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News » Tier 1 General (HSMP) Programme would be closed in April 2011
Tier 1 General closure in April 2011
After a speech yesterday by Home Secretary Theresa May the UK Government has at last unveiled the limits that have been set for a permanent immigration cap.
The cap will affect non-EU migrants wishing to immigrate to the UK under Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the points based system.
Key features of the immigration cap include:
- The Tier 1 (General) route will be closed.
- The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route will be reformed to make it more attractive. We will introduce flexibilities and create a new avenue for promising start-up companies which do not meet our investment threshold.
- The Tier 1 (Investor) route will also be reformed to offer an accelerated route to settlement, depending on the level of investment.
- A Tier 1 route for persons of exceptional talent will be introduced. This will cover migrants who have won international recognition in scientific and cultural fields, or who show sufficient exceptional promise to be awarded such recognition in the future. Applications by those with exceptional promise will be endorsed by a competent body in the relevant field. The 'exceptional talent' category will be subject to a limit of 1,000 places. Tier 2 will continue to be open to migrants working in these fields.
- The Tier 2 (General) route will be subject to a limit of 20,700 places for 2011/12.
The UK Border Agency stated, in their explanation of why only 1000 Tier 1 visas will be issued: "The government was determined to make changes to Tier 1 when it was revealed that approximately one-third of those coming through this route were actually doing low-skilled jobs once they were in the UK."
The UK Government seems to be convinced that they must reduce overall immigration including skilled immigration. If you qualify now for a Tier 1 General visa, it may be worth applying now for your visa. This is especially true if you wish to apply for a Tier 1 (General) visa as a highly skilled worker; Very few people will meet the requirements for a Tier 1 (General) Visa after March 2011.
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