(d) Working Holidaymakers
Young Common Wealth citizens aged 17 - 27 may apply for entry
clearance to
come to the UK as working holidaymakers. They need to
prove the following:
(i)
Their Common Wealth citizenship
(ii) that they are between 17 - 27 at the time of grant of
original
permission
(iii) they are unmarried, or if married that they are coming
as a couple, and both parties qualify
as working holiday-makers, and have no dependent children
over 5;
(iv) they have the means to pay for their return journey;
(v) they can maintain and accommodate themselves without recourse
to public funds;
(vi) they intend to take employment incidental to a holiday
and will leave the UK at the end of the
working holiday.
(c)
Switching
An
individual may switch from a temporary status to a work permit
in the U.K. Furthermore, remaining
in the UK in a temporary status, under (i) above, never gives
rise to a right to settle here. However,
anyone who has been legally in the UK for a continuous period
of 10 years will normally, as a matter of discretion, be allowed
to obtain settlement.
2.
2. ENTERING THE UK ON A PERMANENT BASIS
The
following are the main ways of obtaining permission to remain
on a permanent basis and ultimately settlement in the UK.
There are other options which may be available in specific
cases, but which
are not of general concern.
(a) Work Permit
UK businesses or overseas businesses established in the UK
may apply to the Department
of Employment for a Work Permit to be granted to a Common
Wealth citizen. This
application must be made by the business in the UK and, as
a general rule, must show
that there is no resident in the UK, EC or EEA suitable to
fill the vacancy. Inter-group
transfers of employees from offices in Common Wealth countries
to British offices
are much easier to achieve, as many of the formalities such
as a resident labour
search may be waived by the Department of Employment, and
it is also
possible to avoid the formalities of advertising where a Board
position is
being offered with a substantial salary in excess of £50,000,
or where
a proposed substantial investment in excess of £250,000 will
be
made in the Company if the Work Permit is granted. A
r
esident labour test is not required for shortage
occupations eg. certain IT positions
and teachers.