Tier 2 visa cap: no change for June?
The meeting for the monthly allocation of Tier 2 restricted certificates of sponsorship (RCoS) was held on Monday (11 June) and once again it is likely that the quota will be over-subscribed.
So far we have heard of only one RCoS being awarded for the job with an equivalent salary of £50,000. This position received an extra amount of of points that took its total over the threshold, because the successful candidate had studied for their degree at a UK university before returning overseas. Their employer will also have complied with the Resident Labour Market Test by advertising this vacancy domestically without success.
Last month, valid applications were successful in securing a RCoS if they scored at least 51 points. What will be the cut-off this month?
The official allocation statistics should be published by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) by the third week of June.
The quota on Tier 2 (general) visas has been reached for seven consecutive months and is continuing to have a detrimental effect on those recruiting skilled workers from outside of the UK and EU. While employers have been aware of this for a while, it is now a matter of public concern, after press reports regarding thousands of doctors and IT professionals who have been refused visas, despite a skills shortage.
The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, has said he is ‘taking a fresh look’ at the skilled work visas cap and is due to make a speech about it later this week.
The total number of certificates available for allocation in June is 2,052.