Tougher visa laws and increasing fee are deterring people further to come into this country. While UK is negotiating it's way out of EU, the changing rules not only affect non-EEA workers but may also affect workers from the EEA, after Brexit is complete.
Effective from April 6, 2017 onwards, the changes include an 18% increase in settlement applications to £2,297 and dependent relative applications to a massive £3,250. Individual migrants aren't the only ones affected.
The published Immigration Skills Charge Regulations 2017 will impose a charge of £1000 per worker per year, on employers who recruit foreign workers from outside the EU. A minimal charge of £364 per worker per year is also applicable to small businesses and universities and some exemptions apply. "Set at £1000 per employee per year, and a reduced rate of £364 for small or charitable organisations, it (Immigration Skills Charge) is designed to cut down on the number of businesses taking on migrant workers and incentivise training British staff to fill those jobs," the UK Home Office said. However, the charges are only applicable to new recruits and not existing ones.
The latest rules are part of a bunch of tougher measures that are being introduced following a review by the UK's independent Migration Advisory Committee- recommended changes to the visa system last year. Those applying for a Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) visa will be required to pay a health surcharge of £200 per person per year. Dependents of the main applicant will also have to pay over the same amount as the main applicant.
No Immigration Skills Charge for PhD level occupations on UK Tier 2 Visas
According to a report by the Workpermit.com, employees recruited into PhD-level occupations will not be subject to the Immigration Skills Charge. Meanwhile any students in the UK on a Tier-4 visa who are able to switch to a Tier 2 Visa (General) under immigration rules are also exempt from the £1000 fee.
Initially, it was not disclosed by the Home Office as to whether those applying to extend their stay in Britain would be subject to the Immigration Skills Charge. However, the Government department has since updated its Tier 2 sponsorship guidance.
The updated changes specify that the charge will not apply to non-EEA nationals, sponsored via the Tier 2 immigration route before 6 April, 2017 and who apply from within the UK to extend their Tier 2 stay with either the same or a different sponsor.
The Home Office has confirmed that sponsors are required to pay the Immigration Skills Charge at the time of allocating a Tier 2 CoS and is payable in advance for the total period of time covered by the certificate of sponsorship.
Minimum salary threshold
The cost of sponsoring (CoS) many overseas employees even more expensive. For instance, the minimum salary rate payable to ‘experienced workers’ within the Tier 2 (General) immigration category will be increased to £30,000 per annum.
Limited exemptions exist for this rule, which mainly apply to ‘public service occupations’ including medical radiographers; nurses; paramedics and secondary education teaching professionals in maths, physics, chemistry, computer science and Mandarin.
Overseas criminal record certificates
The Government is set to extend the requirement to provide a criminal record certificate to Tier 2 (General) applicants coming to work in the education, health and social care sectors and to their adult dependents.
A certificate will be required for applicants sponsored in these Standard Occupation Classification codes. Applicants in these codes outside of the Tier 2 (General) route, such as Intra-company Transfers are not affected.
Certificates will also be required from partners applying from overseas, on or after 6 April, 2017 who want to join an existing Tier 2 (General) visa holder working in one of these sectors.
Health Surcharge
Introduced in 2015, the surcharge is paid by non-EEA nationals who apply to come to the UK to work, study or join family for a period of more than 6 months. It is also paid by non-EEA nationals who are already in the UK and apply to extend their stay.
From 6 April, 2017 those applying for a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) will be required to pay a surcharge of £200 per person per year. Dependents pay around the same amount as the main applicant.
Summary of changes:
- Secondary school teachers in combined science, computer science and Mandarin are being added to the Shortage Occupation List. Secondary school teachers in chemistry are being removed from the list.
- Increasing the minimum salary that sponsors can offer a Tier 2 (General) worker from £25,000 to £30,000 for experienced workers. Some jobs in the health and education sectors are exempt until 1 July 2019.
- Closing the Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Short Term Staff category, meaning that all ICT workers, except graduate trainees, must qualify under a single route with a salary threshold of £41,500.
- Reducing the high-earners’ salary for the Intra-company Transfer Long Term Staff category from £155,300 to £120,000. These high earners can stay in the route for up to nine years, rather than the usual five years.
- Removing the requirement for Intra-company Transfer workers to have at least one year’s experience working for the sponsor’s linked entity overseas, for applicants paid £73,900 or above.
- Introducing a waiver for the Resident Labour Market Test and an exemption from the Tier 2 (General) limit for posts which support the relocation of a high value business to the UK or a significant new inward investment project.
- Annual updates to the occupational salary rates in the codes of practice.
- Changes to provide greater clarity and consistency as to which types of allowance will be considered against the salary requirements.
The Government has also announced that it will be making changes to visit visas, Tier 4 applications as well as minor changes and clarifications to the Immigration Rules relating to family and private life based visa applications.
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Petition launched to exempt non-EU NHS professionals from £35,000 salary threshold
Since April 2016, Non-EU citizens in the UK have need to earn £35,000/annum on a single contracted salary, if they wish to remain in this country permanently This rule discriminates against those who have chosen to work in the NHS, where such a salary is impossible within the first 5 years of employment.
Anand Kumar, in his petition wrote, “Like many others I came to the UK to complete my MSc and now wish to remain working for NHS making differences to people's lives on a daily basis.
“I have been living here for over 7 years and working extra hours during nights/weekends to meet the threshold however it is not good enough to secure my place here unless something changes.
“Sadly there are many others facing the same hardship and I believe that the threshold should be lowered to at least the average UK salary £28,000 for NHS staff.”
In the UK, currently average salary of a person is no more than £25,000 per annum.
Kumar has launched an e-petition https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/176987, urging the threshold to be lowered. Currently it has received 11,634 signatures. The government responds to any petition that gets more than 10,000 signature, but as we went to press, Kumar was still awaiting a respond. If the signature reaches 100,000, it will be considered for a debate in the Parliament.
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