Latest news with #UKvisa
Arab News
15-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
UK launches eVisas for Pakistani students, workers
ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom on Tuesday said it was replacing physical visa stickers with digital immigration status records, or eVisas, for most Pakistani students and workers to streamline the application process and make it easier to prove immigration status. The change means that main applicants traveling to the UK on study or work-related visas will no longer need a physical sticker in their passport. Instead, they will use an online UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to access and share proof of their status. 'These changes to the UK visa system will make it much simpler for students and workers to prove their identity and visa status. It also means applicants can hold onto their passports, saving them time,' British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said in a statement. The rollout of eVisas for Pakistani nationals is part of a broader shift toward digital border and immigration systems across the UK. The government says millions of people already use eVisas on select routes, and the system is designed to be more secure and convenient than physical documents. The new eVisa option covers routes including students (including short-term study), Skilled Workers (including Health and Care visas), Global Talent, International Sportsperson, Youth Mobility Scheme, and various Global Business Mobility and Temporary Work categories. Holders will be able to link their passport to their UKVI account to make international travel smoother and can securely share their status with employers or landlords in England using the 'view and prove' service. Physical sticker visas will still be required for dependents, general visitors, or any applicants not traveling for study or work. Existing physical visas will remain valid until they expire. The shift comes as the UK tightens immigration rules for some categories but aims to make the application process more efficient for students and skilled workers, two groups that make up a large share of Pakistani migrants to the UK each year. According to UK Home Office data, tens of thousands of Pakistani nationals travel to the UK annually for higher education and employment opportunities. The British government said the eVisa system would eventually be expanded to cover all visa routes to create 'a more secure and streamlined process for all UK visa customers.'
The Sun
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
PGA Tour star's caddie blocked from travelling to UK for The Open after decade-long prison sentence
HARRIS ENGLISH'S caddie could be absent for The Open as he has still not received his UK visa. Eric Larson is facing difficulty obtaining a visa because he once served prison time over a drug conviction. 3 3 English is competing in the Scottish Open this week - a week before the final major of the season takes place at Royal Portrush in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. He is using a different caddie, Joe Etter, at the tournament and he could be without his right-hand man if Larson cannot get his hands on a visa. Larson, who served ten years in prison for drug offences before his release in 2006, requires an exemption to the UK's new Electronic Travel Authority rules. All US travellers to the country now require an ETA visa, which Larson applied for two weeks ago. But he has not heard anything back after his form was denied - grounds for refusal include an applicant who has been convicted of a criminal offense in the UK or overseas for which they served 12 months or more in prison. Larson said of the ordeal: "I just want to get to the British Open to help Harris." English, the world No19, said a letter is "sitting on someone's desk at the government somewhere" as Larson awaits an exemption. He said: "I guess the United Kingdom doesn't look highly on his past. "I didn't understand how complicated the process was. Someone could see this guy had something in his past 30 years ago, he's been fine the last 20. "How long does this stay with him?" Xander Schauffele jokes he was 'trending towards an alcoholic,' but he's happy to be back in Scotland English said multiple letters have been written to vouch for the caddie, including one from the office of the US Ambassador to the UK, Warren Stephens. He added: "They [Stephens' office] wrote a letter. The R&A wrote a letter. The PGA Tour wrote a letter. A charity event Eric works for in the States wrote a letter," English said. "It's not for a lack of effort. I think it could be sitting on someone's desk at the government somewhere." English could have a tricky situation on his hands as his stand-in caddie Etter will partner Davis Thompson at The Open. He said: "Joe was my Plan B. Now we're going to have to get a new Plan B."
The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Airline staff being trained to bar people without visas from flights to UK
Thousands of European airline staff are being trained to stop people boarding flights to Britain without valid visas, in a move billed by the foreign secretary as a digital upgrade to border controls. David Lammy said the measures marked a step towards 'more secure, more digital and more effective' borders, but the move could raise questions about human rights safeguards. More than 9,000 airline workers at carriers including Wizz Air, Jet2 and Lufthansa, have undertaken training to verify UK visa documents at departure gates in 39 countries, including those on major transit routes for irregular migration such as Greece, Malta, Italy and Albania. The scheme, delivered by the Foreign Office, deputises airline workers as frontline immigration officers, blocking passengers from even attempting to travel without the correct paperwork. The training is part of the broader rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and eVisa system, which requires travellers – including many EU citizens – to pre-register before entering the UK. It represents a significant overhaul to UK border controls and is now being touted as a key aspect of Labour's immigration crackdown. Lammy said: 'Tackling irregular migration demands cooperation across borders and industries to disrupt the pathways used by those attempting to enter the UK illegally. We're sending a clear message – air travel simply isn't an option without proper authorisation and registration.' The initiative could attract scrutiny from civil liberties groups that express concern over legitimate travellers, especially asylum seekers, and would outsource critical immigration decisions to private airline staff. It comes as Labour seek to outflank Reform UK on border control and respond to what the party believes is public anxiety over uncontrolled immigration. Keir Starmer is seeking to maintain a hard rhetorical line, with returns and enforcement appearing to be central to his government's approach. The eVisa system, which replaces physical ID with digital status checks, allows the government to update and track individuals' immigration status in real time. Ministers say this will make it easier to take enforcement action against overstayers and enable landlords, employers and service providers to verify people's rights in the UK more easily. British Airways said the training had been helpful for its staff, making them feel 'more confident and prepared' to implement the system. But campaigners said the policy raises questions about accountability, particularly in cases where boarding is denied in error. According to official statistics, 30,000 people have been returned under current policies, with a 23% rise in enforced returns and a 14% increase in deportations of foreign offenders since the 2024 general election. Diplomats have been instructed to promote the ETA scheme directly to European governments, while a public information campaign is being rolled out to alert EU citizens about the new travel rules. A British Airways spokesperson said: 'As a carrier, this kind of insight is extremely useful and absolutely critical for us as it will guide us in how to process our customer whilst complying with the UK laws. Our stations feel more confident and prepared in using the ETA/eVisa system.'
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Overseas carers in South West afraid over immigration overhaul
Overseas people working in adult social care have said they are "afraid" about proposed changes aimed at making it harder for international workers to remain in the carers gain the right to live and work here indefinitely if they have been working in the country on a sponsored visa for five years.A new UK government white paper proposes increasing that to 10 years to reduce reliance on international workers and boost the recruitment and retention of homegrown Aryaratne, a migrant worker from Sri Lanka who moved to Dawlish in Devon with his family to work in domiciliary care in March 2023 said: "I'm stressed. I'm thinking about it all the time." Mr Aryaratne, 42, is on a care sponsorship visa - a type of skilled worker visa that allows overseas nationals to work in UK adult social care roles under a licensed said: "We have fully integrated into society, my wife works, I work, we pay taxes, my kids have made new friends. It's an anxious time for us."We are the front line of domiciliary care. This will affect everyone across the board." There were 27,174 health and care worker visas granted in the UK to main applicants in 2024, an 81% decrease compared to the previous year according to Home Office Jose, 37, moved to Torquay from India almost three years ago and said she is also worried. She said: "This country is giving us the opportunity to bring our families and we can get a good education for our kids. This news is very sad. "If we are not allowed to stay, we will have no option than to go back. We hope they will change the rules." Her colleague Soumya Sebastian, 42, is also originally from India, and worked in Israel for nine years before deciding to come to the UK because she was able to bring her family here."We are very afraid of our future. We left our job there to come here, for our family and our future", she pair work at Sefton Hall care home in home's manager, Gabriela Ogreanu, said: "They have such high respect for the elderly. They are family oriented, they are part of the community, their contribution is massive. "We try to recruit locally from Dawlish but we barely have one or two applicants to do the job. The government says we have to recruit locally, but who wants to do the job?"Ms Orgreanu added she has a high number of staff who are anxious because of the said: "You open the borders, you allow these people to come in. You allow them to bring their families, to rent, to integrate into the community. "But then you suddenly decide that actually its too many of them and can we send some home. It's wrong." Naeem Ahmad runs Eschol House Nursing home in Portscatho, Cornwall and employs seven international said he feels the signalling that's coming from central government around migration is "wholly negative" and is "not good for morale" in his team. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:"We recognise the scale of reform needed to make adult social care attractive as a career: we want it to be regarded as a profession, and for the people who work in care to be respected as professionals."That is why we are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement and implementing the first universal career structure, giving care workers better pay, conditions, and new opportunities to progress in their career." 'Revolving door' Katrina Hall founded the Bay Care Group in said: " We have 156 international workers. If we lose that workforce, it will cut 40 percent of our provision."We cannot get a British workforce here. We spent around £100,000 a year in advertising for British workers. "All we got were people on benefits who came to have an interview in order to continue to receive benefits. We've literally become a revolving door for people looking to continue claiming their benefits." Irena Cox is one of Bay Care's clients is Irena Cox who has carers visit her home in Torbay five times a said: "They've been good enough to come over and work here. It means a lot, especially when you are vulnerable. I can't walk very far, I can't stand up very long. "They are brilliant."The Home Office estimated the new policies could lead to a 100,000 drop in immigration per year by Secretary Yvette Cooper said it is "time to end that care worker recruitment from abroad" and rules will change this year - instead requiring firms to hire British nationals or extend visas of overseas workers already in the governments have tried unsuccessfully to reduce net migration, which is the number of people coming to the UK minus the number migration climbed to a record 906,000 in June 2023, and last year it stood at 728, Minister Keir Starmer argued the proposals bring the immigration system "back into control", and said the new plans, which tackle legal migration to the UK, would ensure a "selective" and "fair" system, where "we decide who comes to this country".
