14 December 2009
A Hayes firm is facing a potential fine of up to £170,000, after 17 illegal workers were arrested during a UK Border Agency raid.
Acting on intelligence, officers targeted the premises of Only 4U Ltd on Bullsbrook Road on the morning of Thursday 10 December.The operation was part of an ongoing clampdown on illegal working in the west London area, and coincides with a large-scale advertising campaign warning bosses of heavy fines if they are caught employing illegal foreign labour.
The 17 men, all Indians and Sri Lankans aged between 22 and 49, were arrested for a variety of immigration offences. Ten were failed asylum seekers. The UK Border Agency will now seek to remove all of them from the country.
The employers have been told they will face a fine unless they can prove that they carried out the correct right-to-work checks on staff.Inspector Dick Stratton of the UK Border Agency said:
‘Illegal working has a serious impact on communities, taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.
‘We are happy to work with businesses to ensure they know what checks have to be done on staff, but those who do break the law will face action.
‘My officers will continue to target illegal working to reduce the attractiveness of the area to illegal immigrants, and more operations are planned in the future.’
Civil penalties for businesses that fail to carry out the proper checks when employing migrant workers from outside Europe were introduced by the government in February 2008, allowing fines of up to £10,000 per illegal employee.
Popularity: 20% [?]
04 December 2009
The UK Border Agency has responded to claims in the media that some education providers may be prevented from enrolling foreign students.
The claims were made following the publication today of a Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report into Tier 1 of the points-based system. The Tier 1 (Post-study work) route enables migrants to stay and work here after they have completed a course of study at a specified level in the UK. The MAC has recommended that the government should review whether students on some UK education providers’ courses should still be able to access the post-study work route – however, it did not suggest that these education providers, or the students taking their courses, are not genuine.
Under Tier 4 of the points-based system, which was launched earlier this year, only those educational establishments that are dedicated to providing quality education and taking responsibility for their students are licensed to sponsor foreign students. Tier 4 ensures that students can feel confident in the quality of the education they will receive in the UK, and minimises the risk of exploitation by ‘bogus colleges’. Any education provider that is licensed as a Tier 4 sponsor will be able to continue enrolling foreign students.
The government will now consider the MAC’s recommendations regarding Tier 1, and will announce whether it accepts them in early 2010. The announcement will be published on this website.
Popularity: 15% [?]
03 December 2009
An amended version of the Tier 4 policy guidance, which covers applications to study in the UK under the points-based system, has been published today.
This amended version contains no policy changes and solely corrects a number of formatting errors in the earlier release.
Popularity: 14% [?]
