Good news for Tier 2 applicants

The Government said that the changes would come into effect with the British Autumn Immigration rule changes.

The announcement is excellent news for persons looking to live and work in the UK under the Tier 2 immigration route.

Why is it good for a Tier 2 job title to be on the Shortage Occupation List?

When a job title is on the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List, it is much easier for a person to apply, qualify and settle in the UK.  

There are also advantages for the employer. The employer does not need to do a Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT). If a job title is NOT on the Shortage Occupation List, the UK employer have to prove that there was an attempt to recruit persons from within the UK. As soon as a job title is on the SOL, this is no longer required, making it easier for the UK employer to recruit a non-EU citizen.

If a job title is on the SOL at any point during the five years leading to settlement in the UK, the person does not have to fulfil the Minimum Income Threshold. This minimum income threshold is currently at £35,800 per annum. Persons with a job title on the SOL, thus do not have to fulfil this hefty requirement, making it much easier to settle in the UK after five years.

The visa application fees for job titles on SOL is lower than for other Tier 2 visa application fees. The visa application fees for the dependents of the main visa applicant are also lower.

If the monthly cap on restricted Certificates of Sponsorship is reached, the job titles on SOL are prioritised. It is thus very unlikely that jobs on the SOL will get turned down due to the cap.

Some of the job titles that will be included on the SOL from the British Autumn 2019 include;

• All jobs in the occupation code for biological scientists and biochemists;
• Civil engineers, Mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, design and development engineers, production and process engineers, engineering professionals;
• All jobs in the occupation code IT business analysts, architects and system designers;
• Programmers and software development professionals, web design and development professionals;
• Medical practitioners, Psychologists, Veterinarians, Medical radiographers, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Nurses;
• Secondary Education teachers in the subjects of Maths, Physics, Science, Computer Science and Mandarin;
• Architects;
• Social Workers;
• Paramedics;
• Some jobs in the Occupation code, Dancers and Choreographers and Musicians;
• All jobs in the occupation code Graphic Designers;
• Some jobs in the Welding trades.

However, please note that these job titles are not included yet. We will inform clients as soon as we receive the final confirmation, which will hopefully be sometime in November 2019.

Breytenbachs has a dedicated Tier 2 Immigration department. If you are an employer or employee looking for help with this immigration route, please feel free to contact us.

Please note that the information in this article does not constitute professional advice. It is provided for general information purposes, without giving any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. For more information, please send an email to info@bic-immigration.com or visit the Breytenbachs website at www.bic-immigration.com