Changes to the UK Immigration System
The UK Border Agency has introduced a point based entry system for anyone wanting to come to or remain in the UK that doesn’t hold a UK or EU passport.
This is similar to the Australian points based system and in summary, anyone wanting to move to or remain in the UK will need to show that they meet the new requirements and that they have enough points to qualify.
There are several ways in which points can be earned such as qualifications, earnings etc. However, the biggest change in the system is that in most cases, potential migrants will need to be sponsored by an employer.
The PBS has five different Tiers:
Tier 1: Highly skilled individuals to contribute to growth and productivity
– this used to be the highly skilled migrant programme.
Tier 2: Medium and high skilled workers
Tier 3: Low-skilled migration
Tier 4: Students
Tier 5: Youth mobility and temporary workers
The most likely Tier that Hasson Associates’ clients and candidates will fall under is Tier 2.
As a candidate, in order to gain Tier 2 status you will need to have a confirmed job offer from a UK-based employer. This employer must be registered with the Home Office in order to be placed on the list of approved sponsors. You can check this with: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk and we suggest that if you have any questions relating to visa/permits to refer to this website.
As an employer, you need to issue certificates of sponsorship which will act as an assurance from you that the migrant intends to and is able to do the job.
Under Tier 2 this includes Intra-Company Transfers for employers wishing to bring international / non EU employees to work in their UK offices. An employee being considered for an inter-company transfer must have worked with that company for at least 6 months .
Please note that whilst we are aware of the current immigration changes, we are not visa/permit specialists and would recommend going to: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk in the first instance for any questions you may have over the new system.