UK IMMIGRATION NEWS

HSMP Visa Holders to reclaim old visa extension rules.

Thursday, 14 August 2008

A recent court ruling by a UK High Court has meant that visa extension rules from the old Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) will be made available for some individuals.

A recent court ruling by a UK High Court has meant that visa extension rules from the old Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) will be made available for some individuals.

The UK High Court ruled that the government's retrospective changes to HSMP extension criteria were unlawful. This meant that people who received their HSMP approval letter prior to 7 November 2006, were able to apply for an extension under the older, easier extension criteria.

The HSMP was a points based immigration program that allowed highly skilled individuals from around the globe to live and work in Britain provided they achieve enough points based on a variety of criteria such as age, past earnings and qualifications. It has since been replaced this year by the Tier 1 (General) program which is part of the UK’s new five-tier points based system.

The ruling came about after the HSMP Forum Ltd, a support group for HSMP visa holders had filed a judicial review in response to the legislative changes, stating that HSMP visa holders had a "legitimate expectation" that the new criteria would not apply to them.

The court ruling was made on 8 April 2008, and the British government is now in the process of amending the policy to accommodate HSMP Visa holders who are eligible for extensions under the old rules.

People who received their HSMP approval letter after 5 December 2006 are still required to comply with the new stricter extension rules.

The new rules require them to be re-scored against the same points test under which they were originally assessed when they first applied for their HSMP visa, where as applicants under the old rules only need to show that they have made significant efforts to be productive and active in the UK .

If you are interested in UK Visas, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to the UK.