Monthly Archives: September 2013

Joint European Visas for Chinese Tourists a Possibility

At 8.59pm today the FT reported that Theresa May, home secretary, has bowed to pressure to streamline the process for Chinese tourists to Britain. As we are not part of the EU Schengen visa system this results in many high spending Chinese visitors bypassing our country. With their spend of $102bn on global travel in […]

Tier 1 Investor Visas | Concerns Over Checks on Applications

Tier 1 Investor Visas was introduced in 2008 and in that year 43 foreign nationals succeeded in their applications. In 2012 the number of applications soared and 470 visas were granted. The increase was due to rising demand from people from Russia and China. According to a report in the FT this week wealth management […]

Grand Theft Auto V

Fans queued throughout the night just to be in line to buy the computer game Grand Theft Auto V this morning. Some of them took time of work just so they could get their hands on the most expensive game ever made. It was developed by Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland cost £170 million to […]

Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa | London Visa

Last Sunday evening the FT reported on the London mayor, Boris Johnson’s idea for a Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa /“London Visa”. If adopted would make it easier for talented technologists from around the world to get jobs in tech start ups and fashion studios. The plan to provide City Hall with a yearly allocation […]

UK Eases Visa Rules – 1st October 2013

Last Friday, Mark Harper, the immigration minister, announced changes which generally ease visa rules from 1st October 2013. Some of the key changes are: Removal of the English language requirement for intra-company transferees. Tourists and business visitors are allowed to do some study where it is not the main purpose of their visit. Share ownership […]

The SwiftKey to £11.3m

The award-winning Londond based, language technology company, SwiftKey, this week confirmed a $17.5M (£11.3m) series B investment round. This was led by Index Ventures and supported by previous investors Octopus Investments and a number of angel investors. Doctoral research from Cambridge University into artifical intelligence led to the development of this company by Jon Reynolds […]