New immigration measures
announced in the latest
Statement of Changes
11 March 2019
In addition to the changes to the Tier 1 category, the government has announced other new measures for people who wish to live and work in the UK. The main points are as follows:
- Tier 2: Following a review published by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on 19 January 2016, the Home Office increased the minimum salary threshold for Tier 2 to £30,000. However some jobs in shortage are exempt from this minimum requirement – such as nurses and paramedics, medical radiographers and secondary school teachers whose subjects are in maths, physics, chemistry, computer science and Mandarin.
The Home Office will extend the minimum salary exemption in the Tier 2 (General) visa so that the NHS and schools can continue to attract and hire experienced teachers, nurses and paramedics from overseas. - Stateless leave: The initial period of leave for those who qualify for stateless leave will increase. In order to qualify for stateless leave the applicant must show that they cannot acquire a nationality or a right to permanent residence in another country to which they may be entitled.
- The EU Settlement Scheme: The Scheme will open fully for resident EU citizens and the family members to obtain UK immigration status on 29 March. The fees to register will be waived.
- Afghan interpreters: Those Afghan nationals who relocated to the UK will be able to be joined by eligible family members from Afghanistan.
- Nurses exchange scheme: As part of an exchange placement scheme, 20 nurses from Jamaica will come to the UK to work at Leeds Teaching Hospital for five months after having completed seven months’ initial training at home.
In the statement, the government said it remains committed to bringing net migration down to sustainable levels, but also recognises the need to attract people who bring benefits to the UK and enable employers to have access to the skills they need.
Further details of all the announced changes are available here. We will keep you updated with more information as soon as we have it.
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