On 18th March 2010 the UK Border Agency announced significant changes to Tier 1 & Tier 2 effective from 06/04/2010. The changes now mean applicants with Bachelor Degrees can apply for Tier 1 General (Skilled Migrant), subject to their earnings being at the required level. Top earners (over 150,000 GBP) can now enter under this scheme without scoring points for qualifications and applicants can now score points for age up to the age of 39.
Other changes include a review of the earnings calculations and a reduction in the length of the initial entry clearance from 3 to 2 years.
Source - Extract - UKBA Ministerial Statement 18/03/2010 - Borders & Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said :-
Changes I am making to the Immigration Rules today implement recommendations made
by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to change Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the Points-Based
System.
The Points-Based System continues to provide a flexible means to better identify and attract
those migrants who have the most to contribute to the UK, whilst enforcing our effective border
controls against those with less to offer. Tier 1 is for the most highly skilled workers, and Tier 2 for other skilled workers who have a job offer from a UK employer licensed to sponsor
migrants.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) provides the Government with independent,
evidence-based advice on the economic case for managed migration. The MAC published its
recommendations for Tier 2 on 19 August 2009, and its recommendations for Tier 1 on 4
December 2009. In arriving at them, it considered evidence from hundreds of organisations. The Government has also engaged with a wide range of employers, trade unions and other
organisations to ensure that the changes we make meet their needs and control migration in the best interests of the UK as a whole.
I can announce today that the Government is accepting all but two of the MAC’s recommended
changes to Tier 1. The Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules laid before the House
today includes new points tables for both tiers, a simpler route for very highly skilled workers
without Master’s degrees, greater flexibility for short-term transfers by multinational companies,
and more protection against such transfers being used to fill long-term vacancies that should go to resident workers.
We have disagreed with the Committee in the awarding of points for professional qualifications
held in addition to academic qualifications. We consider the approach would be complex,
confusing for applicants and difficult to administer, and that operationally it would be very
difficult to assess which combinations should attract particular points. So the Government has
not accepted the recommendation at this time.
Further, the MAC recommended that the Government commissions detailed analysis of the
economic returns to studying at particular institutions and for particular degree subjects. The
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has already commissioned research which will shed more light on international students’ experience of the Post Study Work route, the jobs they take on and whether or not the availability of Post Study leave to remain was decisive in them choosing to study in the UK. The Government has therefore decided that any further consideration of this recommendation should await the outcome of that research.
The UK Border Agency is also publishing a Statement of Policy for sponsors to ensure they have as much detail as possible about the Government’s response to the MAC’s recommendations, including those which do not require legislative action to implement.
Today’s Rules changes also make relatively minor changes to other parts of the Points Based
System. Under Tier 4, we are making a number of changes that will support the introduction of
the new Highly Trusted Sponsor category from 6 April. We are also amending the Rules to
permit sponsored researchers, who are part-way through research projects at our higher
education institutions, to make an application to extend their leave under the Government
Authorised Exchange sub-category of Tier 5.
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