Who should get to stay in the UK?

The first instalment of the three part series featured the full range of Immigration applications from Asylum seeker, entrepreneur to overstayer all with different stories to tell:

• Valeria- a Russian citizen applying for an Entrepreneur Visa;

• Dillian- a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago applying for Asylum;

• Rashed- a Bangladeshi citizen appealing on Human Rights grounds to stay in the UK having overstayed on his student visa;

• Ajmal- a UK citizen wanting to recruit chefs to work in his expanding restaurant business but unable to fill the chef vacancies after three years of trying to recruit from within the UK.

We are delighted to say that the second instalment of the BBC series will feature Nancy, advised by Stephen Slater, in-house advocate at OTS Solicitors. We will not reveal her story as we will leave you to watch the second instalment of the programme without a spoiler, but we think Nancy’s story makes compelling viewing.

What about the people who featured in instalment one of the new fly in the wall series on UK immigration law? Although, the programme featured not only applicants and their representatives but gave Immigration statistics and the views of campaigners from a number of different organizations, the heart of the programme was all about the individuals and their interactions with their legal advisors. It highlighted not only the range of Immigration law issues that the Home Office and courts adjudicate on, but also the role of the Immigration solicitor. Each lawyer not only showed empathy but also was not afraid to challenge their clients to get them ready to face a Home Office interview, tribunal or court hearing. It was a heady combination of gritty realism, with the hero of the piece being a busy National Health Service doctor taking time out to attend a tribunal hearing for one of her patients.

If you have an Immigration query concerning your Immigration status or a business related Immigration question then OTS Solicitors can help you.

OTS Solicitors are specialist in Immigration law matters based in London. The firm is recommended for Immigration law in the Legal 500 publication of leading UK lawyers. OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors status as trusted specialists in Immigration law.

If you need any advice about personal or business immigration law please call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to speak to one of our experienced London immigration solicitors who will be happy to help.

Immigration – a burden or gain for the UK

The programme, through individual stories, asks the question does Immigration create a burden or gain for the UK.

Take the case of Ajmal, a highly successful business owner keen to expand his business but unable to recruit specialist chefs within the UK. His frustration at the UK Immigration Rules was apparent to all viewers. He could not build a new restaurant on his earmarked site without the staff to work in it. If he grew his business, he would put money into the UK economy by creating construction jobs and then by paying additional taxes on increased restaurant profits.

Ajmal’s entrepreneurial expansion plans were thwarted because he could not recruit specialist chefs from a non-EEA country, as although chefs are on the UK Shortage Occupation List the current Immigration Rules do not allow employers to recruit overseas chefs through use of the Shortage Occupation List if the restaurant or business provides take away meals.

The Migration Advisory Committee has recommended expansion of the Shortage Occupation List, and if the government implements the committee recommendations Ajmal will be able to recruit his chefs to expand his business. In the meantime, he waits and it could be argued that the UK is the net financial loser.

Take the case of Valeria, the Russian citizen keen to invest £200,000 in the UK to set up a fashion business and obtain a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa. Whilst the programme was being filmed, the government announced its plans to scrap the Entrepreneur Visa and to introduce the Start-up visa and Innovator visa. Her lawyers assessed her prospects of securing the Entrepreneur Visa, after carefully reviewing her business plans, but we were left not knowing whether she had been successful in her visa application. What we did however learn was that before the Entrepreneur Visa was scrapped £400 million pounds a year was raised in investments into UK business.

The programme gave a glimpse of the toll that an Immigration case takes on individuals. It featured Dillian who was applying for Asylum fearing persecution as a homosexual man in his native Trinidad and Rashed who was making a Human Rights appeal after overstaying on a student visa. Rashed feared a return to Bangladesh would mean that he would not receive the same level of medical care for his life threatening health condition.

What was apparent from the two young men’s cases was not only the financial stresses the National Health Service is under but also the resourcing issues faced by the Home Office.

For the top London immigration solicitors perhaps the most compelling aspect of programme one of the BBC series “who should get to stay in the UK?” was that it showed the daily reality of the lawyers battling the system, caring for their clients whilst at the same time not shying away from challenging their stories or being afraid

to give honest and sometimes unpalatable advice to help their clients.

It is fair to say that all of us at OTS Solicitors will be glued to our screens to watch the next instalment of “who should get to stay in the UK?” on Thursday at 9 pm.

Central London OTS Solicitors help individuals and businesses with all aspects of Immigration law.

Our specialist individual immigration team can help you with all types of visa applications, EU Settlement Scheme settled status applications, Asylum seeker and Human Rights claims, and challenging Home Office decisions.

For advice about how OTS Solicitors can help you please call us on 0203 959 9123.