Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people in the UK on a tier 2 visa who will not have their visa renewed when new rules requiring them to be paid at least £35,000 per annum or the going rate in the relevant UK Border Agency Code of Practice, whichever is higher.
James Brokenshire
The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.
Applicants who are not paid the appropriate rate for their occupation, as set out in UK Visas and Immigration codes of practice, cannot be granted an initial Tier 2 visa. The appropriate rate test has applied to settlement applications since 2011.
The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This is available on the gov.uk website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.