UK work visa applicants need to provide criminal records from April

The government of the United Kingdom will have in place a criminal record check requirement for migrant workers belonging to the non-European Union countries like India from April 2017. This would be applicable to people working in professions such as nursing, teaching and social work. They would be applying for a Tier-2 visa, which will let them work and reside in the UK. It will be made mandatory for aspiring immigrants to produce certificates, along with their applications, revealing if they have been charged with any serious criminal offences.

 

To be approved by the British Parliament, the measure will seek to replace the current procedure of migrants declaring themselves if they have any criminal pasts on the visa application. This is will be specifically applicable to migrants who want to be employed in professions which would make them interact with children and other vulnerable sections of people. Robert Goodwill, UK immigration minister, was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying that overseas criminals should not be given any opportunity to work with the most vulnerable sections of the society.

 

Though Britain has the right to deny a visa to any individual who has been charged with criminal misdoings, the launch of foreign criminal record checks for those seeking to work with children and vulnerable adults’ acts as a cushion, he added. To be effective from April, skilled workers applying for a Tier-2 visa for certain professions will now need to procure and submit a criminal record check certificate from the countries in which they have resided for more than a year in the past decade. A partner of an applicant would also need to submit a certificate.

 

The requirement may, however, be not needed from a country where it is not possible to get a certificate because that country or its authority does not publish such documents. The latest regulations are part of a series of stricter measures being introduced following a review by the UK's MAC (Migration Advisory Committee) advocated amendments to the visa system. If you are looking to migrate to the United Kingdom, get in touch with Y-Axis, one of the leading immigration consultancy firms, to apply for a visa from one its several offices located all over the world.