UK High Court: Immigration cap unlawful - Apply now for your Tier 1 or Tier 2 visa!

18 December 2010

An interim cap introduced last summer has been deemed unlawful by the UK High Court; High Court Judges have ruled that ministers needed parliamentary approval before going ahead with the temporary immigration.

As a result, the temporary immigration cap is no longer in force. If you wish to apply for a tier 1 visa or tier 2 visa you should apply as soon as possible. Ministers can introduce a new cap when Parliament returns in January. MPs and Peers would then have an opportunity to oppose the immigration cap within 40 days.

Ministers introduced the temporary cap -- set at 24,100 a year -- last summer as an attempt to reduce net immigration into the UK. The cap was challenged by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and the English Community Care Association.

Lord Justice Sullivan and Mr. Justice Burton found that the home secretary had not gone through proper channels when implementing the cap; The proposals should have been put to a vote in Parliament.

"There can be no doubt that [Theresa May] was attempting to side-step provisions for Parliamentary scrutiny set up under provisions of the 1971 Immigration Act and her attempt was for that reason unlawful," they stated.

Because of this, the High Court ruled that no limits were to be in place for Tiers 1 and 2 of the points based immigration system.

The English Community Care Association said the cap was implemented without regard for how it would affect care providers. Vacancies could not be filled by British staff. There is insufficient demand for these jobs among the UK Citizens and residents.

The immigration cap has been highly controversial, even within the UK Government. The Lib Dems the junior Coalition partner has called for the cap to be more flexible so that UK companies can hire the highly skilled staff they need from abroad.