LONDON, Feb 6: A new Australian-style points-based immigration system (PBS) was announced on Wednesday which when fully in place would make it almost impossible to get a work permit for workers from Pakistan and other none-European countries applying to come to the UK.
The rules will severely restrict International Medical Graduates’ access to UK postgraduate medical training.
The regulations will start coming into force on Feb 29 when any highly skilled foreign nationals currently working in Britain who want to extend their stay will need to apply under the new system. In April, the new system will begin to be rolled out overseas when anyone who wants to work in the UK as a highly skilled migrant will need to apply under PBS. By the summer the new highly skilled system will operate worldwide.
Borders and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said: “Our points system is starting on time and on plan. I’ve no problem with taking the best systems in the world, like Australia’s points system, and bringing them to the UK. This is a key part of the huge shake-up to our border security this year.”
“The points system means only those migrants Britain needs can come to the UK. We know that migrants contributed to our economy to the tune of £6 billion to GDP in 2006. A strong system for highly skilled migrants is vital to Britain winning these benefits because these migrants are well-educated and pay lots of tax.”
The highly skilled tier-1 will build upon the success of the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme by continuing to attract the most talented people with the skills the UK needs to remain a global leader in the fields of finance, business and technological innovation.
The announcement follows the completion in January of the Border and Immigration Agency’s global rollout of fingerprinting for all visas three months early. Now every person in the world coming to the UK on a visa has his fingerprints taken and details checked against watch-lists. If they’re on the list for the wrong reason they can’t come in and could be banned from applying to come again for up to 10 years.
Under the new system applicants will need sufficient points to qualify for entry to the UK to train, study and work. Points are awarded according to objective criteria such as qualifications, previous earnings, age and UK experience. It also introduces a formal link between applicants and their sponsors who will have a better idea of the likelihood of success of the application.
Tier-1 is the first of five tiers of the PBS due to be rolled out over the next 12 months. Tier-2, targeting skilled workers with a job offer and tier-5, for temporary workers such as musicians, actors and sportsmen will both come online in the third quarter of 2008. Tier-4, for students, will follow at the beginning of 2009. There are no plans to introduce tier-3, which covers low skilled routes.
