UK Still Keen to Attract New Zealand Nationals

Mr Hague, who was accompanied on the trip by the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, said that \”We have to be firm but fair on immigration, but I don\’t think the new rules will unduly affect the number of people coming in from New Zealand into the UK, and I\’d be worried if they did so. We want to see a continuing large flow of people from New Zealand coming to the UK, and that flow of people in both directions is a very important part of the relationship between our countries.\”

Although Immigration from New Zealand will still be relatively straightforward for those coming to the United Kingdom on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa (formerly the Working Holidaymaker Visa) or an Ancestry Visa, highly skilled workers with no ancestral ties and older than 30 years of age will find it more difficult. Tier 1 General was very popular with New Zealand nationals and its scrapping means that many will have to attempt to find a Tier 2 sponsor if they wish to secure a work visa for the UK.

The end of Tier 1 General

The end of Tier 1 General did come as something of a surprise due to the fact that it only deals with truly highly skilled professionals. However following the recent publication of a Home Office report which found that 33% of Tier 1 General visa holders are working in low-skilled jobs such as shop assistants and supermarket cashiers the Government found that it had a case to abolish Tier 1 General in favour of a new route for persons of exceptional talent. This new visa category will be limited to 1,000 places and will be for those migrants who have ‘won international recognition in scientific and cultural fields, or who show sufficient exceptional promise to be awarded such recognition in the future’. Migrants applying under this category will need to be endorsed by a competent body in the relevant field.

Recently, in response to the report the Coalition Government’s Immigration Minister, Damian Green, said that ‘While it is important that low-skilled jobs are filled, there are hundreds of thousands of British people who could be doing them instead of a migrant. Those coming into the UK under the highly skilled migrant route should only be able to do highly skilled jobs – it should not be used as a means to enter the low-skilled jobs market. Investors and entrepreneurs aside, this report questions the value of this route into the UK, and the findings will play a key part in discussions on how the annual limit will be shaped.\’

Commonwealth Contractors

Commonwealth Contractors is a collection of highly skilled professionals from the Commonwealth and beyond. We partner with OISC Registered Immigration Partners capable of professionally representing a Tier 1 Visa Application / Extension and Tier 2 Licensed Consultancy & Associated Trust Partners who may be prepared, where required, to sponsor a doctor on a Tier 2 Visa (formerly UK Work Permit). Commonwealth Contractors also provides updates on UK Immigration News.

To find out more call Commonwealth Contractors now on 0330 390 9021 or Submit your Details and we will get back to you. Please be prepared to send a copy of a recent CV so that we can pass to interested partners