Changes to UK Immigration rules and guidlelines from APRIL 2015

The UKVI (Home Office) will be making numerous changes from APRIL 2015.

Among these changes to take place will be:

*Changing the names of the ratings which sponsors can hold in Tier 4. 'Highly Trusted Sponsor status' will be replaced by 'Tier 4 Sponsor status' and 'A-rated sponsor status' will be replaced by 'Probationary Sponsor status'. This change in terminology better reflects the nature of the ratings held by different Tier 4 sponsors.


*Streamline the existing 15 visitor routes down to four. The changes will help simplify the visitor routes for businesses and leisure travellers, whilst the rebranding of the student visitor route into a short-term student route will make it clearer for people who want to study on short term courses.


*The student visitor (SVV) and extended student visitor routes are being rebranded as short term study routes which will sit in Part 3 of the Immigration Rules alongside other study provisions. The reason for this is to make the system clearer for those whose main purpose for coming to the UK is to study a short course up to six months,or 11 months in the case of adults studying longer English language courses.

*Removing the ability of Tier 1 General migrants to switch into the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route, unless they have already established a UK business before the date of the changes (6 April) and they have the required funding.

*Amending the Shortage Occupation List following a partial review by the independent Migration Advisory Committee. Paramedics, and overhead linesworkers (in the energy industry) will now be included on the list, while special neonatal nurses have been removed.

*Waive the Tier 2 'cooling-off period' for short-term grants of 3 months or less. This will give firms the ability to sponsor interns and bring them back to the UK for a permanent job within a year. This change will also help global firms who need to send some staff to the UK for short periods each year.

*Updating annual minimum salary thresholds for Tier 2 and appropriate salary rates for individual occupations. This is part of salary updates that we make on an annual basis.

These and aseveral other changes and guidlines will be on stream from as early as 6th April 201.