On 24 March the Government announced a series of measures aimed at ‘protecting job opportunities for UK residents and reducing UK businesses’ reliance on foreign workers,’ by adding additional constraints on hiring non-European foreigners. Employers will be levied an annual surcharge of £1,000 (€1,275) per third level employee coming from outside the EEA under Tier 2 visas. In addition, the minimum starting salary threshold for skilled workers will also rise. The mechanism for Intra-Company Transfers (ICT) and graduate hires will however be simplified and streamlined. These measures to be implemented gradually between now and April 2017 are causing concern for employers who have to deal with what they see as shortages in the skilled labor market.
‘Protecting job opportunities for UK residents and reducing UK businesses’ reliance on foreign workers,’ thus the goal behind the Tier 2 visa reforms (1) that were presented on 24 March by the Immigration Minister. David Cameron’s Government may not have altered the annual number of Tier 2 visas granted but it has opted to impose a £1,000 (€1,275) charge on employers starting from April 2017 for every foreign graduate employed from outside the EEA.
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