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23 Jan 2007 : Column 1693W—continued


Highly Skilled Migrant Visas

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many highly skilled migrant visas have been issued in each of the last five years; to people of which nationalities they have been issued; and in which categories they have been issued. [100759]


23 Jan 2007 : Column 1694W

Mr. Byrne: The following table provides detail of the numbers of approvals, by country of origin of the application, issued under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) for each calendar year since the programme was launched on 28 January 2002, including applications approved in the year to September 2006. These approvals allow individuals to apply for leave to enter or leave to remain in the United Kingdom as highly skilled migrants.

These data are derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

HSMP is designed to allow highly skilled individuals with exceptional skills and experience to seek to enter or stay to work in the UK, without having a prior offer of employment, or to take up self-employment opportunities here. We are therefore unable to record which category of work they enter. The table gives numbers for each year by the country of origin on the application and does not, therefore, necessarily reflect the nationality of the applicant. Applications from European countries appear where non EU nationals are resident in those countries.


23 Jan 2007 : Column 1695W

23 Jan 2007 : Column 1696W

23 Jan 2007 : Column 1697W
HSMP approved applications January 2002-September 2006, by country of origin of application and calendar year( 1)
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total

Afghanistan

0

0

0

2

1

3

Albania

1

4

4

0

3

12

Algeria

1

4

2

7

2

16

American Samoa

0

0

0

2

0

2

Antigua and Barbuda

0

1

1

0

0

2

Argentina

17

12

11

12

8

60

Armenia

1

1

8

11

6

27

Australia

84

239

648

1,518

1,577

4,066

Azerbaijan

1

12

9

17

11

50

Bahamas

0

0

1

2

0

3

Bahrain

0

2

1

1

0

4

Bangladesh

14

46

114

245

239

658

Barbados

2

2

7

7

15

33

Belarus

2

7

11

12

7

39

Belize

0

0

1

2

1

4

Bolivia

0

1

0

0

2

3

Bosnia and Herzegovina

0

2

0

2

1

5

Botswana

0

0

1

4

0

5

Brazil

6

22

28

53

78

187

British National (Overseas)(2)

6

14

8

8

7

43

British Overseas Citizen(3)

0

0

1

0

1

2

Brunei

0

0

1

0

1

2

Bulgaria

6

22

25

59

34

146

Cambodia

0

0

1

0

0

1

Cameroon

1

8

5

11

22

47

Canada

48

89

107

178

164

586

Chile

3

3

2

6

4

18

China, Peoples Republic of

33

152

368

650

334

1,537

Colombia

9

11

13

18

24

75

Costa Rica

1

0

0

0

0

1

Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

0

1

0

3

0

4

Croatia

0

1

0

9

9

19

Cuba

0

0

1

2

0

3

Curacao

0

0

1

0

0

1

Cyprus

2

5

1

0

0

8

Czech Republic

1

6

0

0

0

7

Dominica

0

1

1

1

2

5

Dominican Republic

0

1

0

4

2

7

Ecuador

1

2

1

2

1

7

Egypt

12

32

81

135

184

444

El Salvador

0

1

0

0

2

3

Eritrea

0

1

0

1

0

2

Estonia

2

1

1

0

0

4

Ethiopia

0

5

6

12

11

34

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) until June 2006

1

16

8

7

4

42

Gambia

0

3

1

1

1

6

Georgia

2

4

8

8

4

26

Ghana

4

23

45

70

73

215

Grenada

1

0

2

0

3

6

Guatemala

0

0

0

2

1

3

Guinea-Bissau

0

0

0

1

0

1

Guyana

2

2

4

5

6

19

Honduras

0

1

1

0

1

3

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China

3

2

9

14

6

34

Hungary

4

2

3

0

0

9

Iceland

0

0

0

1

0

1

India

180

656

1,967

6,715

7,340

16,858

Indonesia

2

5

5

15

17

44

Iran

9

31

41

91

86

258

Iraq

7

17

23

36

40

123

Ireland

0

0

0

1

0

1

Israel

9

45

52

69

44

219

Jamaica

8

16

27

20

20

91

Japan

7

23

24

38

32

124

Jordan

2

6

20

26

72

126

Kazakhstan

3

5

5

18

15

46

Kenya

15

28

37

59

61

200

Korea, North (Democratic Peoples Rep of)

0

0

0

1

2

3

Korea, South (Rep of Korea)

5

8

19

20

29

81

Kuwait

0

0

1

0

3

4

Kyrgyzstan

0

1

3

11

4

19

Latvia

0

1

0

1

0

2

Lebanon

3

7

7

16

17

50

Liberia

0

0

0

0

1

1

Libya

1

6

16

28

66

117

Lithuania

8

6

0

0

0

14

Macedonia

0

1

0

2

2

5

Malawi

0

1

10

15

10

36

Malaysia

14

33

63

174

214

498

Maldives

0

0

0

0

2

2

Mali

0

0

0

0

1

1

Malta

1

2

0

0

0

3

Mauritania

0

3

1

1

3

8

Mauritius

1

11

21

26

29

88

Mexico

5

13

21

36

17

92

Moldova (Rep of)

2

1

6

17

12

38

Mongolia

2

1

0

4

1

8

Montenegro (post June 2006)

0

0

0

0

1

1

Morocco

3

2

3

3

0

11

Mozambique

0

1

0

1

0

2

Myanmar

2

7

12

38

83

142

Namibia

0

2

6

8

2

18

Nepal

2

16

34

111

129

292

New Zealand

19

115

337

847

778

2,096

Nicaragua

0

0

0

1

1

2

Niger

0

1

1

4

2

8

Nigeria

31

186

445

1,187

1,209

3,058

Oman

0

0

1

3

1

5

Pakistan

58

268

1,001

2,080

1,569

4,976

Palestinian Authority

0

1

4

11

17

33

Panama

1

0

0

0

1

2

Papua New Guinea

0

0

0

1

0

1

Paraguay

0

1

0

0

0

1

Peru

3

15

9

21

15

63

Philippines

4

16

16

25

32

93

Poland

4

20

0

0

0

24

Qatar

0

0

1

0

0

1

Romania

7

19

27

41

37

131

Russian Federation

33

97

143

279

221

773

Rwanda

1

1

1

0

0

3

Saudi Arabia

0

2

5

11

5

23

Senegal

0

0

4

0

2

6

Serbia (post June 2006)

0

0

0

0

6

6

Seychelles

0

2

1

0

1

4

Sierra Leone

2

4

5

5

5

21

Singapore

14

26

36

48

57

181

Slovakia

2

2

1

0

0

5

Slovenia

2

0

0

0

0

2

Solomon Islands

0

0

0

0

1

1

South Africa

73

344

592

860

658

2,527

Sri Lanka

8

39

86

269

348

750

St. Kitts and Nevis

1

1

0

0

0

2

St. Lucia

1

2

2

2

3

10

St. Vincent and The Grenadines

0

0

0

0

1

1

Sudan

5

14

33

54

55

161

Suriname

0

0

1

0

0

1

Swaziland

0

1

0

1

1

3

Switzerland

1

0

0

0

0

1

Syria (Arab Rep)

0

2

23

60

2

87

Taiwan, Territory of

2

2

9

19

21

53

Tajikistan

0

0

1

1

0

2

Tanzania (United Rep of)

5

8

6

9

7

35

Thailand

2

2

6

4

7

21

Trinidad and Tobago

2

11

23

46

74

156

Tunisia

0

0

1

3

1

5

Turkey

9

56

50

85

53

253

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

0

0

0

0

2

2

Turkmenistan

1

0

1

0

0

2

Uganda

1

4

11

21

18

55

Ukraine

8

24

57

91

88

268

United Arab Emirates

1

0

1

2

0

4

United States of America

271

559

456

619

509

2,414

Uruguay

0

2

1

3

0

6

Uzbekistan

0

2

8

15

14

39

Venezuela

4

22

10

11

15

62

Vietnam

0

1

1

4

3

9

Yemen

0

4

0

4

2

10

Zambia

9

16

19

24

19

87

Zimbabwe

29

76

88

105

101

399

Total

1,176

3,687

7,500

17,582

17,169

47,114

(1) 2002 includes data from 28 January. 2006 includes data to 30 September.
(2 )British national (overseas) is a person who applied to the Home Secretary or his overseas representative before 1 July 1997. To qualify for registration, the person applying must have been a British Dependent Territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong.
(3) British overseas citizen—a person who, immediately before 1 January 1983, was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and did not, on that date, automatically become a British citizen or a British Dependent Territories citizen.

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