Out-Law Analysis 4 min. read
04 Feb 2016, 12:35 pm
The UK Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has reviewed Tier 2 of the points based system (292-page / 3.3MB PDF) for immigrants to the UK. Tier 2 is the main route for skilled non-European economic area nationals to work in the UK, and changes to the rules are likely to affect many businesses.
The two biggest changes involve the salaries that can be paid to Tier 2 workers, and the introduction of a new skills charge.
Increased salary thresholds
The most significant recommendation is to increase the salary threshold for Tier 2 entrants.
Currently, the minimum salary is £20,800 for Tier 2 general migrants and £24,800 for short-term Tier 2 intra-company transfers, where a multinational company based overseas wishes to transfer existing staff from a country outside the EEA to the UK branch of the same company. The MAC has recommended that, in both cases, this is raised to £30,000. For new entrants into Tier 2 general, and graduate trainees in the Tier 2 intra-company transfer route, the recommendation is £23,000.
The MAC warned that the lower threshold for new entreats under Tier 2 general may need to be reconsidered if it is "targeted by lower quality migrants and less scrupulous employers".
For public sector workers, the MAC has suggested that the threshold should be phased in over time. It remains to be seen if the Government will consider any further exemptions, such as start-ups.
A new Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)
It is proposed that employers will have to pay, up front, £1,000 per year per Tier 2 worker. There would be exceptions for Tier 2 intra-company transfer skills transfer and graduate trainee routes, but no exemption is suggested for short and long-term Tier 2 intra-company transfers.
The actual level of the ISC would be a matter for HMRC. However, the MAC suggests that £1,000 is enough to encourage less reliance on foreign workers and to raise revenue, which will be spent on the training and up-skilling of UK workers. If implemented at this level, the ISC would significantly increase the cost of employing Tier 2 migrants.
Narrowing the Tier 2 intra-company transfer route
Tier 2 intra-company transfer is the most heavily used route of the points based system. It is not subject to the immigration cap and numbers have risen rapidly in recent years. A number of recommendations have been made by the MAC to attempt to tackle this:
Reforms to the Tier 2 general route
The MAC has not recommended limiting Tier 2 general to job titles on an expanded version of the shortage occupation list, contrary to initial concerns that it might do so. The shortage occupation list identifies jobs for which there is a shortage of skilled workers in the UK. There is one list for the whole of the UK and a separate one for Scotland. There were also concerns that MAC would recommend an automatic sunset clause to limit how long a role can remain on the shortage occupation list, but it has not done so.
Recommendations include:
Tier 2 dependants – automatic work rights
The MAC has not recommended that restrictions are applied to the automatic work rights for dependants entering under Tier 2. This was one of the more controversial proposals the MAC was asked to consider. The MAC found that this would not improve economic and social outcomes for UK residents, nor have a significant impact on the number of people using the Tier 2 scheme.
The government will consider which of these recommendations to implement and when. The first changes could be introduced as early as April.
Joanne Hennessy is an immigration expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.