WORK VISA Investigation

The request was partially successful.

Dear UK Border Agency,

Please can you provide details for the following requests?

Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visa
1. Can you please provide details of how many people were awarded Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visa each year from 2004 till 2009 under the following SOC codes ‘1136’ ‘2131’ ‘2132’ ‘5242’ ‘5245’ ‘3131’ ‘3132’.

2. Please can you note the total number of Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visas given each year from 2004 till 20010? Also what percentage of those awarded Tier 2 ICT visas for the above 7 SOC codes were Indian nationals.

3. Please can you confirm how many people who were awarded an Intra Company Transfer under the above 7 SOC codes were later given a ‘Tier 2 General’ visa or a ‘Tier 1’ visa or were given ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’. Also, how many people given Tier 2 ICT visa, with the any of the above 7 SOC listed on their Certificate of Sponsorship in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 are still in the UK at present.

Tier 2 General

4. For Tier 2 General Visas can you confirm the number of people were awarded Tier 2 General Visas each year from 2004 till Dec 31 2009 with the following SOC codes ‘1136’ ‘2131’ ‘2132’ ‘5242’ ‘5245’ ‘3131’ ‘3132’ on their certificate of sponsorship – please list numbers via SOC codes.

5. Please can you note the 50 employers who sponsored the most Tier 2 General Visas under the above 7 SOC codes for each of the following years, 2010 2009, 2008, 2007. Please can you list the data by SOC codes and by job function if possible?

6. What proportion of these applicants who were awarded Tier 2 General Visa in years 2004 – 2010 previously held a Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer visa?

7. How many Tier 2 visa General holders who were given ‘’indefinite leave to remain in the UK’’ each year from 2003 – 2010 – I am only interested in those who had one of 7 SOC listed on their Certificate of Sponsorship.

8. How many people who were given a Tier 2 Visa, for the first time, in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 under the above 7 SOC remain working in the UK.
Tier 1

9. How many skilled migrates have moved to Tier 1 visa from a Tier 2 visa which had one of the 7 SOC codes each year from 2005 till 2009.

10. How many Tier 1 Visas were awarded to IT professionals in 2009 and 2008?

Please let me know if you are able to provide this information. If this request cannot be met I will be happy to reduce certain parameters to make it more manageable.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Hanson

Employment, Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Hanson,

Thank you for your enquiry of 12 October. This falls to be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I am unclear about the exact scope of the information in which you are interested. To ensure that we provide you with the right information, please could you clarify your request, so that we can process your request. Section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information Act provides that a public authority need not comply with a request for information unless any further information reasonably required to identify and locate the information is supplied.

Please see the following clarification we require.

1) Your requested the following information:

Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visa - 1. Can you please provide details of how many people were awarded Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visa each year from 2004 till 2009 under the following SOC codes '1136' '2131' '2132' '5242' '5245' '3131' '3132'.

i) Can you please clarify whether you require information on entry clearance (visas) or information on work permits/Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS)?

ii) You require data from 2004 onwards. The work permit arrangements closed in November 2008 when the Points Based System (PBS) was introduced. If you require information on Work Permits, we can provide data by occupation type however this would not be based on SOC codes because we hold this information by our internal occupation type which may or may not match the SOC codes you require.

iii) If you require data by CoS (post PBS) you will be able to provide you with data of "used" CoSs from November 2008. Can you please confirm whether you wish to receive this information?

iiii) If you require data on entry clearance (visas) we will not be able to provide this with a breakdown by SOC codes. Can you confirm the data you wish to receive?

2) You requested the following information:

2. Please can you note the total number of Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visas given each year from 2004 till 20010? Also what percentage of those awarded Tier 2 ICT visas for the above 7 SOC codes were Indian nationals.

i) Can you please confirm whether you wish to receive information on entry clearance (visas) or Work Permits/CoSs?

Ii) Please see question 1 for the type of breakdown we can and cannot provide. We can provide a further breakdown by Indian nationals but not by SOC codes. Can you please confirm the information you wish to receive?

3) You requested the following information:

3. Please can you confirm how many people who were awarded an Intra Company Transfer under the above 7 SOC codes were later given a 'Tier 2 General' visa or a 'Tier 1' visa or were given 'Indefinite Leave to Remain'. Also, how many people given Tier 2 ICT visa, with the any of the above 7 SOC listed on their Certificate of Sponsorship in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 are still in the UK at present.

i) Please note that we are unable to provide you with this information because to locate and retrieve the requested information would fall under the £600 cost limit. Under the Freedom of Information Act, you can try and breakdown your question, however, there is no guarantee that we will be able to provide you with the requested information once broken down.

4) You requested the following information:

Tier 2 General. 4. For Tier 2 General Visas can you confirm the number of people were awarded Tier 2 General Visas each year from 2004 till Dec 31 2009 with the following SOC codes '1136' '2131' '2132' '5242' '5245' '3131' '3132' on their certificate of sponsorship - please list numbers via SOC codes.

i) Can you please confirm whether you wish to receive information on entry clearance (visas) or Work Permits/CoSs and the breakdown you require?

ii) As stated above, we can provide information on "used" CoSs for this period we cannot provide information on entry clearance (visas) by Soc code. Can you please confirm that you with to receive this information?

5) You requested the following information:

5. Please can you note the 50 employers who sponsored the most Tier 2 General Visas under the above 7 SOC codes for each of the following years, 2010 2009, 2008, 2007. Please can you list the data by SOC codes and by job function if possible?

i) Can you please confirm whether you wish to receive information on entry clearance (visas) or Work Permits/CoSs and breakdown you require?

6) You requested the following information:

6. What proportion of these applicants who were awarded Tier 2 General Visa in years 2004 - 2010 previously held a Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer visa?

i) Please note that we are unable to provide you with this information because to locate and retrieve the requested information would fall under the £600 cost limit. Under the Freedom of Information Act, you can try and breakdown your question, however, there is no guarantee that we will be able to provide you with the requested information once broken down.

7) You requested the following information:

7. How many Tier 2 visa General holders who were given ''indefinite leave to remain in the UK'' each year from 2003 - 2010 - I am only interested in those who had one of 7 SOC listed on their Certificate of Sponsorship.

i) Can you please confirm whether you wish to receive information on entry clearance (visas) or Work Permits/CoSs and the breakdown you require?

ii) Please note that we would not be able to provide you with a full response as with question 3, this would fall under the £600 cost limit. We could possibly provide data on Tier 2 Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) since the start of the scheme although this would be based on a combination of leave that applicants had previously accumulated under Work Permits and would not include anyone who applied for ILR from out of country. Can you please confirm the information you wish to receive.

8) You requested the following information:

8. How many people who were given a Tier 2 Visa, for the first time, in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 under the above 7 SOC remain
working in the UK.

i) This information is not held by the UK Border Agency. We would be unable to identify those applying for the first time and also could not say whether or not they still remain working in the UK. Can you please confirm that you no longer require this information?

9) You requested the following information:

Tier 1 - 9. How many skilled migrates have moved to Tier 1 visa from a Tier 2 visa which had one of the 7 SOC codes each year from 2005 till 2009.

i) We are unable to report on switching between categories, to do so would take us over the Cost limit. Can you please confirm that you no longer require this information?

10) You requested the following information:

10. How many Tier 1 Visas were awarded to IT professionals in 2009 and 2008?

i) Please note that we are unable to provide you with this information because to locate and retrieve the requested information would fall under the £600 cost limit. Under the Freedom of Information Act, you can try and breakdown your question, however, there is no guarantee that we will be able to provide you with the requested information once broken down.

When you provide this information we will aim to send you a full response to your request within twenty working days of its receipt. I look forward to hearing from you shortly. However, please note that if I do not receive appropriate clarification of your request within three months from the date of this letter, I will consider this request to be closed.

Kind Regards

Daniela Walker
Freedom of Information Team
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Region
UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield S3 8WA

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Hello

I have edited my request, please let me know what you can and cannot provide, thanks

1. Can you provide the number of people who entered the UK in 2008, 2009, 2010 under the following visa types?

Tier 1

Tier 2 (General)

Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer)

2. Can you provide the number of used CoS in 2008, 2009 and 2010 which had the following SOC codes '1136' '2131' '2132' '5242' '5245' '3131' '3132.

Could you please break down the yearly totals into the following visa types below and how many of these were Indian nationals

Tier 1

Tier 2 (General)

Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer)

Other

4. Please can you provide the % of people who entered the UK in the years 2005, 2006, 2007, through a Tier 2 Intra Company Visa and a COS containing any of the following SOC codes '1136' '2131' '2132' '5242' '5245' '3131' '3132’ and remain in the UK on May 2010.
I am looking for data for people who entered the UK through Tier 2 (General) and Tier 2 (ICT) and remain in the UK on May 2010 based on the SOC codes. If you do not have SOC codes please can you assign the Occupation Type(s) that most closely mirrors the SOC codes.

5. Please can you provide details of the number of dependants of Tier 1 and Tier 2 visa holders who were issued work permits / CoS which used the following SOC codes '1136' '2131' '2132' '5242' '5245' '3131' '3132 in 2009, 2010.

6. Can you provide data as to the 10 companies who issued the most COS for Intra Company Transfers in 2009 and 2010 for the following SOC '1136' '2131' '2132' '5242' '5245' '3131' '3132

Yours sincerely,

Paul Hanson

Employment, Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Hanson,

Thank you for your clarification of 25 October. Your request falls to be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and we will endeavour to respond within 20 working days.

Kind Regards

Daniela Walker
Freedom of Information Team
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Region
UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield S3 8WA

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Employment, Freedom of Information,

1 Attachment

<<1275 Extension letter.doc>>
Dear Mr Hanson,

Please see the attached letter following your request for information.

Kind Regards

Freedom of Information Team
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Region
UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield S3 8WA

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Employment, Freedom of Information,

Dear Paul,

To confirm we can provide information in response to your questions (1) and (2). We do not hold the information relating to question (4)or (5).

Unfortunately we still have a query relating to question (6). To ensure that we provide you with the right information, please could you clarify your request.

Question (6) Can you provide data as to the 10 companies who issued the most COS for Intra Company Transfers in 2009 and 2010 for the following SOC '1136' '2131' '2132' '5242' '5245' '3131' '3132.

Please confirm if you require data pertaining to 'Assigned' or 'Used' COS's.

When you provide this information we will aim to send you a full response to your request within twenty working days of its receipt. I look forward to hearing from you shortly. However, please note that if I do not receive appropriate clarification of your request within three months from the date of this letter, I will consider this request to be closed.

Thank you

Sandra
Sandra Birkinshaw
Freedom of Information Team
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Region
UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield S3 8WA

Email: [email address]
Web: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

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Dear Employment, Freedom of Information,

Hello, for question 6 could I have both, assigned and used? No problem with questions 4 & 5 thanks for letting me know.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Hanson

Employment, Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Hanson,

Thank you for your response of 24 November.

Kind Regards

Daniela Walker
Freedom of Information Team
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Region
UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield S3 8WA

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Employment, Freedom of Information,

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Hanson,

Please see the attached letter in response to your Freedom of
Information request number 16938.

<<1275 Extension letter 20.12.10.doc>>

Kind regards

Sandra
Sandra Birkinshaw
Freedom of Information Team
North East, Yorkshire & the Humber Region
UK Border Agency
Level 4, Vulcan House (Steel), PO Box 3468, Sheffield, S3 8WA

Fax: 0114 2072906
Web: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/neyh

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UK Border Agency

The message sent from

Sender: [email address]
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:50:17 -0000
Subject: Freedom of Information Request - Ref. 16938(16401)/1275

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Employment, Freedom of Information,

2 Attachments

<<1275 Final Response.pdf>> <<FOI 16401-1275 Q2 2008-2010.xls>>
Dear Mr Hanson

Please see the attached response and spreadsheet in answer to your
request for information.

Kind Regards

Daniela Walker
Freedom of Information Team
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Region
UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield S3 8WA

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