On Thursday 29 October, the Home Office laid before Parliament changes to Immigration Rules. Most of these changes affect applications made on or after 19 November 2015 and are outlined below.
Sir Edward Garnier, MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, said: “These are welcome changes which will help the Government achieve their immigration targets by weeding out abuses of the system and by making sure that the migrants who apply to come here are within the rules.”
Asylum
- Not allowing EU nationals to make asylum claims, unless exceptional circumstances apply.
- Clarifying the circumstances in which refugee status will be withdrawn.
Settlement
- Ensuring indefinite leave and naturalisation applicants, who normally rely on an English language qualification, take a Secure English Language Test.
- The introduction of the £35k minimum earnings threshold for Tier 2 settlement, which will come into force on 6 April 2016.
Family/Private Life
- Providing that a child’s application for entry clearance will be refused where the Secretary of State considers that the sponsor or the sponsor’s partner poses a risk to the child.
Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) of the Points Based System
- Amending the endorsement criteria used by Tech City UK, to better reflect the skills and experience of target applicants who are most likely to add value to the UK digital technology sector.
Tiers 2 and 5 of the Points Based System
- Adding nurses and four digital technology jobs to the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List.
- Changes to clarify the charity worker rules for sponsors and applicants.
- Setting the annual allocation of places available under the Youth Mobility Scheme for 2016.
- Minor amendments to the list of Government Authorised Exchange Schemes.
Additional technical changes are being made to the Immigration Rules. For more information visit www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes
For questions or enquiries, visit www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi. If you are a premium sponsor please contact your licence manager.