Welcome to the December edition of the Smooth Group newsletter

Schengen visas

Switzerland joined the Schengen visa scheme on 5 December 2008. Therefore all foreign nationals residing in the UK who require a Schengen visa from this date onwards will now also require a Schengen visa to enter Switzerland.

In order to ensure that individuals affected by these changes can finalise their travel plans in time for the Christmas/New Year holiday season, the Swiss Embassy London has issued- with immediate effect- Swiss visas valid for Switzerland only, as a precautionary measure to individuals who do not hold a valid Schengen visa and intend to travel to Switzerland between 5 December 2008 and 5 January 2009.

Our travel department is ready for the January to March ski rush and is anticipating a huge increase in French Schengen visa submissions. Please note for the French Embassy over the Festive period Smooth can lodge applications on the 22nd December, and collect only on the 23rd December. We can again lodge on the 29th December and collect only on the 30th December. We will be back to daily lodgings from the 2nd of January 2009.

Tier 5 update

A statement of changes was published on the 4th of November listing the changes to the Visitors Visa, Work Permits and the Youth Mobility Scheme replacing the 2 Year Working Holiday Visa with effect from the 25th of November 2008. Regretfully South Africa is not part of the proposed Youth Mobility Scheme. The 4 countries taking part this year are: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan. This list of countries taking part and their allowance will be published yearly; chances are that South Africa might be part of the Youth Mobility Scheme in future years to come but sadly not this year. There are no changes to South Africans wanting to come to the UK under any of the other categories for instance highly skilled, skilled group, students, spouses and ancestral visas.

The new Tier 2 replaces the current Business and Commercial work permit scheme. Employers had time from June this year to register as a sponsor which enables them to issue their own Certificates of Sponsorship / “work permit” from the 25th of November 08 onwards. Currently just over 3000 employers are registered as sponsors, far less than the expected 20 000. The Entry Clearance / Further Leave to Remain applications will be decided on a points based system including a mandatory maintenance and an English language requirement. Smooth can still assist employers and their employees with such applications, the changes are completely manageable and look a lot more complicated than what they really are when you break it down.

The Visitor Visa category also changed on the 25th of November. There are now 6 categories of visitors: General Visitor, Business Visitor, Child Visitor, Academic Visitor, Sports Visitor and Entertainer Visitor. The maximum period granted for the visitor visa will be 6 months except for the Academic Visitor that can be granted for a maximum of 12 months.

In addition to these new key changes the age of marriage changed from 18 to 21 for marriage visa purposes. From the 27th November both parties in a marriage will have to be 21 before a marriage visa can be issued. Raising the age is just one part of the Government's work to crackdown on forced marriage and on those who attempt to abuse the marriage visa route. This change does not affect dependent spouses i.e. dependent of a Work Permit holder, Ancestry visa holder etc.

Smooth Group launches Immigration services to the Indian Market

We are now offering immigration and wealth management solutions for Indian nationals and we will be opening a local office in Mumbai very soon that is to cater for this market. The idea to launch into India and open an office in Mumbai providing these services is mainly due to the fact that there is an influx of migrants coming from India to the UK and India currently lacks qualified immigration advisors, therefore we are able to offer our expertise here and assist with these enquiries.

Our Qualified Indian lawyer and immigration advisor Miss Urvi Shah is available to provide assistance with individuals wishing to safeguard their UK entry into the country through utilising an Entrepreneur or Investor visa and our sister company Charterhouse Lombard is able to provide wealth management and asset protection services.

Through our sister company we are also able to offer International investors the opportunity to take advantage of tax efficient structures to maximise returns on investments into India.

Smooth Group immigration seminars & in-house training

Our first three immigration seminars were extremely well received by employers and we are therefore holding a further session on the 15 of January 2009 at a London venue. The seminar aims to provide employers with invaluable information on the new 5 tier points based system.

The next seminar we will be running will include the following:
          - Breakdown of the New 5 Tier Points System
          - Working Holiday Visas v Youth Mobility Scheme
          - Tier 1 - HSMP - sub categories
          - Tier 2 - The Hurdles and Suitability Criteria
          - Non-Compliance

Anyone who employs a migrant worker on a Work Permit or Working Holiday Visa needs to be fully aware of how the new changes will impact on their business. Our seminars are designed to provide key decision makers with crucial information on how to comply along with the dangers of non compliance on the new points based system.

Rebecca Hall (Business Development Manager) of Smooth Group will be conducting a number of seminars over 2009 at UK venues as well as offering in-house training days for HR teams, to support the implementation of the new changes to immigration following the introduction of the new points based system.

Receive a 10% discount if you book your place with us on the January seminar before 31st December 2008.

For more information or to book your place on the next seminar please contact Rebecca Hall via email rebecca.hall@mysmoothgroup.com or telephone 07870 250 854

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

Smooth Group Limited
1 Dock Offices, Surrey Quays, London, SE16 2XU
Tel: 0845 644 1871 Email: info@mysmoothgroup.com
www.mysmoothgroup.com
OISC Registered No: F200300158

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