Tier 2 (General)
Changes made following the Migration Advisory Committee review include:
- Increased salary threshold for experienced workers of £25,000 (but not new entrants where the threshold is held at £20,800). This does not apply to nurse, medical radiographers, paramedics and secondary school teachers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, and Mandarin ending in July 2019.
- As a transitional arrangement, the £25,000 threshold will not apply to workers sponsored in Tier 2 (General) before 24 November 2016, if they apply to extend their stay in the category. The Government intends to increase the threshold to £30,000 in April 2017; there will be no such transitional arrangement for workers sponsored in Tier 2 (General) between 24 November 2016 and April 2017 – they will need to satisfy the £30,000 threshold in any future application.
- UK graduates who have returned overseas have been weighted more heavily in the monthly allocation rounds under the Tier 2 limit. Graduates who apply in the UK continue to be exempt from the limit.
- Applicants sponsored in graduate training programmes may change occupation within the progaramme or at the end of the programme without their sponsor needing to carry out a further Resident Labour Market Test or for them to make a new application.
If the worker has been offered the job within 6 months of the milk round beginning, the sponsors from April 2017 will be able to rely on a milk round that finished up to 4 years before assigning a certificate of sponsorship.
The job title – nurse is still on the shortage occupations list, however, the requirements are amended to require a Resident Labour Market Test to be carried out before a nurse is allocation a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Amendments are made if the applicant wishes to switch from Tier 4 to Tier 2 permit, and if the applicant studied at a UK well known body or an institution in receipt of public funding as a higher education body, and to also avert an applicant from depending on a qualification acquired via further additional study.
