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UK Visas and Immigration announced the latest changes to immigration rules on October 29 2015. The majority of changes will affect applications lodged on or after 19 November 2015, with new rules being implemented across nearly every UK immigration route.
A summary of the key changes for each UK immigration category are provided below:
Further Tier 2 visa curbs will lead to a rise in operating costs for UK businesses, forcing them to send jobs overseas to remain competitive. That's the view of India's software trade lobby group the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom). On 25 September 2015, the group sent a memo to the panel of UK immigration advisers (Migration Advisory Committee) that advises the Government raising concerns over plans to impose yet further restrictions on tier 2 visas.
Visa problems have prevented international entrepreneurs, employees of tech startups and major tech businesses from attending the annual Web Summit event held in Dublin, Ireland. The Summit, held between 3-5 November, is an opportunity for tech businesses to network. Problems with paperwork are understood to be the reason behind the visa delays and rejections.
There is a lot of bad news about UK immigration these days. One bit of good news is that from 12 October 2015 it became easier for many migrants to obtain a restricted certificate of sponsorship and so Tier 2 visas.
An employer with a tier 2 sponsorship licence needs to apply for Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for immigrants they wish to employ. Under the new immigration system unused tier 2 restricted CoSs to employ people who are currently based outside the UK can be reclaimed after three months. This increases the availability of restricted CoSs used.
Employers wishing to employ non-EU nationals in the UK firstly need to apply for a tier 2 sponsorship licence as part of the process for overseas nationals to come to the UK and take up employment under the tier 2 visa system.
In 2015 we have seen companies experiencing greater difficulties in obtaining and keeping tier 2 sponsorship licences. UK immigration is visiting companies more often to check that they meet the requirements for a tier 2 sponsorship licence. They are asking for additional documentation.
A new organisation the Scale Up Institute that helps small businesses with good potential, headed up by Cambridge entrepreneur, Sherry Coutu, and her business partner, Reid Hoffman, is urging the UK government to lift all restrictions on recruiting top talent from overseas. They say that tier 2 visa restrictions are stifling growth for many start-up businesses.