New Work Registration Scheme (WRS) Form

The Worker Registration Scheme application forms and guidance have been revised and are now available to download from the forms and guidance section of Home Office Work Permits.

You can download the WRS form from this link

WRS Form

Anyone completing a WRS application from 1st January 2007 should use the revised version (01/2007).

The main changes to note are:

Page 2 of application form - The correct postal address for completed applications is now included on this page. This has been reiterated throughout the form to address the issue of applicants sending their application to the wrong address.

Section 4 of the application form - Minor amendments to the text of questions 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27.

Number 7 of the guidance notes - A paragraph has been included to clarify the status of Accession State Nationals married to UK citizens and their requirement to register on the scheme.

Number 11 of the guidance notes - The correct contact details for the Complaints Team has been included.

New powers to capture foreign nationals' biometrics

Powers to compel foreign nationals in the UK to register their biometrics will be considered by the Home Office in the New Year.

The power would be introduced on a rolling basis and would build on biometric IDs for foreign nationals, which will be introduced from 2008, targeting those applicants where cards will bring the greatest benefits, such as migrant workers seeking to extend their stay in the UK.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said:

"We're determined that Britain won't be a soft touch for illegal immigration. Compulsory biometric identity for foreign nationals will help us secure our borders, shut down access to the illegal jobs, which we know attracts illegal immigrants, and help fight foreign criminals.

"The technology is already making a difference, stopping illegal immigrants returning to Britain once they've been deported, helping trusted travellers pass securely through our borders and cutting down abuse of the asylum system."

British govt to relax procedures for training of overseas doctors

The British government has decided to conditionally open the door for international medical doctors after suspending the ‘Overseas Doctors Training Scheme’ under the proposed new immigration rule.

In May this year, the British government banned overseas doctors from getting on-job training, affecting thousands of postgraduate doctors from around the world. The law is expected to be enforced in early January 2007.

Earlier, overseas doctors used to get a temporary six-month visa to the UK and were allowed to look for a medical job and get training. Later they were permitted to seek visa.

The governmen since September has opened the door. Now there is a new system whereby international medical graduates can come to the UK but only for short term training.

Overseas doctors can work for two years provided that they get a work permit, noting that they will be paid on par with the British doctors.

Rapist asylum seeker due damages

A failed asylum seeker convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl is to be awarded damages after a judge ruled he was unlawfully detained in prison.
The 31-year-old, known as "A" for legal reasons, was held for 20 months after serving his sentence while authorities tried to deport him to Somalia.

A High Court judge ruled his detention became unlawful because of its length, and he was entitled to compensation.

Human rights lawyers said he could get up to £50,000 from the Home Office.

Mr Justice Calvert Smith, sitting in London, said the detention became unlawful because of its length, the impossibility of achieving removal and misleading statements for immigration officials.

He also said there had been a failure to consider releasing the man with an electronic tag, an option available since July 2005.

The judge said although "A" had been desperate to remain in the UK, that was not enough to displace the illegality of his detention.

He added that it was not necessary for the man to stay in the UK while damages were assessed.

But it is thought "A" may seek a further judicial review against attempts to deport him.

Media requests that the man should be identified given his criminal record were rejected.

The judge said naming him could hamper Home Office attempts to deport him.

"A" first arrived in the UK in May 1995.

He completed an eight-year prison sentence more than three years ago, for the rape of a young girl at knifepoint.

Minister in the dark over new east European migrants

The government has no idea how many Bulgarians and Romanians have been prevented from coming to Britain by restrictions placed on their employment rights when the countries join the EU, Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, said yesterday.

At a joint hearing of the Commons home affairs and European scrutiny committees, he said it would be "very unwise" to make predictions about the scale of demand for entry into Britain when the two countries join the EU on January 1.

The Home Office was embarrassed when a study by University College London, which it commissioned, predicted between 5,000 and 13,000 workers would come to the UK in the first year when eight countries including Poland joined the EU in 2004, well short of the estimated 600,000 who did so.

John Denham, home affairs committee chairman, put it to him that "given that experience, they would rather not ask the question at all in relation to Bulgaria and Romania, and we've seen nobody will be attempting to make any estimate of what might happen".

Mr Byrne said ministers had not endorsed the lower figure. But he added: "The committee can draw its own conclusions about the value for money the Home Office obtained [from that study]." He went on: "The choice we have to make here is not to stop immigration from Bulgaria and Romania for ever, it's a question of how quickly open access is available."

Michael Connarty, chairman of the European scrutiny committee, said: "What you seem to be saying is this is policy taken in a vacuum of evidence."

John Reid, home secretary, has announced restrictions which will limit employment for Bulgarians and Romanians to 16,250 agricultural workers for up to six months, 3,500 in the food processing industry for up to a year, around 1,800 skilled workers and the self-employed.

Workers from both countries have to be allowed unfettered access to the UK labour market from 2014.

Mr Byrne acknowledged there were no limits on residency rights, provoking warnings from Tory MPs of an increase in the black economy. David Heathcoat-Amory said: "You are trying to restrict immigration from Bulgaria and Romania by the sole device of trying to get the law-abiding workforce to register."

The minister said there were anecdotal reports that immigration from the "A8" who joined in 2004 had put pressure on "some local schools struggling to cope" and anecdotal reports of overcrowding in private housing. There was no evidence of significant strain on the health service. The influx had helped motor economic growth and the Bank of England had reported it had helped keep inflation down.

Mr Byrne would not be drawn on potential pressure from emigration from Turkey, if it succeeded in joining the EU.

Mutiny asylum centre nearly empty

Some 430 detainees have been moved from an immigration centre after it was damaged during large-scale unrest.

About 50 people are left at Harmondsworth, the largest complex of its kind in the UK, following protests over living conditions.

Those transferred - about 144 foreign nationals and 286 immigration offenders - have been moved to various prisons and immigration centres.

Damage caused by the mutiny could rise to millions of pounds.

About 150 "low risk" detainees will be released from other centres so the Harmondsworth evacuees can be transferred.

Protests erupted at the centre on 29 November following a prison watchdog report which was critical of standards there.

Introduction of new rules for people applying for settlement

All adults who apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) inthe UK on or after 2 April 2007 will need to demonstrate knowledge of language and of “life in the UK” in addition to meeting the usual requirements for settlement.

What is Knowledge of Life in the UK?

This is the need to demonstrate knowledge of life in the United Kingdom as well as language ability. There are two ways in which you can do this:

• If you are already at or above ESOL (English for Speakers of other languages) Entry 3 standard of English you will be able to undertake a specially developed short test called "Life in the UK Test".

Or

• If you have not reached ESOL Entry 3 you will need to gain an approved English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualification through attending an ESOL course which includes citizenship materials at a local college.

Life in the UK Test

You may take this test if your language ability is the equivalent of ESOL Entry 3 or above. You will need to take the test on a computer at one of the 100 or so Life in the UK Test centres in the UK. The test is managed on behalf of the Home Office by UfI Ltd, which is responsible for "learndirect" and "UK online centres". The test consists of 24 questions based on the information contained in the handbook "Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship”. The handbook was originally published in December 2004 and a revised handbook is due to be published in early 2007. You need to make sure you read the correct edition of the handbook, which will vary depending on when you take your test. If you are taking the test on or after 2 April you must study the second edition of the handbook. The handbook is available from The Stationery Office and many bookshops and is priced at £9.99. The book can be ordered online from: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop. The test itself will cost you £34 and you will be told the result on the day.

Further details can be found in the Question and Answers below, and on the Life in the UK test website www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk. This website also contains a full list of centres where you can take the test. Or you can call the Life in the UK Test helpline on 0800 015 4245.

If you pass this test you will not need to produce additional proof of your knowledge of English. This is because to pass the test you will need to be competent in English.

ESOL with Citizenship Content Courses.

If you are not yet at ESOL Entry 3 you will be able to meet the new requirements by successfully completing a language course, involving learning materials which incorporate information about citizenship. These materials are intended to enable you to gain sufficient knowledge of the UK at the same time as developing your knowledge of the English language. In order to meet the requirements for settlement, you will need to show that you have progressed from one ESOL level to the next.
Courses are, or will be, available at many Further Education, Adult and Community Colleges across the UK. You will need to make sure the college course that you enrol for includes the "language with citizenship" materials and that the college will give you a letter to this effect when you have successfully gained your qualification.

You can call the learndirect helpline on 0800 100 900 for details of ESOL providers.