., at the British Embassy in Manila, and not in the UK. Visas are issued based on the points criteria for qualifications, prospective earnings, maintenance funds and English language proficiency. Since the visas are applied at, and issued by the British Embassy in Manila, applicants should not give credence to the scanned copies of visas purportedly applied in their behalf by their employer’s agents, including immigration consultants, solicitors or travel agents; 5. As regards hiring of Au Pair, it is advised that no Au Pair visas will be issued by the British Embassy to Filipino nationals since the Philippines had never been included in the UK’s list of Au Pair countries. Incidentally, the Au Pair visa scheme had already been abolished effective last 26 November 2008 and has been replaced by the Youth Mobility Scheme under the new UK Points-Based System; 6. As to the hiring of Nannies or domestic workers, it is an important requirement for purposes of domestic worker visa application that the candidate must have worked with the sponsoring employer for at least one (1) year prior to the date of application. Hence, to qualify to come to the UK to work as a Nanny or domestic worker, the Filipino applicant must be an established member of the employer’s household. The visa is also applied at the British Embassy in Manila. For further clarifications or inquiry, please contact POLO London (Labor Office), Philippine Embassy, at email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (for nurses). |
| Last Updated on Sunday, 28 March 2010 06:53 |