Why migrate to the UK?

The most striking change in UK immigration post-Brexit was the introduction of a points-based system. So now, your eligibility to apply for UK immigration will be based on some fixed criteria. The facility to trade certain requirements in the old system is no more available in UK immigration.

Here are some specific changes we would like to mention to you:

• The Tier 2 (General) visa category got replaced by a new ‘Skilled Worker’ category.
• The following benefits have been accrued from the introduction of the new “Skilled Worker” category, both to the foreign worker and the UK employer:
  • It’s easier to get a new Skilled Worker visa.
  • The residence labor market test has been scrapped.
  • Both the minimum salary and minimum skill levels have been lowered.

Designated low-skilled jobs won’t have a visa category anymore. All focus of visa issuance will be on skilled and highly qualified foreigners.

Yes. However, make sure that you satisfy the requirement that you are a leader/potential leader in the following fields:

• Digital technology
• Arts and culture
• Academia or research

There must be documented proof for this claim and you must have attained 18 years of age.

When applying for a Tier 5 UK visa, you have to avoid these common mistakes:

• You mustn’t choose the wrong start date for your UK visa. Every UK visa has an application window. For example, a Tier 5 visa can be applied for only 6 months in advance. In this period, you will have to surrender your passport for visa application processing and won’t be able to make any overseas trips.
• It’s necessary that your passport has at least a 6-month validity at the time of entering the UK. If you apply for a UK visa and your passport turns out to not have the required validity, your visa application will be rejected.
• Don’t apply for a new passport after you have started the visa application process or a UK visa has been granted to you on the existing passport.
• If you have a travel plan don’t choose your visa start date such that it falls before the travel plan date.
• Don’t use a UK address that isn’t the address where you are going to be living once you reach the UK. If you do so, it will affect the collection of your Biometric Residence Permit after arriving in the UK.
• Don’t present proof of funds with a bank balance under the required amount, even by 1 pound.

Do not miss your Biometric appointment.

A job offer in the UK and the ability to speak English will get you 50 points. The additional 20 points required to qualify can be gained through any of the following:

• Having a job offer that pays you £26,000 or above per annum will give you 20 points.
• 10 points will be awarded for a relevant Ph.D. or 20 points for a Ph.D. in a STEM subject.
• 20 points will be given for a job offer where there’s a skill shortage.

The maximum points you can score is 70. Scoring more than 70 points won’t give you special privileges under UK immigration.

Skilled professionals can come to the UK under the Tier 2 program. If their occupation is listed in the Tier 2 shortage occupation list, they can come to the UK on a long-term basis. Popular professions in the occupation list belong to the IT, finance, engineering fields.

A route for skilled individuals with a job offer from an approved company sponsor is included in the points-based system. Since the Skilled Worker’s immigration is based on a points system, they can take advantage of the various points requirements to obtain the required number of points to apply for immigration.

While having a work offer from an approved sponsor is required, they will receive 50 points if they have a job at the relevant skill level and have English language abilities at the acceptable level.

If they are hired for a position that pays at least £25,600 per annum, they can earn the remaining 20 points. They can gain these extra points if they have better qualifications.

• 10 points for a relevant Ph.D.
• 20 points for a Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or math
• 20 points for a job offer in a skill shortage occupation

Students can migrate to the UK via a permit under Tier 4 category if they are joining a full-time study program.

International students with a valid Tier 4 permit in the UK can stay in the country after finishing their studies as long as they have a work offer that provides the required salary.

They can upgrade to a Tier 2 (General) category with a 5-year validity period from a Tier 4 category.

Students will be able to apply for permanent residence in the UK with the support of their post-study work experience.

The UK has a points-based immigration system. Anyone except Irish citizens coming to the UK to work in the country has to meet certain requirements. To meet these requirements they will score points. Candidates who gain sufficient points are chosen and awarded visas.

The advantage of this system is that it provides flexible arrangements for employers in the UK to recruit skilled foreign workers from around the world via many different immigration routes.

The employer/sponsor who sponsors you will need a license to hire the most eligible employees from beyond the UK. So, they have to check that the jobs they want to hire individuals for will satisfy the requirements for sponsoring work visas.

The most common way to immigrate to the UK is to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa. To qualify for a skilled worker visa, you have to score 70 points. A job offer from an approved UK employer for a skilled job along with your ability to speak English will fetch 50 points.

Extra points can be gained for having better qualifications like

• D. – 10 points
• D. in STEM – 20 points
• An offer of an in-demand job in which the UK has a shortage – 20 points

Under the Skilled Worker route, any person a UK employer wants to hire from outside the UK will have to show that:

• the candidate has a job offer from a sponsor licensed by the Home Office
• the job offer has the required level of skills – RQF 3 or above
• the candidate can speak English to the standard required

Additionally, it’s necessary that the job offered meets the applicable minimum threshold for salary. This is the higher of either:

• the general threshold of salary – £25,600, or
• the specific requirement of salary for the offered occupation (called the ‘going rate’)

Here’s how points are assigned under the Skilled Worker route:

You can also migrate to the UK even when you don’t have a job offer. Here are the visa pathways.

Youth Mobility Scheme Visa Tier 5

You can migrate to the UK on a tier 5 visa in case you don’t have a job offer from a UK employer. You have to satisfy certain criteria. This visa has a validity of only 2 years. It’s also issued as a one-time visa. Once this visa is approved you can’t file an application for the same a second time. This visa is called a working holiday visa.

Spouse Visa

If your spouse is a UK national then you may file an application for a spouse visa.  You can join your spouse in the UK with this visa. You have to meet the criteria that are more related to finance.

Student Visa

If you are a student who wants to study in one of the UK’s best universities you can apply for a UK student visa. You must be able to meet the terms of fees and cost of living. If you are on this visa, you are also permitted to work for a limited number of hours on a weekly basis.

Ancestry Visa

In case your parents/grandparents are British citizens you may apply for this visa. This visa is another way of going to the UK without a job offer from a UK employer. You are required to fulfill the criteria and give proof of your British connection.

To become a permanent resident in the UK you have to be a resident of the UK for a specific period of time. This time period is different for different classes of people. Here’s a list that tells you about it:

Here are the criteria for eligibility to apply for an ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain). ILR is the equivalent of permanent residency in the UK. Eligibility for an ILR is different for applicants who are of the child & young adult category and the adult category.

Criteria for children and young adults

If you were born in the UK and have resided here for 7 years continuously since your birth, you are eligible to apply for an ILR based on your private life.

Otherwise, you are eligible to apply for an ILR on the basis of your private life all of the following are true about you:

• You were first granted a visa based on your private life when your age was between 18 and 24
• You reached the UK as a child
• You have resided in the UK for 5 years continuously with a visa

You are allowed to include the time you have spent in the UK holding any other visas which lead to ILR. The visa you had based on your private life must be for at least a year on the day you file an application.

Criteria for adults

To apply for ILR in order to settle as an adult in the UK, you must:

• be aged over 18
• have been given a visa based on your private life in the UK
• have resided continuously in the UK for 10 years with a visa

You are allowed to include the time you have spent in the UK holding any other visas which lead to ILR. The visa you had based on your private life must be for at least a year on the day you file an application.

Knowledge of language and life in the UK

If you are an applicant aged between 18 and 64 you have to:

• pass the Life in the UK Test

meet the English language requirements (at least level B1 in listening and speaking or a degree taught/researched in English)