The Tier 2 visa route has had an annual cap of 20,700 since 2011 when the scheme was initially implemented. However, over the past 8 months the number of applications has exceeded the monthly allocation of available places.
In June 2018, medical professionals such as doctors and nurses have been excluded from the Tier 2 visa cap for highly skilled workers. The Government’s decision was aimed at solving the NHS’ shortage of medical professionals by enabling the NHS to employ an unrestricted number of doctors and nurses from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) through the Tier 2 visa route.
Despite the fact that medical professionals accounted for around 40% of the Tier 2 allocations, the visa cap was exceeded again in July 2018 and a significant number of requests for Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship have therefore been rejected.
The pressure to bring in more professionals from outside the EEA has been growing since the number of people arriving in the UK from EEA countries has declined following the Brexit vote. Before the Brexit vote, the cap for skilled workers had only been exceeded a few times since the system was set up.
Tier 2 applications are highly technical and visas are allocated on a points based system, weighted heavily towards salary when the system is over-subscribed. As a consequence, in June, the minimum salary for a Restricted Certificate of Sponsorship to be approved was £60,000.
Under the current Immigration Rules, the requirement is that the applicant needs to be paid at least £30,000 per year or the appropriate rate for the job they are offered, whichever is the higher. This month, although the cap was again reached, the minimum salary for a Tier 2 Restricted Certificate of Sponsorship to be approved has decreased to £42,000 per year.
Gherson has extensive experience with Tier 2 highly skilled applications. Should you wish to discuss the options available to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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