UK Visa cap and immigration changes announced by the Home Secretary

As well as limiting the number of skilled non-EU workers businesses can bring into the country, the Home Office is tightening the intra-company transfer route,  which will sit outside the annual limit.

Other changes include closing the Tier 1 (General) category and reforming categories under Tier 1 to only allow entrepreneurs, investors and people of exceptional talent into the UK.

The new measures include:

• Introducing an annual UK Visa limit of 21,700 for those coming into the UK under the skilled and highly skilled routes – 20,700 under the skilled route and 1,000 under the new ‘exceptional talent’ route;
• Raising to £40,000 the minimum salary for those coming through the intra-company transfer route for more than 12 months;
• Restricting the highly skilled tier of the PBS to all but entrepreneurs, investors and the exceptionally talented;
• Requiring occupations in Tier 2 to be at graduate level.

Further details of these UK Immigration changes will be published before they are implemented in April 2011. 

The UK Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their  UK immigration applications to the British High Commission.