United Kingdom
United Kingdom has always been the fantasy world for immigrants across the world. United Kingdom has so much to offer to the immigrants, as in the last few years UK has introduced a number of new visa categories like;naturalization, visa, work permit and UK working visa.
Immigration to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 1922[1] has been substantial, in particular from Ireland and the former colonies of the British Empire - such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Kenya and Hong Kong - under British nationality law. Others have come as asylum seekers, seeking protection as refugees under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, or from European Union (EU) member states, exercising one of the EU's Four Freedoms.
About half the population increase between the 1991 and 2001 censuses was due to foreign-born immigration. 4.9 million people[2] (8.3 percent of the population at the time) were born abroad, although the census gives no indication of their immigration status or intended length of stay.
Geography
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 square kilometers (94,060 sq mi). It consists of the island of Great Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, and smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, coming within 35 kilometers (22 mi) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.[5] As of 1993 10% of the UK was forested, 46% used for pastures, and 25% used for agriculture.[50] The Royal Greenwich Observatory, in London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.
Languages
The UK does not de jure have an official language but the predominant spoken language is English, a West Germanic language descended from Old English which features a large number of borrowings from Old Norse, Norman French and Latin. Largely because of the British Empire, the English language has spread across the world, and become the international language of business as well as the most widely taught second language.[207]
Scots, a language descended from early northern Middle English, is recognised at European level, as is its regional variant in the northern counties of Ireland, Ulster Scots.[208] There are also four Celtic languages in use in the UK: Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish. In the 2001 Census over a fifth (21%) of the population of Wales said they could speak Welsh,[209] an increase from the 1991 Census (18%).[210] In addition, it is estimated that about 200,000 Welsh speakers live in England.[211]
