The below following are the contents of the letter we wrote to Senior Officials of Border & Immigration Agency (Home Office) on 21st April 2008.

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In order to help you in applying the Judgment to all, we have identified the following categories of the affected Highly Skilled Migrants who were admitted under the HSMP programme prior to the newly imposed changes to the system in November 2006. In all fairness they should be re-instated as per the old criteria of the HSMP Scheme / HSMP Status:

1. Highly Skilled Migrants who were refused extensions to their Leave to Remain under the new rules and who failed the AIT appeals process.

2. Highly Skilled Migrants who were refused extensions to their Leave to Remain and are awaiting determination of the AIT.

3. Highly Skilled Migrants who were refused extensions to their Leave to Remain and were denied the right of appeal against that refusal.

4. Highly Skilled Migrants who submitted Leave to Remain applications out-of-time as the result of trying to meet the November 2006 changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme.

5. Highly Skilled Migrants who lost their AIT appeal / reconsideration and were deported from the UK.

6. Highly Skilled Migrants who lost their AIT appeal / reconsideration and who have remained in the UK deemed as over-stayers.

7. Highly Skilled Migrants who lost their AIT appeal / reconsideration and have submitted applications to court of appeal or high court.

8. Highly Skilled Migrants who left the UK after getting refusals and those who left UK without applying for Further Leave to Remain as a consequence of the November 2006 changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. Since the application form as well clearly stated not to fill it if they do not get necessary points and it would be highly unfair to expect them to fill it and waste their left over funds knowing that they would be issued with a refusal.

9. Highly Skilled Migrants who switched to a Work Permit as the result of the November 2006 changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme.

10. Highly Skilled Migrants who tried to switch to a Work Permit as the result of the November 2006 changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme and were refused.

11. Highly Skilled Migrants who applied for Indefinite Leave to Remain after four (4) years rather than HSMP extension as a result of the November 2006 changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme.

12. Highly Skilled Migrants who won their AIT appeal and were granted Discretionary Leave to Remain should be reinstated under the old criteria of HSMP.

13. Highly Skilled Migrants who are being detained by the Home Office as illegal immigrants due to problems with the changes.

14. Highly Skilled Migrants whose passports are held by the Home Office as the result of a failed extensions application.

15. There are also those who were admitted in the scheme between the suspension period from 7th November 2006 and 5th December 2006.

16. We believe those who were admitted in the scheme as at April 2006 should be allowed to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain after 4 years rather than another extension. The Judgment of Justice Newman acknowledges ILR issue when he highlights “the old scheme constituted an integrated and entire programme and that it was not open to the government to alter the terms and conditions upon which the pre-arranged stages were to be implemented” (Para 26). Ignoring this crucial issue will only lead to further litigations on the ILR front.

17. The application processing fee is £750 presently which is comparatively very high compared to the old fee of £350. The old criteria for extension were economic activity or attempt to be economically active while the changes expected a high income from individuals. Thus we believe it would be inappropriate to apply the new fee of £750 which is meant for high earners under the new system to HSMP holders who came under old criteria. The old fee should be reinstated for those who were admitted between 2002 and as at 7th November 2006.

18. We also want to ensure that English Language requirement and Maintenance funds requirement is not applied to those who were admitted between 2002 and as at 7th November 2006.

In overall it would be important to realise the various hardships encountered because of the implementation of the “illegal changes”. It would be important empathically to make decisions in reinstating the above HSMP holders’ status.

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