The Points-Based Immigration System (PBS) has replaced the previous routes to work and study in the UK for migrants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.
In addition, the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, passed on 21 July 2009, lays down a radical new approach to British citizenship that will require all migrants to speak English and obey the law if they want to gain citizenship and stay permanently in the UK.
The PBS aims to ensure that only those migrants who benefit the UK – for example the highly-skilled, such as surgeons or scientists, or those who are coming to fill gaps in the labour market that cannot be met from the domestic workforce, such as teachers and nurses – can come to work or study, while introducing new measures to ensure that migrants comply with their leave to remain and go home at the end of their stay.
The system divides applicants into five categories or ‘Tiers’. These are:
• Tier 1 - highly skilled workers, for example scientists and entrepreneurs;
• Tier 2 - skilled workers with a job offer, for example teachers and nurses;
• Tier 3 - low skilled workers filling specific temporary labour shortages, for example construction workers for a particular project;
• Tier 4 - students;
• Tier 5 - youth mobility and temporary workers, for example musicians coming to play in a concert.
Migrants need to pass a points-based assessment before they are given permission to enter or remain in the UK. Each Tier has a different points requirement. The number of points the migrant needs and the way the points are awarded will depend on the Tier they are applying under. Points will be awarded to reflect the migrant’s ability, experience, age and, when appropriate, the level of need within the sector in which the migrant will be working.
Employers must advertise Tier 2 skilled jobs to resident workers, through JobCentre Plus, before they can bring in a worker from outside Europe unless the job falls under Standard Occupational Classification SOC 1112 - which covers a chief executive (major organisation), a company director (major organisation), a director (major organisation), a general manager (major organisation), a managing director (major organisation) or a legal partner – and the salary package for the job is £130,000 or above or where there will be stock exchange disclosure requirements. All other resident labour market test requirements as set out in the particular code of practice must be met.
See the Home Office website for detailed information on how to fulfil the requirements of the resident labour market test.
The PBS is intended to be flexible. The Migration Advisory Committee will review the arrangements and recommend changes to the entry criteria, when necessary, in response to changing economic circumstances.
Migrants in Tier 4 who wish to study in the UK must also pass a points-based assessment. Tier 3 is currently suspended.
Migrants applying under any Tier except Tier 1 need to be sponsored in order for their application to be successful. If a UK organisation wishes to recruit a migrant under Tier 2 or 4, or a temporary worker under Tier 5, they must apply to the UK Border Agency for a sponsor licence. For workers under Tier 2 and for temporary workers under Tier 5, the sponsor will need to be a UK based employer. Under Tier 4, the sponsor must be a UK based educational institution. Migrants wishing to come to the UK as youth mobility workers under Tier 5 do not require a UK based employer.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) website gives details of the sponsorship duties and how to apply to become a licensed sponsor for workers and for students.
If you wish to employ or teach an EEA or Swiss national, you should be able to do this without needing the permission of the UKBA. There are, however, some restrictions on nationals of countries that are newer members of the EEA. See the UKBA website for more information on the rights of all EEA and Swiss nationals.
The UKBA website also contains advice for employers on how to comply with the laws preventing illegal working in the UK.
