As part of the soon-to-be-effective UK annual immigration cap, the British coalition government made the announcement of a few fundamental changes it has brought into work visa scheme, which is popularly availed by overseas skilled workers. As decided by the government, from April 6 onwards the country would grant a total of 20,700 work visas to foreign workers who apply for the same through the country’s Tier 2 scheme of the Points-based System. In addition, 1000 visas will be granted to foreign workers, under a new visa scheme, called Exceptional Talent Route.

From April onwards, UK employers will have to undergo a new system for hiring foreign skilled workers. Currently, UK employers are given an annual allocation to hire workers, but under the new system employers will be required to lodge application for Certificate for Sponsorship with the UKBA in order to hire a foreign worker for a specific post. The yearly limit of 20,700 Certificate for Sponsorship will be distributed into twelve months allocations. Once a Certificate for Sponsorship is granted by the UKBA to an employer, it ideally must be assigned to prospective employee within a time frame of 3 months.

For the month of April, a total of 4,200 Certificate for Sponsorship will be made available, while in the following months the number of certificates to be granted likely to remain at 1,500.

Secondly, skilled workers from outside the European Union who intend to enter and work in the UK will need to fulfill the requirements- (a) must have a graduate level job; (b) must have intermediate level of speaking English; (c) must meet specific salary packages, as well as other employment requirements.

Thirdly, UK will exempt high earning non-EU professionals from the 20,700 annual cap. In other words, if employers want to hire somebody to fill a vacancy that earns a salary package of 150,000 pounds or more per year, they will not be subject to the Certificate for Sponsorship limit. UK’s decision to exempt high earners from the annual immigration cap is well-thought-out. It perhaps sends a message that the country is business-friendly, dismissing the general perspective that the country is not welcoming to businesses.

Apart for the above, the British government is also going to make changes to the Intra Company Transfer scheme. However, the scheme is not covered by the annual immigration cap. The likely changes are:

• A job under Intra Company Transfer scheme has to be included on the graduate occupation list;
• Only those workers who are paid 40,000 pounds or above will be allowed to stay in the United Kingdom for over a year. They will be granted visas for 3 years- also, they might be able to extend their visas for 2 more years; AND
• Workers who are paid in between 24,000 and 40,000 pounds will be allowed to stay in the UK only for a year. They would not be allowed to re-apply for visa for another year.

The Bottom-line: Skilled workers who cannot make it to the UK labor market under the immigration cap, they still hope to immigrate to the country, given they earn 150,000 pounds a year. If you are interested in immigrating, feel free to seek the assistance of a reputable Immigration and Visa Consultant. You can send your resume to ajay@abhinav.com for free-of-charge assessment for immigration.