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Summary

 

The Prime Minister, David Cameron in his speech on Immigration today, 14th April 2011, stated that the Government is committed to "good immigration" and not "mass immigration" but wanted to send out a strong message that �the United Kingdom is open to the best and the brightest�.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 








 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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UK immigration system changes Prime Minister David Cameron
- by Judith Hinds

 

 

The Prime Minister, David Cameron in his speech on Immigration today, 14th April 2011, stated that the Government is committed to �good immigration� and not �mass immigration� but wanted to send out a strong message that �the United Kingdom is open to the best and the brightest�.

Last week we attended a meeting held at the Law Society with representatives of the Policy Team of the UK Border Agency (�UKBA�). The UKBA explained their remit in accordance with the Government�s policies is to reduce net migration to the United Kingdom to tens of thousands and went on to say that they aim to get the policy right.

The overhaul of the UK immigration system will be transparent and shall continue to be made through consultation. The UKBA stated that in addition to selecting the best Migrants to the United Kingdom and they will be bearing down on abuse which they have found exists primarily in the Student and Family routes.

CHANGES �.
The Tier 1 (General) route that was introduced in February 2008 which permitted Migrants to enter the United Kingdom without a job or a Sponsor has now closed. Although Employers found Tier 1 to be useful, the UKBA through their research established that 30 % of Tier 1 (General) Migrants were doing low skill jobs and the category was not being used in the way the Government wanted it to. Migrants who are in the United Kingdom on Tier 1 (General) visas shall be able to apply for an extension by satisfying the same requirements as they did when they applied for entry.
The Tier 1 Post Study Work route, which permitted Students to apply for leave to remain in the United Kingdom for up to 2 years after they completed their degree or postgraduate courses, will close in April 2012. The UKBA explained that research showed 20% of British Graduates are unemployed and should be considered for jobs before foreign Graduates. However for the brightest foreign Students if they were offered a job, they would be permitted to apply to switch into the Tier 2 (General) category without the need for the Employer to advertise the post.
The Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Route, which does not form part of the annual limit, has been changed as follows:
� the posts will have to be in an occupation on the Graduate Occupation list;
� individuals who fill posts that pay a salary of �40,000 or more will be able to stay for more than a year - they will be given permission to stay for 3 years, with the possibility of extending for a further 2 years; and
� those paid between �24,000 and �40,000 will be allowed to come to the United Kingdom for no longer than 12 months, at which point they must leave the United Kingdom and will not be able to re-apply for 12 months.


Tier 2 (General)

The restrictions to Employers being able to bring only 20,700 non-EU Migrants to work in skilled professions under Tier 2 (General) of the Points Based System is concerned with out of country applications only. Migrants with job offers paying salaries in excess of �150,000 will not form part of this limit and these types of application will not be subject to the resident labour market test.

Employment of Migrant Students:

� Migrants who enter as Students and study at Universities will retain their right to work 20 hours a week part-time and to do work placements where the study : work ratio is 50:50.
� Migrant Students at publicly funded Further Education colleges will continue to be able to work 10 hours a week part-time.
� Other students will have no right to work part-time and work placements will have to be 66:33 in favour of study: work.
The Tier 1 'Exceptional Talent' route will be open to current and prospective leaders in the fields of science, engineering and the arts. 1000 Certificates of Sponsorship shall be available for this category.
Indefinite Leave applications: The UKBA explained that they will be taking consultation in the coming months in terms of analysing the benefits of individuals who wish to reside here permanently and looking at the full picture before approving applications.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned actual and proposed changes to the UK Immigration system, the Government will be requesting in December 2011 the Migration Advisory Committee to review the limits for Tier 1 and 2.

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At the meeting concern was expressed about the issues the new rules posed for UK Employers, which included uncertainty; being unable to plan ahead with confidence in terms of whether the Certificates of Sponsorship would in fact be granted given the cap; not knowing what the cap would be in a year�s time etc. The UKBA said that they would listen and respond to what Employers want and any changes to the rules would be made after transparent and thorough consultation.
 
Judith C Hinds is a Director at Active Immigration Solutions Limited. http://www.entryin.com.
Active Immigration Solutions Limited was established to provide value for money, world class professional services in the area of UK Immigration and Nationality advice to corporate clients and private individuals.