Immigration Into the UK

Within the UK it is the responsibility of the UK Border Agency to ensure that the UK borders are secure and they are also the ones who control the migration within the UK. To aid this there has been a massive shake up of the immigration laws; bringing in new laws, such as the tier system. This is a Points Based System or PBS, which focuses the structure of UK immigration services into a five-tier immigration model. This tier system is designed to cover all non EEA nationals who are immigrating to the UK, expect for those who are entering through a family based visa application.

Tier one of the five tier system is known as general highly skilled migrants. This tier is important because skilled migrants play an important role in the UK; they keep the economy globally competitive. Tier one of the five tier system means that you must score 75 points, which are mainly based on your qualifications, age and previous earnings; so how will you score these 75 points? Based on your qualifications a bachelor's degree will gain you 30 points, a master's degree will gain you 35 points and a PhD will gain you 50 points. Based on your age if you are under 28 you will gain 20 points, if you are between the ages of 28 and 29 you will gain 10 points and if you are 30, 31 or over you will gain five points.

When you are gaining your points based on your qualifications it is important that you have your certificates in your possessions stating the qualifications that you have gained. If, for whatever reason, you don't have these certificates then it is important that you gain a letter from the appropriate UK professional body confirming that your qualifications are equivalent to a UK degree; either a bachelor, masters or PhD level. This letter must confirm the name of the qualification including the country and awarding body and what the UK academic level is.

When it comes to your previous earnings it basically works out how you think it would, which is basically the more money you earn the more points you will receive. Some examples of this are; if you earn between £16,000 and £17,999 you will gain five points. If you earn between £23,000 and £25,999, which will gain you 20 points and if you earn between £23,000 and £34,999 you will be given 35 points; also if you earn £40,000+ you will gain 45 points.

Tier one of the five tier system is said to have been designed to attract what the home office refers to as the brightest and best of the potential UK immigration candidates. Tier one visas also make it easier for successful candidates to be able to come to the UK because unlike the similar tier two visas, which also apply to those moving to the UK for long term business or employment purposes, tier one visas do not require candidates to have an offer of employment in place; however as a result the requirements of the tier one assessment are consistent with selecting the most highly skilled applicants.

Article by Helen Cox