UK to review visa rule that blocks foreign professionals from settling

The Theresa May government has said it will review cases of hundreds of foreign skilled professionals affected by a rule intended to prevent criminals and terrorists from settling in the United Kingdom.

Section 322 (5) of the Immigration Act is designed to deal with criminals and those considered a threat to national security, but the British Home Office has invoked it when applications for indefinite stay by professionals from India and other countries show errors in tax returns.

After numerous protests and legal action by individuals and campaign groups, immigration minister Caroline Nokes on Tuesday told the Home Affairs Select Committee of Parliament that the Home Office will review the cases, adding that Britain always welcomed the brightest and the best who contribute to the country.

She said: “I’m always concerned, particularly when it is people who have been contributing to this country, whether economically or culturally to our communities, as part of our communities, when we are not about performing to the best of our ability.”

Nokes, however, added that her department was under “enormous workload” and its top current priority is to deal with the recent Windrush controversy, for which May and others in the government have apologised.

The situation faced by Indian professionals has attained a high public profile due to the coverage they have received in British media.

For example, The Guardian highlighted the case of Nisha Mohite, a pharmaceutical specialist from Mumbai who came to the UK for higher studies in 2008 and went on to set up a consultancy. When she applied for permanent residency in 2016, she was rejected due to an error in her tax records.

Mohite and hundreds of others have been facing financial bankruptcy and worse due to the Home Office interpreting tax errors as dishonesty and invoking the rule that prevents criminals, terrorists and those charged with war crimes from settling in the UK.

The overall figure of those affected is said to be over 1,000, including more than 250 Indians, but excludes those who may have left Britain over the issue.

Aditi Bhardwaj, one of the affected group’s spokespersons, said several MPs supported their cause She said: “Tax rectification is the main issue. We have all contributed taxes, many have been here for over a decade under the Tier (I) visa category, but now we are told that making changes in tax returns amounts to misconduct and also a security threat.

“Tax error rectification is not illegal or unlawful anywhere in the world, and not even in the UK Financial Act, 2007.”

Those affected say their treatment by the Home Office is part of the “hostile environment” put in place since May was the home secretary. It involves a set of policies that make it difficult for illegal migrants in the UK to access medical treatment, open bank accounts, rent property and other curbs.

Section 322 (5) comes with stringent conditions — applicants immediately become ineligible for any other UK visa, many are given 14 days to leave Britain, while others are allowed to stay and fight their cases but not to work.

Nottingham-based Sandip arrived in the UK as a student from New Delhi and moved to the Tier (I) work category after completing a course in engineering. He said he has raised millions of pounds from investors in his property business but has gotten caught up in this controversy.

“My wife is a dentist, but she cannot work due to this. It is not only injustice but also inhuman to ask us to leave the country after contributing so much and raising our families here. The Home Office takes months to decide, we are living on our savings,” he said.

A Home Office spokesperson said it refuses applications “in these circumstances only where the evidence shows applicants have deliberately provided false information to the government”.