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spring 11

Immigration News & Views from Smith Stone Walters

April 2011 visa reforms

for workers –the bar is raised

iN ThiS iSSuEeditorial:Tier 2 limit – The story so far

latest changes:Statement of Intent – Tier 2

latest changes:

Independent report nds UKBAapproaches inconsistent

Student rule change proposal –A hostile act

latest news:Smith Stone Walters Hong Kong– Open for business!

10 great years...Thank you!

focus on:Changes to Settlement

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INSiGHT from Smith Stone Waltersspring 1102

STATEmENT of iNTENT – TiEr 2

On 16 February 2011, the government published a Statement of Intent outlining changes to

the Tier 2 system, which will come into effect on 6 April 2011. A number of changes have been

announced, but this summary centres on the key changes that will impact most employers seeking

to engage migrant workers.

The Limit – who does it apply to?In the year 6 April 2011 – 5 April 2012, a limit of 20,700 places will apply for those seeking

admission to the UK under the Tier 2 General category to fill a vacancy attracting a salary of less

than £150,000 per annum (known as the Restricted Category).

The limit will not apply to the following applicants, who are part of the Unrestricted Category:

Tier 2 intra-company transfers

Tier 2 extensions

those seeking to fill a vacancy attracting a salary of £150,000 or more

Tier 2 migrants wanting to make a new visa application to switch employment to another

company within the UK

those currently in the UK in a different visa category and wanting to switch into Tier 2 General(e.g. Student/Tier 4, Tier 1 General, Tier 1 Post Study Work).

How will the new system operate?

Restricted Category

The 20,700 limit will be subdivided into

12 monthly allocations. In April, 4,200

places will be allocated. For each

subsequent month, the limit will be set

at 1,500 places. There may be some slight

movement of these numbers depending

on whether each month is under

or oversubscribed.The UKBA aim to start receiving applications for Restricted CoS from 16 March 2011.

The UKBA will set a published deadline for applications each month.

If the monthly quota is reached, applications will be considered against a ranking criteria,

using a points system designed to favour jobs on the shortage occupation list, scientific

research positions, and jobs with a higher salary.

Unrestricted Category

The ICT category will be changed to distinguish between Shorter Term and Longer Term assignments.

Shorter Term assignments:

must be paid over £24,000 per annum

can have no more than 40% of the salary package

consist of accommodation allowances

will be granted leave up to 12 months only.

Longer Term assignments:

must be paid over £40,000 per annum

can have no more than 30% of the salary package consist of accommodation allowances

will be granted leave up to 3 years initially and may extend for a further 2 years.

Other changes – all categories

The job must be on the published Graduate Occupation List for Tier 2 applications.

The English language requirement will be raised from basic to intermediate (B1) for Tier 2General applications.

The Resident Labour Market Test will not apply for Tier 2 General applications where the salary

is £150,000 or above.

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Monthly allocation



INSiGHT from Smith Stone Waltersspring 11

L A T E S T C h A N g

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iNdEpENdENT rEporT fiNdS uKbA

ApproAChES iNCoNSiSTENT

The UK Border Agency needs to implement and maintain a consistent approach to decision making

and also increase its focus on the compliance of the skilled migrant tier (Tier 2) to the points-based

system, according to John Vine, the independent chief inspector of the agency.

In his report on Tier 2 of the points-based system, Vine pointed out that there were “inconsistent

approaches to the decision making process”, with some applicants rejected because of minor

omissions of evidence or information while others were given extra time to supply the missing

information.

Vine also found:

there was no evidence of a systematic approach to ensure that post-licensing visits were

carried out on sponsors retrospectively; and

the Agency did not routinely take the required action to curtail the leave of migrants who had

stopped working for their sponsor while on a Tier 2 visa.

The report found 150 cases where the visas were not cancelled for migrants who had finished jobsand were required to leave the UK. This number is expected to increase in the short term given the

current backlog of 3,000 potential cases yet to be processed.

To receive a copy of the full report, please contact your Smith Stone

Walters adviser.

STudENT ruLE ChANgE propoSAL – A hoSTiLE ACT

According to a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), universities across the UK

will lose many billions of pounds if the government enacts plans to restrict foreign students’ visas,

which will ‘amount to a hostile act against Britain’s universities.’

The Home Office has countered this claim by reiterating that their proposals focus on reducing

abuse of the current system and cutting down on the amount of foreign students studying below

degree level. However, the HEPI report said that the more likely outcome would be that the

number of foreign students in the UK would drop, taking away the significant amount of money

that they provide to universities.

Two-thirds of the non-EU migrants who enter the UK come as students. The government wants to

bring these numbers down as it tries to fulfil its pledge to cut net migration from 200,000 to the

‘tens of thousands’ by 2015.

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L A T E S T N E W S

04 INSiGHT from Smith Stone Waltersspring 11

SmiTh SToNE WALTErS hoNg KoNg –

opEN for buSiNESS!

10 grEAT yEArS... ThANK you!

Smith Stone Walters is pleased to announce the opening of its newHong Kong office

Following on from the successful establishment of the New York based office, the Hong Kong

office extends our ability to support those assignees seeking to enter the UK from this region and

reaffirms our commitment to being the premier UK immigration services provider.

The Hong Kong office will act as a regional hub for the APAC region. When your assignees are

moving to the UK from this part of the world, our experienced UK immigration advisors will be on

hand to provide first class UK immigration services on a local basis. The contact details for Smith

Stone Walters Hong Kong are:

Level 21 The Center, 99 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Telephone: +852 3478 3757

Smith Stone Walters reaches its 10th anniversary next month and wishes to say a big thank you

to our team of loyal staff for sharing our vision and making our company the UK immigration

services provider of choice.

Having started out with just a team of four in 2001, the past decade has seen us open additional

offices in New York & Hong Kong and increase to 35 fabulous staff. The whole company shares the

same commitment to providing first class UK immigration solutions and unparalleled excellence

in customer service.

Loyal clientsIt has also been a pleasure working with and on behalf of our clients since 2001 and we feel

incredibly proud that so many of you have been working with us since the beginning. Thank you

all for your loyalty!

The team at Smith Stone Walters look forward to the next 10 years and continuing to excel in

what we do best – delivering effective UK Immigration solutions.



In the recent Statement of Intent,

the government made it clear that,

as of 6 April 2011, there will be a

new income-based requirement

for Tier 1, Tier 2 and work permit

holders applying for settlement. This

means that all individuals seeking

permanent residency in the UK

need to show they have maintained

employment in a skilled or highly

skilled occupation and that their

income is at least the same or higher

as when they were last granted leave.

How will they assess this newmeasure?

When applying for settlement, Tier

1 migrants will be required to score

points against the same criteria as

they did for their last application.Work Permit and Tier 2 migrants

will need to be paid the appropriate

salary for their occupation, as set out

in the relevant Code of Practice. So

far, no information has been provided

as to how the UKBA will consider

applications from those individuals

on a reduced salary as a result of

maternity/paternity leave or a

flexible working arrangement.

The government has also confirmed

that the current criminality threshold

will be brought in line with that in

place for citizenship applications.

As such, all migrants (except

refugees) will need to be free of

unspent convictions when applying

for settlement. It has yet to be

announced as to whether they will

show any discretion in respect of very

minor convictions being ‘unspent’

at the time of the settlement

application being filed.

Are there any other changes

planned?

The United Kingdom Border Agency

has implied that the opportunity

to apply for settlement and the

requirements for applicants may

change further. They have suggested

that any such changes could impact

on those individuals who are already

in the UK and applying to switch into

an alternative route on or after 6 April

2011. Such individuals will need to

meet the rules in place at the time of

their application for settlement.

Where can I get further advice onapplying for UK settlement?

Please talk to your Smith Stone

Walters adviser. Our team have the

most up to date information on how

to apply for UK settlement and can

advise Tier 1 and Tier 2 holders how

switching status after 6 April may

impact on their ability to secure UK

permanent residence.

Changes to Settlement

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i s p u b l i c a t i o n i s n o t m e a n t t o b e u s e d a s a s u b s t i t u t e f o r p r o p e r p r o f e s s i o n a l a d v i c e b a s e d o n t h e f a c t s o f

p a r t i c u l a r t r a n s a c t i o n a s i t i s n o t i n t e n d e d t o b e a c o m p l e t e c o v e r a g e o f t h e s u b j e c t . S m i t h S t o n e W

a l t e r s

i m i t e d a c c e p t s n o l i a b i l i t y f o r a n y a c t i o n

t a k e n b a s e d o n t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n .

Smith Stone Walters

Level 21 The Center

99 Queen’s Road Central

Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 3478 3757

Email: hk@

smithstonewalters.com

To give clientsclear and concise information every quarter we focus on a key issue of UK immigration law. Our focus for this quarter falls upon...

Hong Kong:

focusSmith Stone Walters

111 John Street

Suite 800

New York, NY, 10038

Tel: +1 646 378 4406

Fax: +1 646 378 4409

Email: usa@


USA:

Smith Stone Walters Ltd

Title House

33-39 Elmfield Road

Bromley, Kent, BR1 1LT

Tel: +44 (20) 8461 6660

Fax: +44 (20) 8461 6661

Email: info@


UK:INSiGHT from Smith Stone Waltersspring 11

For further guidance please

contact your Smith Stone

Walters account manager.

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