Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 813 (Introduction of the Skilled Worker Route and Global Points-Based Framework)

Policy effect

Implemented the core architecture of the post-Brexit Points-Based System; abolished Tier 2 (General) in favour of the Skilled Worker route, lowered the skills threshold from RQF Level 6 to RQF Level 3, lowered general minimum salary thresholds to £25,600 (with tradeable points down to £20,480), abolished the Resident Labour Market Test and the Tier 2 cap, and consolidated cross-cutting rules on English language and finance.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: abolished Tier 2 (General) in favour of the Skilled Worker route, lowered the skills threshold from RQF Level 6 to RQF Level 3, lowered general minimum salary thresholds to £25,600 (with tradeable points down to £20,480), abolished the Resident Labour Market Test and the Tier 2 cap, and consolidated cross-cutting rules on English language and finance.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

Worker sets out a new points-based route for those who wish to come to the UK to work in an eligible skilled occupation they will be offered by a Home-Office approved sponsor. The route can lead to settlement. Appendix Skilled Worker replaces the Tier 2 (General) rules. Tier 2 (General) rules will be deleted from Part 6A of the Rules. 7.78 Rules for dependent partners and children of a Skilled Worker are set out in Appendix Skilled Worker. They replace existing provision for dependants of a Tier 2 (General) Migrant in Part 8 of the Rules, where provisions referring to Tier 2 (General) family members … require applicants to: • complete the specified online application form, pay any relevant fee, provide any required biometrics, provide a passport or other travel document that establishes their identity and nationality; • be in the UK and have last been granted permission on the Skilled Worker route. Eligibility requirements 7.82 The main eligibility differences between the Skilled Worker route and the Tier 2 (General) route it replaces are: • The minimum skill threshold will be lowered from graduate occupations to occupations skilled to RQF level 3,5 roughly equivalent to A-levels or Scottish Highers. Applicants will not need to hold a formal qualification; it is the skill level of the job they will be doing which determines whether the threshold is met. • The general salary threshold set out at SW 8.2 will be lowered from £30,000 under the Tier 2 (General) route to £25,600 a year. Sponsor must, as under Tier 2 (General) route, pay their skilled workers a salary which equals or exceeds both this threshold and the “going rate” for the occupation, whichever is higher (but see below). Going rates are being updated in line with newer salary data and the recommendations of the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). The assessment of salary will be based only on guaranteed basic gross pay. • Sponsored workers may be paid less than the above amounts, depending on the tradeable points they are awarded. Applicants under the new route will need to be awarded 70 points in total. All applicants must qualify for 50 mandatory points for: - Sponsorship (20 points) - A job at the appropriate skill level (20 points) - English language skills at B1 (intermediate) level (10 points) 5 The RQF applies in England and Northern Ireland. The equivalent levels are SCQF level 6 in Scotland and CQFW level 3 in Wales. 23 • An applicant may be awarded the remaining 20 tradeable points in one of the following ways: - A salary which equals or exceeds both £25,600 per year and the going rate for the occupation (20 points) - A PhD qualification which is relevant to the job (10 points), and a salary which equals or exceeds both £23,040 per year and 90% of the going rate for the occupation (10 points) - A PhD qualification in a STEM subject which is relevant to the job, and a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation (20 points) - A job in a shortage occupation, and a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation (20 points) - Being a new entrant to the labour market, and a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 70% of the going rate for the occupation (20 points) - A job in a listed health or education occupation, and a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 80% of the going rate for the occupation (20 points) • The cap which applies under Tier 2 (General) is being suspended. This will reduce the end-to-end process for sponsoring skilled workers by up to four weeks. • There will no longer be requirement for sponsors to undertake a Resident Labour Market Test. This will remove at least a further four weeks from the end-to-end process for sponsoring skilled workers. Sponsors must still be seeking to fill a genuine vacancy which meets the skill and salary thresholds. • The criteria used to identify a “new entrant to the labour market” are being amended. As recommended by the MAC, new entrants will also include those sponsored in postdoctoral research positions and those working towards professional qualifications, registration … this time, before assessing how the UK labour market develops post-Covid 19 and in response to the introduction of the new Points- Based Immigration System. Transitional arrangements 7.85 The Tier 2 (General) route will be closed to new applications from 1 December 2020. A person who has entry clearance or permission to stay on the Tier 2 (General) route and wants to extend their stay in the UK can apply for further leave, or settlement, under the Skilled Worker rules if they meet the requirements. References to Tier 2 (General) are either deleted from the Immigration Rules or amended where appropriate …

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Other United Kingdom changes operative in 2020

• 2020-01-31EU Settlement Scheme Appeals System Establishment
• 2020-02-20Global Talent Visa Application Fees & Fast-Track Endorsement Fees
• 2020-02-20Launch of the Global Talent Visa Route (Statement of Changes HC 56)
• 2020-04-05Transition of Priority Change of Circumstances Service to Email-Only
• 2020-04-29Automatic Visa Extensions for Frontline Healthcare Workers
• 2020-06-04Stricter Rules for Representative of an Overseas Business Route (Statement of Changes CP 232)
• 2020-06-22Youth Mobility Scheme 2020 Deadline Extension for Taiwan
• 2020-08-01Implementation of Coronavirus Grace Period
• 2020-09-01Implementation of Exceptional Assurance Concession for Overstaying
• 2020-10-05Introduction of New Points-Based Student and Child Student Routes
• 2020-11-12COVID-19 Financial Requirement Concessions for Family Visas
• 2020-12-31End of EU Free Movement and Repeal of Free Movement Law
• 2020-12-31Introduction of Post-Brexit Third-Country Asylum Inadmissibility Rules (HC 1043)
• 2020-12-31Post-Transition Visitor and Trade-Related Service Provider Rules
• 2020-12-31Saving of EU Public Policy Deportation Grounds for Pre-Transition Conduct