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UK visa rules to change
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The British government announced that proposals have been made where migrants coming to the UK to work on temporary visas will no longer be able to apply for settlement, the British High Commission in Colombo said.
Launching a public consultation on reforms to the employment routes leading to settlement, British Immigration Minister Damian Green set out proposals to classify visas as either ‘temporary’ or ‘permanent’ and introduce stricter criteria for those who want to stay in the UK.
Immigration Minister Damian Green said:
“The proposals I am making today are aimed at breaking the link between temporary and permanent migration. Settlement has become almost automatic for those who choose to stay. This needs to change. The immigration system has got to be made to work properly. We want the brightest and best workers to come to the UK, make a strong contribution to our economy while they are here, and then return home.”
The government is implementing reforms to the immigration system which will reduce the level of immigration to sustainable levels. Today’s announcement is the next step in this process.
Under the current system, many workers are allowed to apply to stay in the UK permanently. In 2010, 84,000 people who entered the UK for employment were granted settlement. This compares to fewer than 10,000 who qualified for employment-related settlement in 1997.
Key proposals under consideration in the 12 week consultation are as follows:
• re-branding Tier 2 (the skilled worker route) as temporary, ending the assumption that settlement will be available for those who enter on this route;
• allowing certain categories of Tier 2 migrant, for example those earning over £150,000 or occupations of a specific economic or social value to the UK, to retain an automatic route to settlement;
• creating a new category into which, after three years in the UK, the most exceptional Tier 2 migrants may switch and go on to apply for settlement;
• allowing Tier 2 migrants who do not switch into a settlement route to stay for a maximum of five years with the expectation that they and any dependants will leave at the end of that time;
• introducing an English language requirement for adult dependants of Tier 2 migrants applying to switch into a route to settlement;
• restricting the maximum period of leave for Tier 5 Temporary Workers to 12 months; and closing or reforming routes for overseas domestic workers.
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