Migration Advisory Committee Publishes Report on Post-Brexit Immigration System

Maintaining current Tier 2 (General) category for workers with a job offer

• The current framework for Tier 2 (General) as a work visa requiring a job offer should continue, as should plans to remove the Resident Labour Market Test and the annual limit on new entrants. This will make the category more certain and cut two to three months from the lead time for Tier 2 (General) category.

Creating a new points-based system for workers without a job offer

• Modify the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) to focus more on those with exceptional promise rather than an established track record, and move away from the current system of endorsement to a points-based assessment focusing on age and qualifications, among other criteria.

• Applicants could express an interest in coming to the United Kingdom and would be awarded points for certain characteristics, for instance qualifications and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

• Monthly allocations of visas would be available (derived from an annual limit on numbers) with the highest-scoring applicants awarded a visa and others waiting for subsequent months.

Amending salary thresholds

• Reduce the minimum salary requirement for the Tier 2 (General) visa category from GBP 30,000 to approximately GBP 25,600.

• Exclude allowances and bonuses from the salary calculation, where these can currently be included. 

• Maintain a single national salary threshold rather than introducing regional salary thresholds.

Expanding new entrants

• Reduce the percentage for new entrants’ salary by 30 percent.

• Widen the definition of a new entrant to include not only those applicants under the age of 26 and those switching from a student visa, but also those who are working toward recognised professional qualifications and those who are moving directly into postdoctoral positions.

Other recommendations

• A pause to the proposed increase to the settlement salary threshold and a full review to possibly introduce a more flexible system for granting settlement.

• Future consideration to introduce a separate salary threshold for Northern Ireland.

• Possibly introduce a pilot visa to attract foreign talent to ‘remote’ areas.

Evaluation

• Gather high-quality data to enable review of whether the future immigration system achieves the desired objectives.