Government plans to change UK Immigration System

In early May 2019, Home Office Secretary Sajid Javid met with representatives of Scottish businesses in the city of Aberdeen and discussed with them the government’s plans to introduce a new immigration system. This meeting took place within the framework of yearlong engagement programme, the purpose of which is to listen to the opinions of businesses and communities regarding the proposed changes.

The new immigration system will be based on the skills of each individual applicant, rather than on his/her nationality, and will be implemented in stages from 2021 after the end of free movement for European nationals.

The UK government proposes the following changes:

• remove the annual cap on the number of visas issued to skilled workers;

• to make work visas available to applicants with qualifications equivalent to A-levels or Scottish Highers;

• withdraw the labour market test for employers who want to hire highly qualified foreign workers.