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03 Mar New changes for Tier 2 visa

Posted on March 3, 2017 in Working in the UK by
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Skills Charge

After 6 April 2017, UK employers will be required to pay an Immigration Skills Charge for sponsoring a prospective non-EEA Tier 2 general and ICT worker (the dependants will be excluded). The charge will be £1000 per year (for medium or large sponsors) and £364 per year (for small or charitable sponsors).

The skills charge will apply to sponsor a Tier 2 worker under the ‘General’ or ‘Intra-company Transfer’ route and who will be applying from:

  • outside the UK;
  • inside the UK in order to switch to a new employer OR extend their existing leave.

The skills charge does not apply if the employers are sponsoring:

  • a non-EEA national who was sponsored as a Tier 2 migrant before 6 April 2017 and is applying from inside the UK to extend their Tier 2 stay with either the same sponsor or a different sponsor;
  • a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Graduate Trainee;
  • a specified PhD level occupation;
  • a Tier 4 student visa holder in the UK switching to a Tier 2 (General) visa.

 

Overseas Criminal Record Certificate

From April 2017, a criminal record certificate may be required for Tier 2 visa applicants coming to work in education, health and social care sectors. Applicants (and their adult dependants) subject to this requirement will need to provide a criminal record certificate from each country in which they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the 10 years prior to making their application. The sponsors should inform prospective employees of the new requirement as early as possible.

Resident Labour Market Test for Shortage Occupations

A resident labour market test does not have to be carried out before assigning a Tier 2 (General) CoS to fill a job in a shortage occupation, except then job is in the occupation code ‘2231 Nurses’. The requirement of a migrant’s minimum working hours is 30 hours per week.

Timing of Milkround Recruitment

A CoS must be assigned within 48 months of the milkround taking place. From 6 April 2017, the migrant must have been offered the job within 6 months of the milkround recruitment campaign ending.

For any further information, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

The content of this article is for general use and information only. Since each case should be prepared on its own merit and in light of the constant amendments to the Immigration Rules, it is important to note that the information provided must not be relied upon unless Migra & Co has either given written consent or has been officially engaged in relation to a specific immigration matter. As a result, Migra & Co will take no responsibility for any damage, cost or loss resulting from relying on the information contained in this article, blog and website.