This blog post looks at old changes announced within immigration law. Take a look at our blog to read some more recent updates.
In today’s blog post we shall examine the recent Australian government report criticising proposed changes to the UK Tier 2 Visa. The Tier 2 visa is the main working visa category under which non-EEA nationals are able to work in the UK. Within the category there exists specialised visas for ministers of religion and sportspersons as well as other options that allow companies to transfer their employees to their UK company.
The year ending September 2015 saw a 7% increase in Tier 2 visas granted compared to the previous year taking the total number up to 92,859. The top five nationalities by application are as follows:
- India
- S.A
- Australia
- China
- Japan
According to the report ordered by Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK, 60 per cent of UK businesses surveyed said that it would be less likely that they would hire Australian staff. News Corp said that the latest changes relating to Tier 2 visa category will restrict the right of the main applicant’s spouse to work which they fear would make it harder to transfer staff to the UK. The position was echoed by London Mayor Boris Johnson who said that he supported a firm but fair policy that would attract the World’s top talent to the UK.
The latest measures are part of a long line of increasingly strict immigration policies implemented by the UK government. As net migration reaches an all-time high and the issue of immigration dominates political discussion the UK government is desperate to appear tough on immigration. English language tests, additional supporting documents and changes to financial requirements form the latest measures that make the UK more and more difficult to enter.
However, the official economic watchdog has said that immigrants will play a vital role in the Chancellor’s economic predication of achieving a budget surplus of £10 billion by 2019-20. Marrying a tough stance on immigration with plans for economic growth appear to be a difficult line that the government will have to tread over the coming years should they want to meet their target.
Are you an Australian national? How do you feel about the latest proposals? As always, join in the discussion and leave a comment below.
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