What does the recent High Court order of the
HSMP Forum says?
The following is the court order:
Court Order
"It is ordered and declared that this claim be allowed and that the
defendant has acted unlawfully in applying H.C. 1702 Rule 135D to
persons already admitted to the Highly Skilled Migrants Scheme as at
the 7th day of November 2006."
Does that mean both extension criteria and indefinite leave to
remain (ILR) will be issued as per the old criteria?
135 D is concerned with extension criteria changes and is not
concerned with ILR changes but as per the Judgment we believe the Home Office should
consider various parts of the HSMP scheme as interlocking elements and that covers the ILR issue as well. The Judgment should also help as a precedent
for appeals in tribunal courts on the ILR issue. But as informed to us
the Home Office is not considering reversing the ILR changes. We are
in the process of raising a further legal challenge in this matter. As
of now to be on safer side please apply for an extension after your
1+3 years of stay.
Does it mean that those who are going for a second extension are
also covered by the high court decision?
All those who were admitted in the HSMP scheme between 2002 and as at
5th December 2006 irrespectively of how many times they go for
extension as Highly Skilled Migrants should be treated as per the old extension criteria of
economic activity and attempts to be economically active.
I got my HSMP approval before 7th November 2006 but I got stamping
after 7th November 2006 am I covered by the ruling?
Yes. It covers those who were admitted (approved) to the Highly
Skilled Migrants Scheme as at the 7th day of November 2006 as per the
court ruling. We also understand Home Office will accommodate even
those who were admitted during the HSMP suspension period between 7th
November 2006 and 5th December 2006.
I made my application for HSMP approval before or on 6th November
2006 but got the approval letter later. Am I covered under the
Judgment ?
We believe you should be considered under the judgment since you
made your application for approval as per the old rules before 6th Nov
2006. You need to check about
this with the Home Office
wpcustomers@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
What application form should I fill for my extension, since there
is no clarity from the Home Office as to the appropriate application
form?
As far as we understand you should fill the present applicable form
for extension as Highly Skilled Migrants. It is your responsibility to
fill in the appropriate form and you need to check with the Home
Office directly to make sure the form you are filling is the
appropriate form. A wrong application form will be rejected by the
Home Office and would complicate things for you.
New Application Forms for HSMP Extension as per HSMP Forum's High
Court Judgment :
HSMP extension Application form >>
&
HSMP Review form >>
Can HSMP Forum process my application form?
Sorry, we do not provide any such commercial
services. Application submission is a very simple and straight
forward affair. You should be able to do it yourself. You can discuss it
at the forum's discussion board to get help from members who have
submitted it earlier.
HSMP Forum is a non profit organisation and assists
and supports skilled migrants. We campaign against unfair policies to
safeguard immigrants rights.
More details>>
Can you refer some Solicitors for submitting my
extension application ?
If you need a representation then check the
following link and you can find one -
Find a Solicitor>>
In case you have an emergency requirement and find
it difficult to locate one then email us at
info@hsmpforum.org for some
references. Alternatively check our
resources
section.
How To Apply for the Flr if I already got an HSMP refusal earlier ?
Please check at
http://www.hsmpforumltd.com/hsmp9.html
I left the country due to the November 2006
changes, whom shall I approach to return to UK ?
Please follow this link for guidance and forms;
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/docs/1903073/HSMPJRForumGuidance
What about the April 2006 ILR changes, Will there be no respite for the ILR changes?
We wrote to the Home Office to reverse the ILR changes as well with
reference to the contents of the judgment and in order to avoid
further litigations on the subject. We do not know their final stand
yet but we will continue to pursue them to iron out this issue as
well.
What will the HSMP Forum do to counter the ILR changes?
We are committed to fighting the ILR changes and will take all
necessary action possible and required. Time being we have been
directing individuals to make appeals to the Immigration tribunal
courts for the ILR issue. We are also checking with our legal advisers
on taking what possible legal action can be undertook to mitigate the
ILR changes.
How much time can Immigration Tribunal Appeals for ILR take?
Unfortunately this will take a while. We think it could be as follows:
2 months for refusal, 2 months for hearing date, 2 months for
judgement and if home office appeals the decision then 4 more months.
We understand it is disappointing but at the moment there are not many
possibilities around this. But if you win your appeal on immigration
rules through the courts then you should hopefully get a
back dated ILR when you were due after 4 years. We are still consulting on the
possibilities of challenging the ILR changes through other avenues.
For further queries, information and support you can visit
http://forum.hsmpforumltd.com
Note - Due to high volume of emails and calls we might not be in a
position to respond to your individual queries except in circumstances
where in we consider it to be of important or of an emergency nature.
We aim to assist and support all but
unfortunately at times this might not be possible due to our limited
capacity. We regret any inconvenience caused.
Best Wishes
HSMP Forum Team
www.hsmpforum.org /
www.hsmpforumltd.com
