UK Net Immigration Hits 196,000, However The Number Of Tier 1 & 2 Approvals Falls Significantly

Speaking on the figures Damian Green the Immigration Minister said that \”What these figures tell me is that we also need to look at the other routes by which people come into this country, maybe for education, for family reunion reasons and also, in particular, routes that lead to permanent settlement. Because hidden in these figures are two very big increases: one, of the number of students coming in, and the other, of the numbers of people settling here and gaining citizenship here.\”

As previously expected the Government will now be looking to tighten up other areas of the points based system including Tier 4, previously Student Visas. However the big problem for Government is the fact that International Students contribute significantly to the UK Economy and many UK Academic Institutions rely on high paying foreigners for much needed funding. And unlike other Tiers of the points based system Tier 4 does not allow visa holders to work permanently or use time on the visa to qualify for permanent residence in the UK.

Gerwyn Davies of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development said that “The increase in net immigration shown in today\’s statistics is bad news for the government, given its aim of reducing net immigration to \’tens of thousands\’ rather than hundreds of thousands. With net immigration now rising again, after a period of substantial decline, this objective looks like it is becoming harder to reach. The reality for employers is that training workers to plug the UK skills gap is a lengthy task. The abrupt introduction of a radical cap would therefore leave many employers with a bigger skills problem and tempt employers with global operations to offshore jobs, where they can find the skills.\”

Commonwealth Contractors

Commonwealth Contractors is a collection of highly skilled professionals from the Commonwealth and beyond. We partner with OISC Registered Immigration Partners capable of professionally representing a Tier 1 Visa Application / Extension and Tier 2 Licensed Consultancy & Associated Trust Partners who may be prepared, where required, to sponsor a doctor on a Tier 2 Visa (formerly UK Work Permit). Commonwealth Contractors also provides updates on UK Immigration News.

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