UK Visa Changes: The first set of new visa norms were tabled in the UK Parliament on Tuesday to minimise the recruitment of skilled foreign workers across various sectors in the country.
The changes, once approved by the Parliament and implemented on July 22, will make visa access limited to less-skilled workers, making many low-paid jobs ineligible for visas.
“We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years,” UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said while proposing the new visa norms as part of an ‘Immigration White Paper’ back in May before the House of Commons.
What are the proposed new visa norms?
1. Salary requirements for work visas have been raised in line with the latest Office for National Statistics data.
2. Foreign workers will require increased skill level according to the norms which stipulate a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent for visa applications.
3. Skilled workers already in the UK will be exempt from the increased skill level requirement.
4. With more than a 100 occupations, including chefs and plasterers, taken off the shortage list, only time-limited access to visa will be allowed to workers with below degree-level skill or education for certain professions on a “temporary” list of so-called “critical roles” — which allowed certain visa exemptions.
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5. Those in occupations on the temporary shortage list will no longer be allowed to bring dependants and will not be eligible for salary and visa fee discounts.
6. Overseas recruitment in roles of social care worker will end on July 22 and new overseas applications will not be accepted anymore. However, transitional provisions will allow “in-country switching” for care workers already in the UK for another three years until July 2028.
7. Independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is commissioned to conduct a review of this time-limited list – including occupations, salaries and benefits.
What next?
The next set of recommendations in the White Paper are also to be implemented by this year end. This includes raising the immigration skills charge on companies that employ foreign workers and hardening the English language requirements for visa applications.
–with inputs from PTI