Annual Limit Set for Non-European Workers

The government has announced measures to control the numbers that can come to the UK and work from outside Europe. The number of skilled non-European workers that businesses can bring into the country will be restricted, and the Home Office is tightening the intra-company transfer route (which will sit outside the annual limit) and restricting ‘highly skilled’ workers to all but entrepreneurs, investors and people of exceptional talent. The measures include:  – introducing an annual limit of 21,700 for those coming into the UK under the skilled and highly skilled routes – 20,700 under Tier 2 (General) and 1,000 under the new ‘exceptional talent’ route;

 – raising to £40,000 the minimum salary for those coming under the Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) route for more than 12 months;

 – restricting Tier 1 (Highly Skilled) to all but entrepreneurs, investors and the exceptionally talented; and

 – requiring occupations in Tier 2 (General) to be at graduate level. The changes made to Tier 1 had been considered since was revealed that approximately one-third of those coming through this route were actually doing low-skilled jobs once they were in the UK. The government claim that businesses have now made it clear that their priority is to fill their specific vacancies through Tier 2. The new rules will take effect from April 2011. Applicants under Tier 2 will still be required to apply for a visa from the UK Border Agency through the points-based system, will have to be of graduate level, be sponsored by an employer and will be awarded points based on scarcity of skills and salary. However, they will be competing against other applicants for a visa to enter the UK and, in months when the limit is oversubscribed, those with the most points will qualify for one of the certificates of sponsorship available each month. Separately, businesses can bring in their own employees through the Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) route – but they must be earning more than £40,000 to stay more than 12 months, and their stay will be restricted to 5 years.