New Immigration Blog

jonathanwthomas · Post by **jonathanwthomas** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:34 am

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I started a new UK Immigration blog a couple weeks ago. I have a huge interest in immigration to the UK and believe it to be a very interesting topic. With the new Points Based System coming into force and with the proposed changes to the Citizenship process, the next few months are going to be very exciting in the field of UK immigration. Keep up with the latest news and analysis at the UK Immigration Blog. There's also a forum where people can talk about their dreams of moving to the UK and can ask questions.

The address is:

www.ukpointssystem.com

I hope you stop by soon!

Regards,
Jonathan Thomas

Siggi · Post by **Siggi** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:43 am

Good luck with your new Immigration site.

But why reinvent the wheel?

kg1983 · Post by **kg1983** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:45 am

So we can have a different, better wheel.

Siggi · Post by **Siggi** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:21 am

Kg1983

You have'nt seen the new site then?

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:56 am

A few thoughts...

a) Jonathan, who are you, and why do you feel that you are skilled or experienced enough to blog and advise as you have on this site?

b) Your site is riddle with inaccuracies.

c) You are not an OISC regulated advisor, and some of the 'information' provided on your site creeps in to areas covered by OISC. Be careful.

d) Why would people want to join up to a forum with only one person involved, where there are at least three where there is the advantage of several people with experience and knowledge?

A strange first post...a blog plug with no introduction...interesting...

Victoria

olisun · Post by **olisun** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:04 pm

kg1983 wrote:So we can have a different, better wheel.

Hope your queries get sorted on the new blog site...

jonathanwthomas · Post by **jonathanwthomas** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:26 pm

To address some of your legitimate questions.

A) Who am I? I'm someone who has learned a lot about immigration to the UK in the process of planning to migrate myself. There are not a lot of places to find this information easily (places that don't charge money or try to sell you services), so I thought it would be helpful to create a blog and informational site where the information could be found quickly and easily.

B) Please let me know the inaccuracies so I can fix them. I would like the site to be a community effort. I don't pretend to know everything at this stage but I want to LEARN everything.

C) I will look into the OISC and see about being certified by them. But I don't know if it's necessary, I'm not going to be charging money for my advice or information, the site is community and ad supported. There will eventually be an eBook about the new UK Points Based System, but that's a long way off.

D) I encourage anyone to join the forum so we can get some substantive discussions going. It wouldn't hurt to have another forum on the web for information about the UK Immigration.

As for others asking why I'm re-inventing the wheel, I'm only slightly doing that. My blog and site will focus on the new Points Based Immigration System. There is not a lot of detailed information out there about it and it's going to be confusing for a lot of people. So anything I can do to make the process better, would be great. The next few years are going to be an exciting time in UK immigration as they overhaul the system and it's important for people to have many resources at their disposal.

I apologize for posting with no introduction... I know it's rude.

Regards,
Jonathan Thomas
www.ukpointssystem.com

SYH · Post by **SYH** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:43 pm

The thing is your website, really isn't just strictly a blog where people write their anecdotal experiences. It comes off as being an authority which is where I believe Victoria is having a problem with.
Plus she is not here, nor is anyone else here to fix your mistakes.
If it was something here or there, ok, but based on Victoria's comment, I gather it is too many to give you a simple heads up.
There was another guy doing something similar, which DIDN'T go off well either so don't take it badly.

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:09 pm

I just see a point.

Although this place will obviously go downhill when I'm gone....

Victoria

paulp · Post by **paulp** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:56 pm

And why do you have to go?

olisun · Post by **olisun** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:40 pm

VictoriaS wrote:I just see a point.

Although this place will obviously go downhill when I'm gone....

Victoria

Most people think the same way that for e.g. if they leave a company, the company will not survive without them...

I believe this forum has survived even when you were not around...

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:42 pm

You need to recognise when someone is taking the piss.

I'm not that arrogant.

Victoria

John · Post by **John** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:50 pm

VictoriaS wrote:Your site is riddle with inaccuracies.

I see what you mean. Even comparatively easy things like EU Citizens are not 100% accurate.

tobiashomer · Post by **tobiashomer** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:39 am

I have to say I think there are enough forums on this subject, and a presumably for-profit pseudo-"blog" does not add anything useful. I read posts on 3 sites to keep up with the ongoing sagas of UK immigtration, and will not add a 4th for no reason.

Government immigration policy in its arbitrariness and hypocrisy has obviously created a situation where the confusion and suffering of those involved looks like a business opportunity.

guli · Post by **guli** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:31 pm

tobiashomer wrote:I have to say I think there are enough forums on this subject, and a presumably for-profit pseudo-"blog" does not add anything useful. I read posts on 3 sites to keep up with the ongoing sagas of UK immigtration, and will not add a 4th for no reason.

Government immigration policy in its arbitrariness and hypocrisy has obviously created a situation where the confusion and suffering of those involved looks like a business opportunity.

Tobias, can I ask what are your 3 sites of choice?

I would love to keep up to date too.

Thanks

INSIDER · Post by **INSIDER** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:54 pm

jonathanwthomas wrote:Regards,
Jonathan Thomas
www.ukpointssystem.com

Is your name really Jon Thomas or you are having a laugh?

tobiashomer · Post by **tobiashomer** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:04 am

Guli, I will pm you.

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:25 pm

The best sites, in my opinion, are

www.ukresident.com

and

www.uk-yankee.com

Victoria

archigabe · Post by **archigabe** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:40 pm

some new info worth considering....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7269790.stm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

Ministers also revealed that businesses which want to sponsor and employ migrants must be licensed by the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA).

A licence will be required from the autumn, when the second tier of the points-based system is due to come into effect.

Employers can begin applying for licences from today.

Sponsors will be rated "A" or "B" according to criteria set by the Home Office.

Their activities will be monitored, and poor performance could lead to them being downgraded or removed from the register, a Home Office spokesman said.

Tier One requires highly skilled workers to achieve a total of 75 points, with various amounts awarded for education, age and their level of previous earnings.

About 40,000 people applied under the previous scheme for highly-skilled migrants in 2006, with about 20,000 being successful.

Separately, about 14,500 highly-skilled migrants applied to renew their stay in 2006, of whom about 14,000 were successful.

The new points-based scheme will effectively bar low-skilled workers from outside the European Union.

Net migration to the UK was 191,000 in 2006, the lowest level for three years and more than 50,000 down on the 2004 record.

A record number of people came to live in the UK for at least a year - 591,000, up slightly on the previous record set in 2004.

But the number of people leaving Britain for 12 months or more also reached a record high of 400,000.

Just over half (207,000) of emigrants were UK citizens - the first time the annual number of British emigrants had exceeded 200,000.

Under the new measures, employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants could be jailed for two years.

Unscrupulous bosses could also be hit with an unlimited fine as part of the changes.

Firms which are negligent about checking whether their employees have the right to work in Britain could also be hit with a Â£10,000 on-the-spot fine for every illegal migrant they hire.

someone applying for entry from a poor country, such as Nigeria or Afghanistan, will have to prove annual earnings of at least Â£4,000, while somebody applying from a wealthier country will have to have a previous salary of Â£40,000 or more.

Tier two, to be launched later this year, will focus on filling gaps in the labour market - an independent committee will advise ministers on which skills the economy needs.

Flexibility

Businesses who want to bring in skilled workers will need licences.

Other tiers covering temporary workers, young people and students will be introduced later.

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Re: Victoria