What’s new from April 2016?

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -
The new tax year starts on 6 April 2016 in the UK and of course it means more changes to the Immigration Rules. We have all come to expect it, haven't we? Some of these were expected for years now, such as a Tier 2 salary £35,000 for ILR. Others are new and most of the changes are under the Points-Based System, which the government truly “cannot leave alone”.
 
Here is a short summary, for an individual advice please contact us for an advice session.
 
Tier 2 migrants applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (permanent residency) need to have a salary of at least £35,000. Important to remember that this is the minimum, so if your occupation code requires a higher salary then your employer needs to pay you that. For example, if your code requires a salary of £40,000, you have to be paid £40,000 and not £35,000.  In general, this applies to those who entered the Tier 2 route from 6 April 2011 and there are also further exceptions.
 
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which we widely call NHS surcharge, is to be applied to the nationals of Australia and New Zealand who are currently exempt from it. If you are an Antipodean – apply now to save money! The amount is £200 per year, £150 per year for those a[plying under Tier 4 or Tier 5 YMS (working holiday).
 
Please note that the Home Office fees don’t go up on 6 April this year. They go up on 18 March!
 
Tier 4 students switching to Tier 2: currently, Tier 2 sponsors are exempt from advertising a job if they wish to sponsor a Tier 4 migrant. This exemption will be removed, making it even more difficult to sponsor migrants. And that’s in addition to all the current hurdles which already restrict the employers a great deal. Plus there is a widely expected levy of approx £1,000 per year for an employer wishing to hire a foreign worker.
 
Absences from the UK when qualifying got Indefinite Leave to Remain. This change affects mainly Points-Based System migrants but we wait to see whether it also affects Ancestral visa holders. Currently, you can count the time between the date your visa was issued and the date you entered the UK as ‘residing in the UK’ as long as you entered within 90 days. From 6 April 2016 this period of time will be counted as an absence. The general limits of absences is not changing.
 
For an individual advice or to make your application through us as soon as possible, please contact info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com
 

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