New UK Immigration Rules Announced, Effective from April 6, 2015

Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules was published by The UK Home Office in the last week of February. It mentioned significant changes in business visitor visa, application fees and introduction of premium service for visa applications submitted in the United States.

All changes will be effective from April 6, 2015, and are likely to have a direct affect on employers who employ foreign skilled workers. They might have to change their hiring strategy in accordance with the new immigration rules laid out by The Home Office.

1) Salary thresholds for Tier 2 visas have been slightly raised.

For Tier 2 (General)

• It is increased from earlier £20,500 to £20,800 and from £71,600 to £72,500 for Tier 2 jobs that are exempted from advertising in Jobcenter Plus
• For high earners, it is increased from £153,500 to £155,300

For Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer)

• Minimum threshold changed from £24,500 to £24,800 for Short-Term Staff, Skills Transfer, or Graduate Trainee categories
• For Long-term staff, the updated threshold will be £41,500 instead of the current £41,000.

Another important rule change is regarding the changes to the "Cooling Off Period." Tier 2 visa holders who have been in the UK for 12 months and were granted a Tier 2 leave of 3 months or less need not apply for Cooling Off Period.

2) Premium visa service for applying from the US

People submitting visa applications in the United States can avail premium visa service at an extra cost of $936. The visa will be processed within 24 hours.

Then there are also changes made in duration of stay for visit visas and transit visa. And English language tests list is also revised.

For more news and updates on immigration and visas, please visit Y-Axis News.