UK Immigration News

Due to skills shortages in Australia British and Irish dairy farmers are especially in demand by Australian immigration as reported by David McCullough of the Scottish Farmer website. Dairy farming is listed on the country's Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List; the government is urging British and Irish dairy farmers to apply for Australian temporary skilled immigration 457 visas.

In response to the Migration Advisory Committee's review of tier 2 immigration, a survey carried out by the Permits Foundation showed overwhelming support for the right of partners of highly skilled workers from outside the European Union to be able to work in the UK.

Restrictions on recruiting non-EU nurses have been temporarily relaxed by the UK government. The decision to make it easier for nurses to be employed under the tier 2 visa scheme was made to help ease the pressure on the NHS.

The UK government says that they are concerned about skilled worker shortages in the UK. However Government policy is making the situation worse by making it more and more difficult to employ highly skilled nationals from outside the EU. Also, new charges for businesses are unlikely to improve the situation. In the 8 July 2015 budget announcement, UK chancellor George Osborne, spoke of an 'apprenticeship levy.' This was quickly followed by an announcement from Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire that there will be an 'immigration skills charge.'

Recently published Home Office figures reveal that the number of people applying for a UK Tier 1 investor visa has plummeted. For the second quarter of 2015, the number of applications has dropped by approximately 82% compared with the same period last year. This is most likely because of the increase in the investment requirement for the Tier 1 investor visa from £1 million to £2 million in November 2014 and steps taken by the UK to increase taxes which has put off potential Tier 1 investors.

The Law Society is in agreement with business leaders across London that tough tier 2 visa rules are a threat to the UK capital's crown as a global recruitment leader. The Law Society says that UK immigration restrictions are preventing UK-based, international law firms from recruiting legal staff outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).