Changes Made To UK's Tier 1, Tier 2 Immigration Rules Programmes And The Dependents Scheme

21 Apr 2014

According to news reports, some minor changes have been made to some categories of immigrant visas on the UK. These changes in the rules have been made effective from April 6, 2014. There are three main categories of programs which have undergone changes in the rules. Immigrants can apply for a suitable vacancy under the Tier 2 programme, if this vacancy remains unfilled by a ‘settled worker’. This rule is applicable for many sub-streams but each of those cases has some specific requirements/conditions, as well.

However, whichever the stream, the sponsoring employer must adhere to a salary threshold, whatever the sub-stream. The different steams have witnessed an increase in the salary threshold of 0.9%, but this increase applies only to those whose certificates of sponsorship were issued on or after April 6, 2014. Also, those who are applying for entry clearance or general Tier 2 stream the Intra-Company Transfer stream, can be granted a leave of five years at most, if it is their first application, instead of the current three years, but this can be done only by paying a higher fee.

The Tier 1 programme offers the applicants the opportunity to immigrate to UK on varied grounds, while also having the options for staying in that country permanently. Each sub-stream under this pogramme has its own specific requirements. Now, under Tier 1, and under the ‘Exceptional Talent visa’, under the present rules, a person can apply for ‘Exceptional Talent Visa’ if he/she is/has been a luminary or emerging luminary or a recognized luminary in science, engineering, medicine, humanities, arts, etc. Under the new rules brought into effect, the list of these fields has been updated to include persons of exceptional claibre in the sector/field of digital technology, who are endorsed by Tech City UK. Up to 200 endorsements in the digital technology programme sector can be made under this Tier 1 programme.

Also, some more notable and quite comprehensive changes have been made with respect to rules regarding dependants of immigrants. The main change under the new rules is that only those dependents whose sponsors settled under a points-based scheme qualify, unlike in the earlier system.

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