The government has announced that from April 2011 new measures are
being introduced to limit the number of non-EEA migrants who may come to
the UK.
Overview of UK immigration system
During 2008/9 the UK immigration system was changed to a points
based system and split into 5 tiers. (Each tier has been divided into
sub-tiers). These are as follows:
Tier 1 – Highly skilled migrants
Tier 2 – Skilled migrants workers
Tier 3 – Low skilled workers
Tier 4 – Students
Tier 5 – Temporary or exchange workers
With the exception of tier 1, migrants require to be sponsored by an
employer prior to coming to the UK. Sponsoring employers are subject
to a number of reporting and record keeping formalities. The employer
issues the migrant it wishes to sponsor with a Certificate of
Sponsorship (“CoS”) and the migrant must then obtain entry clearance
before arrival in the UK.
The new measures
The new measures include the following:
Tier 1 – Highly skilled migrants
- The Tier 1 (General) route is to be closed.
- Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) is be reformed. This route will not be subject to a cap.
- Tier 1 (Investor) is be reformed to offer an accelerated route to settlement. This route will not be subject to a cap either.
- A new category, Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) will be created for
migrants who have won international recognition in the scientific and
cultural fields or who may achieve such recognition in the future. This
category is capped at 1,000 migrants.
Tier 2 – Skilled migrant workers
- A maximum of 20,700 non-EEA workers who are coming to the UK under
Tier 2 of the points based system will be permitted to enter the UK in
the year 2011/2012. Any migrant worker who will earn in excess of
£150,000 per annum will be excluded from this cap. - All migrant workers must be at graduate level.
- A pool CoS will be distributed to businesses monthly. This is a
change from the current system as under the interim cap the CoS were
pre-allocated. However, this means that applicants will have to compete
against other applicants for their UK visas and in months when the
limit is over subscribed, which is likely to be every month, the
applicants with the greatest amount of points will qualify. - The Tier 2 intra-company transfer (“ICT”) migrants will be excluded
from the cap, however, the criteria for qualifying for the ICT route is
being tightened. Any ICT migrant coming to the UK for more than 12
months must earn a minimum of £40,000 per annum and their stay in the UK
is restricted to a maximum of 5 years. - The tier 2 (General) cap will be subject to an annual review.
Tier 3 – Low skilled workers
This tier has not been launched and there are currently no plans to launch it at present.
Tier 4 – Students
This is the tier used by overseas students to study in the UK.
Under the new tier system the UK educational institutions have to assume
a greater compliance responsibility for their overseas students.
It has been announced that a consultation on Tier 4 will begin before the end of the year.
Tier 5 – Temporary or exchange workers
This tier will not primarily be used by employers but will instead
be used by bodies who deal with temporary work. For example, it may be
used by charity workers who come to the UK to undertake voluntary work
for up to 12 months. It is comprised of the Temporary Workers and Youth
Mobility Scheme sub-tiers.
Commentary
The abolition of Tier 1 (General) is unsatisfactory. This route was
used by employers who did not want to have to advertise vacancies under
Tier 2 and/or were not licensed as sponsors. Much comment from
industry sources has appeared in the UK press expressing fears of an
impending skills shortage as a result of these measures.
These amendments would appear to make our immigration system less
responsive to employers’ needs just as the need to retain talent in the
UK to assist the recovery from the recession becomes key for many.
For further information or to discuss the issues raised, please get in touch.