New U.K. Student Visa Charges for Indians: What to Know

Bikes are chained to the railings in front of the Radcliffe Camera building on March 22, 2012 in Oxford University.

Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Indians studying in the United Kingdom will now have to pay a fee to cover possible treatment under the country’s National Health Service. The payment, announced Friday, is part of a broader push to recoup some of the cost to the British taxpayer of migrant healthcare.

Indian and other migrants from outside the European Economic Area who stay in the U.K. for more than six months will have to pay £200 ($295) a year when they apply for a visa starting April 6. Students will have to pay £150. Those already in the U.K. from outside the EEA will also have to pay the new surcharge if they extend their stay.

India is the largest exporter of students to the U.K. after China and had 19,750 of its citizens enrolled there in higher education in the academic year 2013-14, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency. But numbers have fallen sharply in recent years as visa rules have changed to make it more difficult for Indian students to work in the U.K. In 2009-10 for example, India had 38,500 students studying in U.K. universities, Hesa said.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/03/20/new-u-k-student-visa-charges-for-indians-what-to-know/

Changes to 457 visas announced

Tony Davey , CEO of The Davey Group, with Guilong Li, his leading hand boilermaker, surrounded by his other foreign workers who work under a 457 visa. Source: News Corp Australia

EMPLOYERS will still have to advertise jobs locally before hiring skilled workers from overseas.

The federal government has adopted most of the recommendations from a review of the 457 visa scheme including relaxing English language requirements.

According to a report in The Australian, integrity checks will be strengthened including an increased focus on employers who seek to exploit the program.

Assistant Immigration minister Michaelia Cash said there will be penalties imposed on businesses that accept payments in exchange for sponsoring visa holders.

“We will proactively prosecute and name and shame offenders exploiting overseas workers and misusing the program,” she told News Corp.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/changes-to-457-visas-announced/story-fnkgbb6w-1227267575963

Egypt scraps visas on arrival for British travellers

Thousands of Britons visiting Egypt will soon face the hassle of negotiating embassy bureaucracy, after authorities in the country announced the withdrawal of visas on arrival for those travelling outside an organised tour.

Under new rules, to be introduced from May 15 and laid out in a statement by the tourism ministry, "individual" travellers will have to pre-arrange their entry visa either by visiting the Egyptian Consulate in London or by making a postal application, which can take up to five days to process.

Full details of the new system – which may make a revival of Egypt's beleaguered tourism industry a more difficult proposition – have not yet been announced. It appears likely that the phrase "individual" traveller refers to all those visiting the country independently, rather than as part of a package tour. The cost is also to be established, but a tourist visa for British nationals applying in London is currently £20.

The Egyptian Consulate says that visa processing takes two working days for those who apply in person, and up to five for applications submitted by post.

The change will make travel more problematic for many. Independent travellers account for about 15-20 per cent of Egypt's tourists.
EasyJet had 393,000 seats available to the Egyptian cities of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh in 2014, indicating the country's popularity with those making their own arrangements. The Red Sea resorts are attractive destinations for Britons seeking winter sun, and divers enticed by the rich underwater life in the region. The airline said that it is currently working with the Egyptian and British authorities to understand the scope of the proposed visa changes.
 
^{Divers are attracted to Egypt's Red Sea resorts for the colourful underwater. Photo: AP}
The tighter entry restrictions are reportedly the result of security services needing more time to assess individual applications to visit Egypt, where civil unrest and political instability has been commonplace during the last four years. Security sources said that the changes were also intended to monitor visits by Western human rights advocates, who have criticised the Egyptian government’s harsh treatment of liberal activists.
Read more: Ancient Egyptian burial site may contain one million bodies
The tourism ministry believes that the decision will only have a “small effect” on the industry, still a significant contributor to the Egyptian economy despite the slump that has affected it since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Visitor numbers fell dramatically from 14.7 million in 2010 to around 10 million last year.
"The industry depends on the large groups brought in by tour operators”, a tourism ministry spokesperson said.
Khaled Ramy, Egypt’s new tourism minister, said last week that the country hopes to generate $20 billion in revenue from tourism by 2020 by attracting a total of 20 million visitors.
 
^{Egypt's attractions have been emptier than in the past because of fears over political instability. Photo: AP}
But the new regulations appear to counter Egypt’s intention to improve its image, and may make reviving the tourism sector more difficult.
Anthony Sattin, a Telegraph Travel contributor and expert on Egypt, said that independent tourists may well find the process of obtaining a visa longer. "I doubt Egyptian consulates are ready for the influx", he said, adding that, "it will certainly do nothing to attract the extra 10 million annual visitors that the new minister of tourism is currently chasing." He also pointed out that visas obtained in London are more expensive than those tourists can currently obtain on arrival, which cost USD$25 (£17).
A spokesperson for the Egyptian tourist office in London said that they had no information on the changes and were waiting for the official position from Cairo, expected early next week.
Read more: how well do you know Ancient Egypt?
While most Britons will currently make use of the visa on arrival system, applying for an Egyptian visa in advance is possible. It involves negotiating short opening hours and submitting a raft of documents. Potential visitors must provide two recent passport photographs along with the £20 fee, passport and a completed application form. Applicants only have a three-hour window on weekday mornings to submit their paperwork, and a 90-minute afternoon slot for collecting successfully processed visas. Those who apply in person must come back to collect their visa in person, as the Consulate will not send passports in the post.
Discover our great range of Egypt holidays and hotels with the Telegraph Travel Collection, including once in a lifetime trips along the river Nile.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africaandindianocean/egypt/11479913/Egypt-scraps-visas-on-arrival-for-British-travellers.html 

Call for overseas graduate work visa for Scotland

Students from outside Europe should be given special permission to stay and work in Scotland after their studies have finished, according to a report.

The Scottish government's Post-Study Work group said the work visa, which was abolished by the UK government in 2012, should be reintroduced.

A Home Office spokesman said the system had been open to "widespread abuse".

But the Post-Study Work group said there was "overwhelming" support for its re-introduction in Scotland.

The post-study work visa had allowed non-EU graduates to remain in the UK for two years.

Under the current rules, students from outside the EU are allowed to stay in Britain for four months at the end of their courses and if they get graduate jobs they can switch from student visas to work visas.

Graduate jobs

In December, Home Secretary Theresa May gave her backing to a plan that would require all foreign students to leave the country at the end of their courses.

Mrs May believes the current rules are being abused, with many students staying in the country illegally after their studies.

The plan put forward by the Conservatives would require anyone whose student visa expires to leave the country and re-apply if they want to continue their studies or take up graduate jobs.

But Scottish Europe and International Development Minister Humza Yousaf said the Post-Study Work group report showed there was a "clear indication that business and education in Scotland are equally keen to see the reintroduction of post-study work visas."

He added: "Immigration policy is currently too heavily influenced by the priorities of the south east of England, based on the values of the current UK government and driven by a desire to reduce the numbers of incoming migrants which does not recognise Scotland's needs and does not serve our economic or societal interests.

"Scotland's needs are different to those in the rest of the UK. Scotland has a large, established migrant community and the Scottish government welcomes the contribution new Scots are making to our economy and society."

Negative impact

Mr Yousaf said the post-study work visa would help Scotland attract and retain "world-class talent to fill vacancies which cannot be filled by resident workers".

He said the report made clear the negative impact on education institutions, communities and the economy since the scheme was closed in 2012.

The minister said: "We welcome the Smith Commission's view that the UK and Scottish governments should work together to explore a potential new post-study work scheme for Scotland and will make every effort to work with the UK government to ensure that such a route is re-established in Scotland."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The student immigration system we inherited was open to widespread abuse.

"In its place, we are building an immigration system that works in the national interest by attracting the brightest and the best to study and work in top universities and good jobs, not allowing bogus colleges to cheat the rules and letting graduates remain to drive pizza delivery vehicles.

"In fact, we are seeing record numbers of applications to our universities with figures up by almost 18% under this government - and our elite Russell Group institutions are leading the way, showing a 30% rise since this government came to power.

"Britain remains the second most popular destination in the world for international students behind only the US, and has seen significant growth from key countries including China and Malaysia."

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-31998769

While the government recently said it would waive visa requirements for 30 countries starting in April, legal issues may delay its implementation as an Indonesian law stipulates that visa exemptions could only be made on a reciprocal basis.

Tourism Ministry’s spokesperson Vincent Jemadu said that the ministry would propose the elimination of the “reciprocity basis” clause, which could hamper implementation of the visa-free privilege for the 30 countries.

The Immigration Law No. 6/2011 stipulates that the only foreigners who are allowed to enter Indonesia without visas are citizens of countries that similarly don’t require Indonesians to get tourist visas.

“In order to effectively implement the visa-free policy we do need to revise this law; otherwise we have to conduct a painstaking process of negotiation for reciprocity,” Vincent said.

“We are planning to propose this [revision] to the Law and Human Rights Ministry to support the government’s plan to boost the country’s foreign exchange income from the tourism industry,” he continued.

Through the visa-free policy, the government aims to attract an additional 3 million tourists this year, bringing the overall target up to 11 million tourists.

Malaysia, which waives visa requirements for 164 countries without any reciprocity basis, welcomed more than 27 million foreign tourist last year.

As reported, the government would extend the visa-free policy, which was initially set for China, Japan, South Korea and Russia only, to 30 countries, including Canada, Mexico and the US.

Also included on the list are European countries such as Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, in addition to South Africa and Middle Eastern countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Currently, tourists from these countries are still required to pay a US$35 fee for a visa-on-arrival for a 30-day stay in Indonesia.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly earlier said that the government would keep pushing the aforementioned countries to also adopt the visa-free policy for the sake of reciprocity.

Pushing for reciprocity, however, will be a daunting task for the government.

French Embassy press officer Gaspard Vignal said that Indonesia’s planned visa-free policy would possibly attract more tourists from France to Indonesia. “France is enthusiastic about this project; more French will be able to come and visit Indonesia. For the reciprocity, however, France is under the Schengen rule for visas. The country is not the only one to decide,” he said.

Separately, Adam Rutland, the head of media and communications at the British Embassy, said that the UK visa requirement was given a regular review and there was no plan to change the visa requirement yet.

Law and Human Rights Ministry’s acting director general for immigration Tengku Syahrizal said that the ministry was still waiting for an official direction regarding the implementation of the visa-free policy, which was planned to come into effect in April.

“Based on the law, it should be implemented on a reciprocal basis, but the government has decided to waive visa requirements, even though it is not in accordance to our law,” Tengku said. “There are no specific instructions for us yet.” - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/23/free-visas-30-nations-violates-law-may-not-fly.html#sthash.0laRtIy5.dpuf

While the government recently said it would waive visa requirements for 30 countries starting in April, legal issues may delay its implementation as an Indonesian law stipulates that visa exemptions could only be made on a reciprocal basis.

Tourism Ministry’s spokesperson Vincent Jemadu said that the ministry would propose the elimination of the “reciprocity basis” clause, which could hamper implementation of the visa-free privilege for the 30 countries.

The Immigration Law No. 6/2011 stipulates that the only foreigners who are allowed to enter Indonesia without visas are citizens of countries that similarly don’t require Indonesians to get tourist visas.

“In order to effectively implement the visa-free policy we do need to revise this law; otherwise we have to conduct a painstaking process of negotiation for reciprocity,” Vincent said.

“We are planning to propose this [revision] to the Law and Human Rights Ministry to support the government’s plan to boost the country’s foreign exchange income from the tourism industry,” he continued.

Through the visa-free policy, the government aims to attract an additional 3 million tourists this year, bringing the overall target up to 11 million tourists.

Malaysia, which waives visa requirements for 164 countries without any reciprocity basis, welcomed more than 27 million foreign tourist last year.

As reported, the government would extend the visa-free policy, which was initially set for China, Japan, South Korea and Russia only, to 30 countries, including Canada, Mexico and the US.

Also included on the list are European countries such as Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, in addition to South Africa and Middle Eastern countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Currently, tourists from these countries are still required to pay a US$35 fee for a visa-on-arrival for a 30-day stay in Indonesia.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly earlier said that the government would keep pushing the aforementioned countries to also adopt the visa-free policy for the sake of reciprocity.

Pushing for reciprocity, however, will be a daunting task for the government.

French Embassy press officer Gaspard Vignal said that Indonesia’s planned visa-free policy would possibly attract more tourists from France to Indonesia. “France is enthusiastic about this project; more French will be able to come and visit Indonesia. For the reciprocity, however, France is under the Schengen rule for visas. The country is not the only one to decide,” he said.

Separately, Adam Rutland, the head of media and communications at the British Embassy, said that the UK visa requirement was given a regular review and there was no plan to change the visa requirement yet.

Law and Human Rights Ministry’s acting director general for immigration Tengku Syahrizal said that the ministry was still waiting for an official direction regarding the implementation of the visa-free policy, which was planned to come into effect in April.

“Based on the law, it should be implemented on a reciprocal basis, but the government has decided to waive visa requirements, even though it is not in accordance to our law,” Tengku said. “There are no specific instructions for us yet.” - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/23/free-visas-30-nations-violates-law-may-not-fly.html#sthash.0laRtIy5.dpuf

Boost for Indian IT workers as US L-1B visas now easier to get

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama today announced an easing of the process to obtain L-1B work visas for corporate executives, a move that could end the large scale harassment of IT professionals from India and make it easier for Indian companies to bring employees here.

Such a move, Obama argued would attract larger foreign direct investment to the US.

"I'm pleased to announce a new action I'm also taking to make it easier for global companies who are present here today to launch and invest in the US. My administration is going to reform the L-1B visa category, which allows corporations to temporarily move workers from a foreign office to a US office in a faster, simpler way.

"And this could benefit hundreds of thousands of non-immigrant workers and their employers, that in turn, will benefit our entire economy and spur additional investment," Obama said in his address to the SelectUSA Summit.

A large number of Indian companies are participating in the SelectUSA Summit aimed at increasing US exports and attracting more foreign investment into the US.

Large scale decline of L-1 visas was a major hindrance in Indian companies investing in the US.

"One of the things that would make America even more attractive to businesses and that would grow our economy and shrink our deficits, and keep this country safer, stronger, and smarter, would be a comprehensive immigration reform package," he said.

"That's why I'm going to continue to push and prod and poke and cajole friends in the Republican party to get on board and help us get this done. We need to get immigration reform done here in the United States of America. That's who we are. So the bottom line is this: America is proudly open for business," Obama said.

"We want to make it as simple and as attractive for you to set up shop here as is possible. That is what this summit is all about," he said, and hoped that global companies would benefit from the new measures.

Obama said there has never been a more exciting time to do business in the US. 

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/boost-for-indian-it-workers-as-us-l-1b-visas-now-easier-to-get/articleshow/46669758.cms