To Secure Your Future in The UK Only Use A Qualified OISC Immigration Adviser

Cynthia Barker writes…Make sure you use a legal, OISC registered qualified immigration adviser for immigration advice to secure your future in the UK. I've been warning migrants to stay away from illegal, fake immigration advisers for years, yet I still hear stories of migrants being ripped off by crooks.

The OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) regulates immigration advisers in the UK. Advisers have to train, pass exams and carry out CPD to keep up with changes in the Immigration Rules. 

You can check the OISC adviser finder to make sure your adviser is registered and qualified at the correct level - for instance, only level 3 firms can handle appeals, bail hearings or detention cases.

It is illegal to give immigration advice in the UK unless you are qualified and registered with one of the regulatory bodies, such as the OISC or Bar Council.

Lawyers can give advice, but often lack the specialist knowledge of the UK Immigration Rules and guidance, which the Home Office change every five minutes!

My Solicitor can tell me everything I need to know about buying a house or making a Will, but would know nothing about lodging a visa appeal against a visa an immigration refusal or how to help an overstayer who has been detained by the Home Office and is about to be deported form the UK.

He would not even attempt to draft an application for indefinite leave to remain, UK citizenship or a spouse visa for an EEA national’s non-EU partner.

By the same token, when I see a client who also needs specialist advice on an employment matter or divorce, I refer them to the right lawyer.

In one case an abused domestic worker for a Middle Eastern family won an out of court settlement of £140,000! He came to me for immigration advice, but we identified further issues with the terms of his employment.

Finally, remember that the fake immigration adviser, or someone pretending to be a lawyer or barrister, will only tell you what you want to hear – they feed on the fact that many of you will believe anything because you want to remain in the UK. Migrants, especially those who have overstayed their visa, are vulnerable and desperate and easy prey for the criminals who steal their money and often never even submit an application to the Home Office.

If you have been affected by Home Office changes or need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

See also: How to spot a fake immigration adviser

World Cup Fever Hits London's Migrant Communities

Cynthia Barker writes...Hot and sunny in London, but this is the worst time of year for hay fever sufferers like me! But work must be done and the client comes first. Rain or shine, they just want their visa, indefinite leave to remain, UK citizenship or appeal against a refusal by the Home Office.

London is buzzing with another kind of fever...World Cup fever! With migrants from just about every country on earth living in the UK the pubs showing live matches will be heaving with fans supporting their team.

The UK has a large Brazilian population who will no doubt be watching the opening game against Croatia, our newest EU member state - there is 7 year restriction on Croatians who want to work in the UK, but they can study and work and apply for a yellow card permit (no relation to football yellow cards!).

England's opening game is against Italy on Saturday night. While I love Italy, I have to support my home side so...come on England!!!

If you need advice on any immigration matter, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Worked Until Midnight On UK Settlement Forms With Conflicting Information On Knowledge Of Language And Life In The UK

Cynthia Barker writes...Worked until midnight last night re-writing four 75 page forms, thanks to a last minute change of SET-O forms by the Home Office.

But these things are part of the job of an immigration adviser, where our biggest 'competitor' is not another firm, but the Home Office! 

Immigration Rules are constantly being changed, rarely to the migrant's benefit, websites disappearing, fees increasing and of course visa forms changing every five minutes with little no and NO grace period to use the previous version.

One reason why the Home Office have to keep ‘updating’ their forms is that they are so poorly drafted.

For instance, on page 62 of the settlement (SET-0) forms under the heading ‘Knowledge of language and life in the UK’, the question is written as follows:

“If you have to complete section 4 and you and/or a partner applying with you are aged 18-64, you must provide one of the following for each of you:”

Note the word “one”, because it then goes on to say:

“A Life in the UK test pass notification letter; and

“A relevant speaking and listening qualification, as described in the guidance on our website..." (which takes you to -https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285139/KoLL_v14.0EXT.pdf a ridiculously long link leading to a guidance document for Knowledge of language and life in the UK) - and so it goes round and round!

If the Home Office are asking for one of the following, should the form not state “or” rather than “and”?

In other parts of the form they ask for both language and Life in the UK, and the guidance is also confusing.

Despite all this, the client comes first and they are not really interested that the forms have changed or the Home Office website is down. Frankly, they just want their visa, indefinite leave to remain, UK citizenship or successful appeal against a refusal. That's why they are paying for our services, to get results!

If you need advice on any immigration matter, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

EU Free Movement Rules And 'Cash For Citizenship' Allow Wealthy Investors To Fast Track Visas

Cynthia Barker writes...Fridays are always manic, as there's always a deadline and the phones are non stop! I will get two cases off to the Home Office before close of business today: a spouse visa and an ILR or indefinite leave to remain application.

Had a call from a nurse in Malta today. Originally from Asia, he is now working in Malta as a general nurse, but would like to work in the UK.

Although Malta is a member of the European Union (EU) he cannot enjoy complete free movement within EEA countries as he is on a work permit and does not hold a Maltese passport.

Thousands of non-EU migrant workers live and work in EU countries for years without gaining citizenship. In the UK, if you are a migrant on a working visa can apply for ILR (permanent residency) after 5 years and British citizenship a year later. Workers in other EU countries are not treated so fairly.

For instance, I have met Filipino and Indian migrants who have worked in Italy, Greece and Cyprus for over 10 years who are still on temporary residence visas.

Whilst there are some common EU immigration policies, each member state still makes up there own national rules.

This year I hope to visit several EU countries to offer advice to migrant workers who may have the opportunity to gain citizenship or petition their families under EEA regulations or apply under specific judgments such as Zambrano, Chen and Surinder Singh.

As with most things in life, money talks. EU countries such as the UK, Malta, Latvia and Bulgaria are offering immediate residence to investors and, depending on how much cash you have, a fast track to citizenship - otherwise know as "cash for citizenship"!

The UK has higher limits and stricter rules on how long you need to stay in the country to qualify for a 'red' passport, but other countries are far more flexible because they need your money!

If you have 500,000 Euros to invest (normally put into government bonds) you could get an immediate 'investor visa' with residency and a EU member state passport allowing you free movement in any EU country within 3 years. Interested? Email me.

You may ask why a wealthy African, Russian or Chinese investor would want an EU passport when he or she can travel pretty much anywhere they like and live a life of luxury in their own countries? There are a number of reasons why an EU country passport offers security for them and of course their children. For example, not all countries have the same human rights protection, rule of law or fair justice in the legal system, as a few Russian billionaires have found to their cost.

Some wealthy individuals plan years ahead and want to set their children up with a more secure life in the west, while others want shelter their assets in the London property market. 

As for our nurse in Malta, he should register with the NMC and obtain a decision letter, as the UK NHS needs overseas nurses to fill 20,000 nurse job vacancies right now. Concept Care is recruiting qualified specialist nurses for the NHS and will be holding open recruitment events this year in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, China and the Philippines. In fact, wherever there are qualified English speaking nurses, Concept Care will be there! 

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Filipino Domestic Workers Still Abused But Visa Concession Protection Removed By Home Office

Cynthia Barker writes...Hi from a cloudy but warm London. Tony Blair's government introduced the 1998 Domestic Workers Visa concession to protect victims of abuse from employers. The immigration concession allowed domestic workers, many of whom were Filipino, who escaped from abusive employers to switch their visa to another employer and eventually obtain ILR (indefinite leave to remain - UK permanent residency) in Britain.

The humane safety net has been pulled, and workers now enter the UK on temporary visas tied to their employers. This means the worker is at the mercy of the family and they can no longer switch visas whilst in the UK - even if they are abused.

In a new report, 'Hidden Away Abuses Against Migrant Domestic Workers In The UK', published by Human Rights Watch, the UK government has been slammed for not doing more to protect abused domestic workers. Many domestic worker still come from the Philippines and are brought into the UK on temporary visas by their foreign employers often from the Middle East or Hong Kong.

I have personally helped many runaway victims extend their domestic worker visas with decent employers. Even though they are now British Citizens, most of them still work for the same employer. This is because the employer is paying them very well and they live in some of London's most exclusive addresses!

Some of the workers brought in by overseas employers were either paid a salary they would have received back home, and in some cases nothing at all - despite the fact that their employers were billionaires.

Liz Hurley's billionaire Indian ex-husband brought in a worker under the old system and paid her the same salary as in India.

UK workers must be paid at least the minimum wage or preferably the ‘living’ wage and they have the same rights as British workers. Unfortunately, under the current temporary visa system we have no way of enforcing these regulations or protecting the migrant worker.

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Foreign Criminal Wins Human Rights Appeal To Remain In UK Indefinitely As Immigration Judge Stops Deportation

Cynthia Barker writes...Yet another convicted foreign killer has successfully appealed to win the right to remain in the UK indefinitely on the basis that human rights under Article 8 would be breached if he was deported and separated from his extended family in Britain, Immigration Judges have ruled against the Home Office.

The Immigration Judges also granted the Somali man anonymity and he can only be identified by the initials MAI. The man had been sentenced to a five year stretch in Prison for manslaughter and also has a string of other violent criminal convictions.

At the Upper Tribunal last month, Immigration Judges ruled that MAI’s rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which preserves the right to "private and family life", would be breached if the Home Office deported him back to Somalia.

His immigration lawyers also claimed he would be attacked in his homeland by relatives of the man he killed, a further breach of human rights laws since his life would be in danger.

Doesn't the victim also have relatives here in the UK? And perhaps he should have thought about the dangers of revenge killing before he took his victims life?

Following a series of convictions including Home Secretary Theresa May attempted to deport MAI in August 2012 on the grounds that it would be “conducive to the public good” because of his violent history.

MAI appealed to the lower tier tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, which overturned the Home Office deportation order on Article 8 grounds.

MAI said would be the target of a “blood feud” by the family of the FA, who he killed in Cardiff in 1997, who was a member of the Somali Habr Awal tribe.

The Home Office appealed against the lower tier tribunal’s judgment arguing the court had “attributed insufficient weight to the public interest” and that MAI was a “persistent offender”.

At the upper tribunal in April, Judge Nicholas Renton upheld the earlier ruling, blocking MAI deportation from the UK.

The ruling stated:

“The panel found that the appellant had a family life in the UK with his mother, his adult siblings, and his niece, nephew and cousins.

“The appellant also had a private life. The panel concluded that the interference with that family and private life as a consequence of the appellant’s deportation was not proportionate.

“In reaching that decision the panel found compelling and therefore exceptional factors in the appellant’s favour being the fact that excluding the time spent in prison, the appellant had lived in the UK for over 20 years.”

Home Office spokesman said they would appeal against the decision.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We firmly believe foreign nationals who break the law should be deported and we are appealing the tribunal’s decision.

“Under our Immigration Bill, those with no right to be here will not be able to prevent deportation simply by dragging out the appeals process.

“The Bill will reduce 17 rights of appeal to four, and give the full force of law to our policy that foreign criminals should be deported despite their claim to a family life.” 

Whilst this type of human rights judgment in not uncommon, in the case the man is unmarried and has no children. MAI, aged 38, claimed he should not be deported by the Home Office as it would breach his human rights to be separated from his mother, adult siblings, and other family.

I have seen Tier 4 students deported for overstaying their visas even though they had British parents and extended family in the UK. In some cases the students, often from Filipino families, were unwilling to appeal or fight their removal orders from the Home Office.

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Home Office Increases Visa Fees But Not Spending On Immigration Website

Cynthia Barker writes...Hi from London, hope you had a great 'May Day' weekend! Monday was a public holiday in England, but holidays can't last forever, so back to work today with a long appointment for family settlement applications for an old and dear client. I really feel appreciated when a client comes back to me to help with an immigration matter such as: Indefinite Leave to Remain, Dependant Visa or UK Citizenship.

What has happened to the Home Office or UK Border Agency website? Someone has revamped it, in the process completely wrecking the site to the point where information on Immigration Rules are almost impossible to find!

The new Home Office fee increases, for visa and immigration applications, have obviously not been spent on improving the website! Whole sections have disappeared.

Ok, lunch over, must get back to preparing that important immigration application. Have a great day.

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Boris Johnson Calls For Illegal Immigrant Overstayer Amnesty

Cynthia Barker writes...Hi, from a rainy London (back to normal weather) where our famous Mayor, Boris Johnson, has again called for a Home Office amnesty for the hundreds of thousands of visa overstayers and illegal migrants living in the capital.

Going against his party's immigration crackdown policies, which he described as "crazy", the outspoken Conservative Mayor told the Total Politics magazine that people in the UK illegally should be 'legalised' and offered British Citizenship so they can become a part of normal society and pay taxes.

The Home Office fees alone on 500,000 applicants would pay off a sizable chunk of the national debt, especially of they charged a special premium rate.

Boris correctly pointed out that hundreds of thousands of visa overstayers are living in London in a black market job world where they have no papers and pay no taxes to the UK economy:

"The alternative is to continue in a situation in which half a million people or maybe 750,000 people in Britain, most of them in London, not registered, with no papers, contributing to the London economy, making money, but not paying tax," he said.

"Not paying for the NHS, not paying for social services, not paying for all the benefits that they are in many ways consuming. I think that is in the end crazy."

This is not the first time the London Mayor has spoken out against Home Office immigration policies, which he has previously said are not helping growth in the economy because employers cannot hire the right people for skilled job vacancies.

The official Home Office and government line has always been that an amnesty for overstaying migrants would simply encourage more illegal immigration, as it has done in Spain for instance.

I know many Filipinos who have been granted residency after living in Spain or Italy illegally, and some 'TNT's' (a Tagalog term for overstayers) who benefited from a previous amnesty in the UK. Many are holding on for an amnesty, or 'concession'as it is usually called, because they have not had professional advice on their chances of legalising their status in the UK.

But as Boris says, what is the alternative? Leading think tank ippr estimated that it will take 20 years and £5 billion to deport 500,000 illegal immigrants, assuming you could even find them! After 20 years an illegal overstayer would qualify for 'long stay' indefinite leave to remain anyway. Most would have put down 'family life' roots, making if difficult to remove them whilst human rights 'Article 8' applies, especially if they have children who would have already qualified to apply for British citizenship.

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Don't Give Up and Leave The UK, Appeal For Your Human Rights!

Cynthia Barker writes...another mad day, cases to finish and deadlines to meet before Home Office changes or fee hikes!

Following my recent story on domestic violence "Migrant Domestic Violence Victims Can Apply for Special Leave to Remain or UK Residence", I have received so many emails and calls from scared people that I wonder if it's just the tip of the iceberg.

When you think that convicted murderers and rapists are allowed to remain in the UK indefinitely just because they are gay or have a child, surely an innocent victim of physical abuse or mental torture should be allowed to stay by the Home Office or an immigration judge - assuming the case goes to an appeal tribunal.

So don't give up and leave the UK just like that...fight for your human rights!

If you need advice on any immigration matter, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

The Abuse of Domestic Workers In The UK

Cynthia Barker writes...As most people in the UK get back to work today after a long weekend break for Easter, spare a thought for some migrants workers who hardly ever get a proper day off - Domestic Workers.

Human Rights Watch has published a report: 'Hidden Away Abuses Against Migrant Domestic Workers In The UK', which highlights the plight of abused workers, many of them from the Philippines, who are brought into the UK on temporary visas by their foreign employers and have no means of escape.

The current government abolished the Blair government's 1998 Domestic Workers Visa concession, which allowed migrants who ran away from abusive employers to switch their visa to another employer and eventually obtain ILR (indefinite leave to remain - UK permanent residency) in Britain.

I have helped many such runaway domestic workers obtain new visas with decent employers and some of them are now British Citizens, yet still work for the same employer. Why? Because the employer is paying them very well, they live-in at some of London's most exclusive addresses and they have more net disposable income more than most people working in the UK.

Many of the victims brought in by overseas employers, usually from the Middle East or India, were either paid the same wage they would have received back home or in some cases nothing at all - despite the fact that some of the employers were billionaires!

Take the case of Liz Hurley's billionaire Indian ex-husband who brought in a worker under the old system and paid her the same salary as in India.

Workers in the UK must be paid at least the minimum wage or preferably a living wage and they have the same rights as British workers.

Unfortunately, under the current temporary visa (tied to the employer) system we have no way of enforcing these regulations or protecting the migrant worker.

Why do people with so much abuse people with so little?

If you need advice on any immigration matter, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 020 8731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is an OISC registered Immigration Adviser with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Migrant Domestic Violence Victims Can Apply for Special Leave to Remain or UK Residency

Cynthia Barker writes...good morning. What a beautiful day it is here in sunny London! Working from home today, as I have a Rotary meeting and I'm also drafting a very important case (sometimes you need a bit of peace away from the office to think). My client, a pretty young Filipina married to an older British man, was a victim of domestic violence. Now, before you jump to conclusions, the domestic "violence" was not physical, but mental torture. Yes, mental torture is a form of domestic violence.

When she came to see me last year she was going through hell and after probing a little further the tears began to flood as she revealed that she had been in an abusive relationship for years.

Her manipulative husband, who was staying in the Philippines at the time, was refusing to sign her papers for ILR (indefinite leave to remain or permanent residency in the UK) and basically abusing his power over her, which I felt was mental torture.

She was here in the UK with her Son and when she came to me her visa was about to expire, yet he was delaying supporting her application for residency and even told her that she should return to the Philippines and apply from there - an application which would have almost certainly failed leaving her trapped, without means of supporting her British Son.

He had also threatened to take her child away from her, which he could have done had she been stuck in the Philippines while he skipped back here with the boy.

This bully knew exactly what he was doing to her, but I was so determined that I wasn't going to let him get away with it!

We literally spent days on the case. We took a lot of time to gather all the evidence and put in a special application for ILR on the basis that her British husband was paying games and torturing her. Fortunately, the Home Office agreed and, thank God, they issued her indefinite leave to remain in the UK in just 15 days!

Last week she came back to me to process her application for naturalisation and British Citizenship, which will secure her long term residency in the UK. She looks a different person, happy and confident again.

I just want to say to all migrant spouses or partners (men or women) who may be victims of domestic violence, torture or an abusive relationship, however bad your situation may seem, talk to someone, take advice and see a qualified immigration adviser. Even if you have overstayed or broken the UK Immigration Rules, you should never give up hope of justice.

If you are the victim of abuse or domestic violence, or need advice on any immigration matter, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 020 8731 5972 or email her your details and number Immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is an OISC registered Immigration Adviser with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.