The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has today launched a consultation on the annual limit of the number of non-EU migrants admitted to work in the UK through Tiers 1 and 2 of the points based system.

The government has asked the MAC, as an independent expert body on migration, to provide advice on the level of the permanent economic migration limit for its first full year of operation. The permanent limit is intended to be implemented from April 2011.

As well as the economic impacts, the MAC will take into account the social and public service impacts of immigration on the UK.

The consultation will be open for submissions until 7 September 2010, and the MAC advice will be presented to the government by the end of that month. A paper setting out the consultation questions and procedures for submitting evidence has been published today.

The Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, Professor David Metcalf, said:

‘The Migration Advisory Committee is pleased that it has been asked to carry out this work and looks forward to working with its partners to develop robust and well-informed advice to the government.’

A takeaway in Clydebank faces a large fine for employing three illegal workers.

Acting on intelligence our officers targeted the New Parkhall Carry Out in Hawthorn Street after 1700 on Friday 25 June.

After the immigration status of all staff was checked, two Malaysian men and one Chinese woman were arrested for working illegally in the restaurant. Steps will now be taken to remove them from the UK as quickly as possible.

The New Parkhall will be served with a civil penalty notice for employing the illegal workers.

If the employer is unable to provide evidence that legally-required checks were carried out before giving the workers jobs – such as asking for a passport or a Home Office document – a fine of up to £30,000 will be imposed.

Phil Taylor, regional director, UK Border Agency, Scotland and Northern Ireland, said:

‘If people want to work in the UK, there are ways they can come here legitimately. If they decide to ignore immigration laws, we will find them and look to remove them from the country.

‘Any employer who takes on a foreign national without permission to work in the UK is breaking the law, undermining law-abiding businesses and faces a big fine.’

The number of workers entering the UK from outside Europe will be controlled by a new limit, the Home Secretary announced today.

Net migration will be scaled back to the levels of the 1990s – with the effect that it will be in the tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands. Introducing a limit on migrants from outside Europe coming here to work is just one of the ways the government intends to achieve this.

Details of how the final limit will be delivered will be agreed following a 12-week government consultation with businesses. In the meantime, an interim limit will be introduced to ensure that there is no ‘closing down sale’ and the number of work visas issued stays below 2009 levels.

The results of the consultation on the permanent limit will pave the way for the government’s fundamental changes on the way in which workers from outside the European Union (EU) will be chosen to come and work in the UK.

The Home Secretary has also asked the Migration Advisory Committee, the government’s independent adviser on migration issues, to launch a separate consultation into what level the limit should be set at, taking into account social and economic impacts.

Home Secretary Theresa May said:

‘This government believes that Britain can benefit from migration but not uncontrolled migration. I recognise the importance of attracting the brightest and the best to ensure strong economic growth, but unlimited migration places unacceptable pressure on public services.

‘While we consult on our tough new limit it’s important we have an interim measure to avoid a “closing down sale” for migrants and ensure that the number of work visas issued stays below 2009 levels.

‘The government will also introduce measures to support British people. Alongside limits will be action to get Britain back to work and provide business with the skills they need from the resident workforce – reducing the need for migrants at the same time as we reduce their number.’

The government’s consultation will run until the end of September. Permanent limits on non EU economic migration routes will then be decided and put in place by 1 April 2011.

To avoid large numbers of applications between now and April next year, the government will impose an interim limit which will take effect from 19 July 2010. The interim limits will ensure the number of visas issued under Tiers 1 and 2 of the points-based system are below that issued in 2009.

These interim measures include:

• capping the number of Tier 1 migrants at current levels and raising the number of points needed by non-EU workers who come to do highly skilled jobs from 95 to 100; and
• limiting the number of certificates of sponsorship that licensed employers can issue to those who wish to come to fill skilled job vacancies. This will reduce the number of people entering through Tier 2 by 1,300.

The Home Secretary added:

‘The government promised large-scale change to Britain’s immigration system – and that is what we are delivering. Alongside the limit on non EU migrant workers, we have already introduced a requirement that those coming here to marry learn English, and our urgent review into child detention for immigration purposes is under way.’

UK Border Agency officers based in Calais have caught four stowaways trying to enter the UK by hiding in a lorry load of machine parts heading for the north east.

When officers stopped and inspected the Italian registered vehicle they found that the trailer was unsecured, and a ‘body detection dog’ indicated that people were hiding inside the load. Four Eritrean nationals were discovered in the lorry, which was destined for an address on the North West Industrial Estate, Peterlee.

The stowaways were taken off the vehicle, photographed, refused entry to the UK and then handed over to the French authorities. The lorry was allowed to continue its journey to the UK.

The haulier has been fined £3,000 (£750 for each stowaway) and the lorry driver, who is Serbian, £800 (£200 for each stowaway).

Hundreds of UK Border Agency officers based at ports in France and Belgium work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to stop illegal immigrants before they step foot in the UK. In addition to body detection dogs, they use carbon dioxide detectors and heartbeat monitors as well as visual searches to find sometimes well hidden stowaways.

UK Border Agency director Tom Dowdall, who heads operations in northern France, said:

‘The UK Border Agency’s strong presence at the frontier, not only in the UK but also in northern France, helps protect the whole country from people illegally entering the UK and then heading for towns and cities across Britain – in this case Peterlee.

A bride and groom together with four wedding guests were arrested as part of a UK Border Agency investigation into a suspected sham marriage.

Acting on intelligence, officers from the UK Border Agency’s north west immigration crime team targeted Manchester Register Office at around midday, as the service was about to start.

The would be bride, a Nigerian national, and her groom, a Czech male were both arrested for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Two marriage witnesses, both Nigerian were also arrested along with two other Nigerian wedding guests on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration. All six are now being questioned by police and immigration officers.

In a follow up operation the UK Border Agency crime team conducted searches at four addresses in Manchester and one in Liverpool.

Dave Magrath, Head of the UK Border Agency immigration crime team in the north-west, said:

‘We are committed to tackling sham marriages and take action against those who try to falsify marriages in order to gain entry to the UK.

‘We have specialist teams of immigration officers and police working o investigate cases just like this and ensuring people are not able to benefit from breaking the UK’s immigration laws.’

A 54 year old Hackney man has admitted attempting to smuggle around £200,000 worth of cocaine into the UK through Heathrow Airport.

UK Border Agency officers arrested Abdalla Abdulrahman Omar after he arrived on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Monday 21 June. Approximately four kg of the drug were discovered hidden in the false bottom of a suitcase he was travelling with.

Omar, of Amhurst Road in Hackney, was later charged with attempting to import a Class A drug, and admitted the offence during a hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates on Tuesday 22 June.

He was remanded in custody, and will be sentenced on Friday 6 August at Isleworth Crown Court.

Assistant director Peter Avery, of the UK Border Agency’s criminal and financial investigations unit, said:

‘The UK Border Agency is at the forefront in the fight to prevent illegal drugs entering the UK.

‘Our officers operate maximum vigilance at all our ports and airports, and this case is another example of their success.

‘We are determined to bring those who attempt to smuggle drugs into the UK to justice, and put them behind bars.’

All four staff members on duty at a Falmouth takeaway have been arrested by our officers for being illegal workers.

A fifth person who was at the takeaway – but not working – was also arrested as an immigration offender.

Acting on intelligence, officers from the Agency targeted Mayflower Takeaway, on Acacia Road, at 1830 on Thursday 17 June.

As they entered the business, one of the workers tried to flee but was caught by an officer covering the rear exit.

The immigration status of staff was checked and it was found that all four on duty – three Chinese men and a Malaysian woman – had no legal right to live and work in the UK.

Two of the men were working in the kitchen while the third man and the woman were on the front counter serving customers.

The three men were all failed asylum seekers who should have left the UK as required when their claim for protection was turned down, while the Malaysian woman had entered the UK illegally.

A fourth Chinese man was on the premises and was also found to be a failed asylum seeker. He was not seen working and he claimed he was visiting the takeaway.

All five immigration offenders were arrested and taken to Camborne police station. They remain in detention and steps are being taken to remove them from the UK.

The business was closed when our officers left because there were no staff members left on duty with the right to work in the country.

Mayflower takeaway was also served with a civil penalty notice for employing four illegal workers.

If the employers are unable to provide evidence that legally-required checks were carried out before giving the workers jobs, a fine of up to £10,000 for each offender will be imposed.

Jane Farleigh, regional director, Wales and the South West, UK Border Agency, said:

‘If people want to work in the UK, there are ways they can come here legitimately. If they decide to ignore immigration laws, we will find them and look to remove them from the country.

Five illegal workers have been caught in Stamford by our officers.

Acting on intelligence, our officers visited the Voujon Indian restaurant in Broad Street at 1805 on 10 June 2010. The officers sealed all exits before interviewing the workers and checking their uk immigration status.

They found five Bangladeshi men who had no permission to work in the UK. Checks revealed that two of the men, aged 34-years-old and 29-years-old, had overstayed their work permits while a 26-year-old had overstayed his visit visa.

All three illegal workers were arrested and detained.

Another 29-year-old man was identified as an illegal entrant to the UK and a 35-year-old man was found to be a failed asylum seeker. They were temporarily released on uk immigration bail.

We are now taking steps to remove all five illegal immigrants from the UK as soon as possible.

The business was issued with an on-the-spot penalty notice for employing illegal workers and may now face a fine of up to £50,000.

To avoid a heavy fine, the business must prove to us that it carried out the correct pre-employment checks on the workers.

Rachel Challis, UK Border Agency’s Boston-based team, said:

‘We will continue to pull the plug on the illegal jobs which lure illegal immigrants to come to the UK. Anyone in Lincolnshire who takes on a foreign national without permission to work is breaking the law and undermining law-abiding businesses.

‘Rogue employers should be warned that they face heavy fines and could end up in jail.

‘There are strict rules about which foreign nationals can get a job in the UK and businesses have a clear responsibility to carry out the right checks.’

17 June 2010

An American fraudster has been jailed for 16 months after living illegally in the UK using the identity of a teenager who had died in a car accident.

William Victor Bernson III stole the identity of Greg Smith a fellow American who died in a car crash in the 1970s.

Bernson was able to acquire a legally issued US passport under Greg Smith’s name and a decade ago travelled to the UK under his false identity.

Living in Brynderwen, Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, Bernson worked as an online writer for several years.

The US authorities eventually discovered that the ‘Greg Smith’ passport had been fraudulently obtained and contacted the UK Border Agency’s immigration crime team.

Following an investigation which revealed how Bernson had stolen the dead teenager’s identity, he was arrested at his Cilfynydd home and charged with two fraud offences under the ID Cards Act and two offences of entering the UK by deception.

He admitted all the offences and was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday (11 June) to 16 months in prison.

Seven similar offences were admitted and taken into consideration by the court and Bernson also faces deportation to the USA at the end of his sentence.

Steve Evans, head of the UK Border Agency’s Cardiff immigration crime team, said:

‘This was a serious fraud in which this individual stole a dead person’s identity and used it to create a new life in the UK.

‘Working with the American authorities, we were able to expose Bernson’s fraud and prevent him from profiting further from his dishonesty.

‘The UK Border Agency’s immigration crime team in Cardiff is cracking down hard on this type of offence committed by foreign nationals.’

Immigration crime teams are made up of specialist police and immigration officers and investigate offences committed by foreign nationals who have no legal right to be in the UK.

Anti-forgery equipment, drug detection scanners and border control checks were seen first-hand today by the new Home Secretary, Theresa May, when she visited Heathrow airport.

The new Home Secretary was given a tour of Terminal 5, where she met our frontline officers and was given a chance to see the latest detection technology in action.

During her airport visit, the Home Secretary saw our staff at the border as they checked passports and quizzed passengers. She was also given a demonstration by detection dogs, saw forgery detection equipment and watched as officers used the latest technology to search bags for hidden, smuggled substances.

The Home Secretary was also briefed by the operation paladin unit, a joint UK Border Agency and Metropolitan Police team working at the border and in-country to identify child victims of trafficking and prosecute facilitators.

Home Secretary Theresa May said:

This was a valuable opportunity to meet frontline officers and see first hand the challenging work they carry out every day.

‘Keeping Britain’s border secure is a priority for this government – which is why it is crucial that we have vigilant border staff utilising the latest technology in our fight against the people traffickers, drug smugglers and illegal immigrants determined to come here and cause harm.

‘The new government is committed to introducing a limit on the number of non-EEA migrants who come here to work, contributing to a reduction in net migration back to the levels of the early 1990s – tens of thousands, not hundreds of thousands. If this is to happen successfully, our border must be stronger than ever before.’

UK Border Agency successes at Heathrow include:

• a 30-year-old Nigerian man who was caught in Terminal 5 with 1kg of cocaine, which had been swallowed in 95 packages after officers became suspicious of his story and behaviour;
• three passengers attempting to smuggle over 50,000 cigarettes into the country in their suitcases in a single day;
• officers stopping more than 14 attempts to use forged or stolen documents to enter the UK illegally in a week. These comprised five cases of impersonation of the rightful holder of the document, four cases of substituted passport photographs, three cases of substituted passport photograph pages, one case of a falsified UK visa and one case of a fraudulently obtained UK passport.

The latter case involved a 54-year-old Bangladeshi man found with a fraudulently obtained UK passport of a 73-year-old. He had originally entered the UK 10 years earlier using a passport in the same false identity. This had been obtained for him by an agent. He had no family in the UK, and was refused and removed to Bangladesh the next day.