If you are applying for citizenship or indefinite leave to remain, one of the ways in meeting the language requirement and life in the UK is by taking the Life in the UK test.

The Life in the UK test is a computer-based exam that is only available at an accredited Life in the UK Test centre.  The Life in the UK test has 24 questions with a time limit of 45 minutes.  The questions chosen for the Life in the UK test are based off of the information in the official handbook for the class, “Life in the UK: A Journey to Citizenship” (second edition).  This is the only official handbook for this test, and can be obtained at any official Life in the UK testing centre, or might be provided at certain ESL classes.  All answers, as well as questions can be found in this particular book, and with the adequate amount of practice, the Life in the UK test shouldn’t pose any difficulties.

This particular test can cost anywhere from £33.28 (GBP sterling), and the official book usually costs around 10 Euros.  You are aloud to take the test as many times as needed, however this may be a costly exercise if you do not prepare yourself adequately.  You should also make sure that when studying for the test you read the read relevant chapters in your Life in the UK handbook thoroughly, until you feel you are confident enough to take the test.  There are also practice tests available that may assist you more than just by going through the book on its own.  Taking practice tests are an excellent way of preparing for the real thing, and are highly recommended to anyone that is taking the test.

Before taking the Life in the UK test, make sure you have proper identification such as a passport, a full or provisional UK photo card license, the proper immigration status documents that are endorsed with a UK Residence Permit, as well as any other home office documents, such as a Certificate of Identity Document, Stateless Person Document, or Convention Travel Document.  If you are confused about any citizenship questions, or need more information about the Life in the UK exam, it is recommended that you contact a UK Immigration lawyer for further information.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.ukmigrationlawyers.co.uk as the original source).

Please note that these articles and the information contained herein are purely for general guidance and do not constitute a professional legal or any other opinion as to the merits of a particular application or whether specific immigration requirements have been met of a particular category. This information is generic and should not be relied upon as a definitive guide to fulfilling specific category requirements. However should any individual do so it is at his or her own risk for which UK Migration Lawyers Limited cannot be held responsible in any way.

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In the UK, it is illegal to hire foreigners with no right to work there or to handle them incorrectly once they arrive.  According to section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act of 1996, it is a criminal offense to give employment to someone who is 16 or over and is subject to immigration control, unless he or she is entitled to work in the UK.  Fines for this type of crime can cost up to £5,000 per convicted offense.

Employers can defend themselves from the charges if they do a search of the person’s eligibility to work before actually hiring the individual in question.  For this, the employer is required to get a copy of some of the person’s documents.  The defense will be valid if it can’t be proved that the employer knew the person was not authorized to work in the United Kingdom when they hired him or her.

The searches can be easily included in the recruiting process; however, employers have to be very careful, because these checks may break the Race Relations Act of 1976 if they are used in a way that discriminates by racial motives.

The race legislation was introduced to protect people against discrimination.  This law considers racial discrimination as discrimination by color, race, nationality, or ethnic or national origins.  Discrimination can happen in two ways:

-    Directly, where the employer treats the employee differently, in a negative way, due to race.
-    Indirectly, where the employer asks employees to comply with what seems a neutral race stipulation, criterion, or practice that is really more difficult for individuals of certain races.

In terms of immigration, discrimination happens during recruiting.  An employer may reject someone who looks different or speaks with an accent for fear of committing a crime.  The UK law authorizes the request of documents that prove that a person has the right to work in the country, however, it is against the law to ask for these documents only from applicants the employer thinks could be foreign.

In 2001, the Government issued a Code of Practice for employers on the evasion of race discrimination during recruitment while, at the same time looking to minimize illegal workers.  This code’s recommendations in regards to racial discrimination are:

-    The employer must establish clear written recruitment and selection procedures based on equal and fair treatment for every person, and inform all the personnel about these.

-    The employer should not make assumptions about a person’s condition based on color, race, nationality, ethnic origin, or the time he or she has been in the United Kingdom.

-    The employer has to treat everyone in the same manner at each stage throughout the recruitment process.  It should ask all the applicants for the same documents.

-    The employer must never assume that the inability to present the documents requested means the person is an illegal worker.  The applicant has to be directed towards the Citizen’s Advice Bureau to find help.

-    The employer should control de results from recruiting and selection based on the ethnicity of the applicants.

The best way to comply with immigration UK law as well as with the Race Act is to make it a regular practice to ask for the appropriate documentation from all candidates, no matter their nationality, color, or accent.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.ukmigrationlawyers.co.uk as the original source).

Please note that these articles and the information contained herein are purely for general guidance and do not constitute a professional legal or any other opinion as to the merits of a particular application or whether specific immigration requirements have been met of a particular category. This information is generic and should not be relied upon as a definitive guide to fulfilling specific category requirements. However should any individual do so it is at his or her own risk for which UK Migration Lawyers Limited cannot be held responsible in any way.

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The first part of this reform was established in July 2009, and there is currently public consultation going on that considers including new points based elements in the qualifying criteria sometime before approving the naturalization of a foreign person.

The reforms present important restrictions to the activities of migrants who want to become citizens and most probably will impact whether these people will be ready to travel for business or other reasons in representation of a UK company.

The second part of the reform asks for several changes in UK citizenship law, and includes the new ‘path to citizenship’.  Most of the detail of this new path will appear in future immigration rules and guidance, but it includes the following points:

-    The indefinite leave to remain will be substituted by the probationary citizenship, which is really an extra period of limited leave to remain before applying for either citizenship or permanent residence.

-    Migrant workers could be required to be in uninterrupted employment during the probationary citizenship period.

-    The migrants on probationary citizenship will not be able to access certain public funds and will not be regarded as settled under immigration UK law and for nationality law purposes.

-    The period of the probationary citizenship stage will be between one and three years for the migrants who later apply for citizenship, and between three to five years for the ones who later apply for permanent residence.

-    The period of the probationary citizenship stage can be reduced if the migrant meets an ‘activity requirement’ that deals with getting involved in voluntary activities, nevertheless, the details on how to do this are not known yet.

-    The migrants who want to apply for permanent residence or citizenship must hold leave/status in specific qualifying immigration categories.

-    The maximum permitted absence time during each year of the qualifying period will be ninety days, however, there can be extenuating reasons that will have to be studied.

The new ‘path to citizenship’ is planned to begin in July 2011, with transitional protection of as far as two years for the migrants who have applied for indefinite leave to remain by the time it starts.

Migrants and employers should be concerned, because the policy regarding treatment of excess absences will most probably not be available before mid 2010, and no one knows if the policy will be applied with hindsight.

Migrants who want to protect their eligibility to apply for probationary citizenship, naturalization, and/or permanent residence may have to avoid leaving the UK for more than ninety days per year until the policy is finalized.  This will certainly impact the hiring decisions of UK employers that need to send employees abroad to work on global projects, or who offer international work positions or programs.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.ukmigrationlawyers.co.uk as the original source).

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