A petition launched at the beginning of the year called for the threshold to be reconsidered – it gathered more than 100,000 signatures and was debated in parliament last week.
Teachers, IT Professionals and Journalists could all be badly affected.
To settle in the UK as a skilled worker, non-EU migrants need to have a Tier 2 visa. For this you need:
- An offer for a job in the UK that pays at least £20,800
- Have had at least £945 in your bank account for 90 days
- A certificate of sponsorship from your employer (which can cost between £536 and £1,476)
- To pay a £200 annual healthcare surcharge
- To prove your English language proficiency
After five years on this visa, skilled workers are able to apply for ‘indefinite leave to remain’ – and this is what is about to change.
From April, anyone applying for indefinite leave to remain will need to earn at least £35,000.
Nurses are temporarily exempt from this threshold, along with PhD-level jobs and any professions that have been on the official ‘shortage occupation list’ while the person has been living here.
However, the earnings threshold could be applied to migrant nurses in the future.
The new rule doesn’t apply to anyone who entered the country on a Tier 2 visa on or before April 5 2011.
COMMENT