0330 390 9021
info@commonwealthcontractors.comChange to Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa Rules
Mr Wessels, who is the son of former Australia and South Africa batsman Kepler Wessels, has signed a two year contract with Nottinghamshire Cricket Club last week however the move prompted the England & Wales Cricket Board to contact the UK Border Agency to express concerns. Last week Damian Green, the Conservative Immigration Minister said that the Home Office had “changed the rules to prevent it from happening again. Sports people are no longer eligible for entrepreneur visas and have to apply through the appropriate routes, through the points-based system.\”
The move to change the Tier 1 Entrepreneur category comes at a time when the Government is tightening up the UK Immigration system and making it far harder for highly skilled workers to come to the UK and employers to sponsor them. Two weeks ago the Coalition Government introduced the UK’s first permanent Immigration Cap with the number of applicants allowed under Tier 2 General capped at 20,700 people in the next year (April to April). The scheme follows on from the Interim Immigration Cap which saw each individual sponsors Certificates of Sponsorship allocation limited, with new sponsors given a zero allocation.
Under the new system employers will only be able to bring in 20,700 skilled or highly skilled people from outside of the European Union under Tier 2 (General) with a further 1,000 visas available for people of exceptional talent (e.g. Nobel Prize winners etc) under Tier 1.
Speaking on the introduction of the scheme the Immigration Minister, Damian Green, said that \’The annual limit will not only help reduce immigration down to sustainable levels but will protect those businesses and institutions that are vital to our economy. The new system was designed in consultation with business. We have made clear that as the recovery continues, we need employers to look first to people who are out of work and who are already in this country. We are overhauling all routes of entry to tackle abuses, make the system more effective and bring net migration back down to the tens of thousands.\’
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.
