From 6 April, and unless possible exceptions apply, the applicant will have to earn £35,000 annually when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain. If they are not able to prove that they are earning this minimum pay threshold, they have to leave the UK, unless they can find an alternative route to remain in the country, reports Lifeintheuk.net.
The exemptions to this new rule are:
- Tier 2 migrants whose occupations are skilled to Ph.D. level;
- Tier 2 migrants whose occupations are on the Shortage Occupation List; and
- Under certain circumstances Tier 2 migrants who were previously sponsored as Tier 2 General migrants at a time when their occupation was listed on the Shortage Occupation List.
The pay threshold also will not apply to persons if the continuous 5-year period preceding the date that the ILR application is submitted includes a period of leave as the following:
- A Qualifying Work Permit Holder, or
- A Tier 2 migrant whose Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned to the applicant before 6 April 2011.
Tier 2 holders can normally apply for ILR after spending five years in the UK in this capacity. If they do not qualify for ILR upon completion of the five years, they will be able to remain in the UK for a further 12 months in this capacity (to bring their total period of stay as a Tier 2 migrant to six years).
Meanwhile the UK government responded to individuals who signed a petition against the £35k threshold. The response reads:
“The £35,000 threshold was announced in 2012 following public consultation. It applies only to workers in graduate occupations. Exemptions exist for workers at PhD-level or in a recognised shortage.
The Government believes that the UK can benefit from migration but not uncontrolled migration. We are delivering a more selective immigration system that works in the national interest.
Uncontrolled, mass immigration makes it difficult to maintain social cohesion, puts pressure on public services and can drive down wages for people on low incomes. In the past it has been too easy for employers to bring in workers from overseas, rather than to take the long-term decision to train our workforce here at home.
As part of our reforms, we consulted in 2011 on being more selective about those workers who are allowed to settle in the UK. We do not believe there should be an automatic link between coming to work in the UK temporarily and staying permanently.
The £35,000 threshold for settlement applications forms part of our overall strategy and is intended to make a modest contribution to the Government’s target of reducing net migration to sustainable levels. It applies to those holding leave under Tier 2, the skilled work category. This category is reserved for those working in graduate level jobs only.
The threshold was set following advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent advisory body consisting of expert labour market economists. The MAC carried out a further public consultation, in addition to that carried out by the Government, before arriving at its recommendations.
The purpose of the Tier 2 category is to support the UK economy. The MAC advised that the strongest indicator of economic value is salary, and therefore those migrants earning more than a given amount at the end of their temporary leave in the UK should be eligible for settlement.
£35,000 was equivalent to the median pay of the UK population in skilled jobs which qualified for Tier 2 at the time of the MAC’s consultation. The MAC’s most recent research shows that the equivalent figure today would be £39,000.
