UK - Immigration Changes from April 2011
As of 6 April 2011 employers will be able to send to the UK only 20,700 peole from outside the EU to work in skilled professions under Tier 2 (General) of the points based system. Prospective worlers will need to have a graduate-level job offer, speak an intermediate level of English and meet specific salary and employment requirements. Those earning a salary of 150,000 STG or more wil not be subject to the limit.
The intra-comany Transfer route (ICT), which is not part of the annual limit, will also be changed in 3 ways:-
- the job wil have to be in an occupation on the graudate occupation list;
- only those paid 40,000 STG or more will be able to stay for more than one 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 STG and 40,000 STG will be allowed to enter the UK for no longer than 12 months, at wich point they must leave the UK and wil not be able to re-apply for 12 months
The old Tier 1 (General) category has bene abolished for new applications
A new 'Exceptional Telant' route is open to an initial 1000 current and prospective leaders in the fields of science, engineering and the arts.
