Migration committee review makes Tier 1 UK Visa recommendations

A review of the UK highly skilled migration route (Tier 1) by the Migration Advisory Committee has lead to the release of a number of recommendations on key areas.

The Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations aim to maintain the Tier 1 skilled migration route to attract the '”brightest and best” to come to the UK to work.

The main UK immigration recommendations include:

• People with an undergraduate degree as their highest qualification should be allowed in under Tier 1 general route, subject to high previous earnings;
• The points available under the Tier 1 general route are updated to ensure the most highly skilled immigrants are admitted;
• The initial leave to remain entitlement under the Tier 1 general route is reduced from three to two years, with a three year extension subject to evidence that the individual is in highly skilled employment.

Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, Professor David Metcalf, said the Tier 1 UK Visa was an important immigration route for the UK economy which should be maintained and improved.

“The recommendations that we have made will ensure that the system is robust enough to deal with the changing global economy and that the UK remains attractive for foreign investment,” he said.

The UK government’s objective for Tier 1 is to attract and retain immigrants who will increase the skills and knowledge of the UK workforce, while maintaining labour market flexibility.

To achieve this, the Migration Advisory Committee recommends that all four routes of Tier 1, general, post-study work, entrepreneur and investor, are retained.