A Cambridgeshire business has been thrust into the centre of a major undercover BBC investigation exposing how suspected people smugglers allegedly use UK-registered companies to handle payments for illegal Channel crossings. Undercover BBC footage captured inside Afg Mobile Repair in Woolwich, south-east London, during an investigation into alleged payments linked to illegal Channel crossings.Credit: BBC…
A national security trial in Britain that thrust the role of Hong Kong’s overseas trade promotion offices into the global spotlight has heard the defendant deny he was spying on prominent activists from the city and UK politicians on behalf of China. Two years after his arrest, Bill Yuen Chung-biu took to the witness box…
The UK government has confirmed that stricter English language requirements for immigrants announced earlier this month will not apply to Hongkongers applying through the British National (Overseas) visa pathway. The clarification from Minister for Migration and Citizenship Mike Tapp came after more than 30 MPs sent a letter to the Home Office last month urging…
Nearly 670 Hongkongers have been granted settlement in the United Kingdom under its bespoke BN(O) visa pathway, although the total number of applicants has fallen short of the British government’s lowest “core” estimate five years after its launch. While tens of thousands of Hongkongers are set to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain, or settled…
Hongkongers who were minors at the time of the 1997 handover to China will be eligible to apply for the British National (Overseas) pathway to UK citizenship independently of their parents, with 26,000 arrivals expected under the expanded scheme in the next five years. The move was a response to the 20-year prison sentence handed…
A group of Labour Party MPs have urged the British government to ensure changes to permanent residency requirements do not undermine support for Hongkongers on the bespoke visa pathway or others admitted on humanitarian grounds. They have asked the Home Office to consider exempting the BN(O) routes from the government’s proposed overhaul of the wider…
The United Kingdom government laid out its immigration policy proposal, which it claims will be the “biggest overhaul of the legal migration model in 50 years.” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is introducing a new “earned settlement” model that will transform how and when migrants can access settlement, benefits, and long-term residency. Under the proposed changes,…
The British government says it will launch the largest overhaul of asylum seeker policy in modern times, drawing inspiration from Denmark’s approach, which is one of the toughest in Europe. The Labour government has been hardening its immigration policies, as it seeks to stem the surging popularity of the populist Reform UK party, which has…
The UK government has launched a campaign warning international students not to overstay their visas, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper saying those who remain without legal status will face removal. According to a BBC News report, the Home Office has directly contacted international students by text and email for the first time. Around 10,000 students…
A DRUG smuggler who was deported three times has won the right to stay in the UK after judges ruled it would upset his family life. Fraudster Oduola Toye snuck back into the country using fake names after being booted out repeatedly for smuggling Class A drugs. 3 The serial fraudster was allowed to stay…