CLD's Anna Peng investigates impact of the new Immigration Rules
The new £35,000 salary threshold for non-EEA people will come into effect next month. Overseas people who have worked under Tier 2 visa in the UK for the past 5 years will have to 'prove' their worth with their earnings. The additional requirement means that many face possible deportation.
What will the route from Tier 2 (General) Working Visa to settlement (i.e. Permanent Residency) look like?
From 2016, overseas workers with jobs offering salaries over £25,000 are eligible for Tier 2 visa, from 2017 this figure will increase to £30,000. Tier 2 visa expires after 3 years, and the person will go through the same application to renew the visa.
After continuously working in the UK for 5 years, they will have to reach the £35,000 threshold in order to apply for settlement. Meanwhile companies will have to pay £1,000 per year per overseas employee from 2017.
Chinese Liberal Democrat executive member, Anne Peng met up with a group of non-EEA Interior Designers for international luxury hotels in central London. She asked Sher-Fynn (Malaysia), Lewis (China) and Elizabeth (USA) how they felt about the new changes. Here are their responses:
Unfair to go through the hurdle not once, not twice, but thrice
Going through the Tier 2 (work permit) application is already challenging for both employers and employees. Companies typically are unwilling to hire overseas people due to associated cost and complex procedures. Tier 2 visa expires after 3 years and employers and employees have to go through the same process again. People working under Tier 2 over five years are often granted settlement. Now that final journey may be blocked from next month.
'You have to meet the minimal requirement (for Tier 2). Not all industries can offer that kind of starting salary (the threshold increases to £25,000 from £20,800 this year),' said Sher-Fynn, 'It just feels like we are not welcomed in this country, even though you feel that you have made this country better.' Sher-Fynn stated that the system keeps changing, and no one knows when the next changes will come.
Negative impacts on relationships
'My British girlfriend and I broke up because I had visa worries,' said Lewis, 'If I decide to settle down, I can get dependant visa (with the British girlfriend). But being a man, I do not want to do it that way.'
'I will have to go back to Malaysia,' said Sher-Fynn, 'and my partner (also an overseas worker in the UK) will come with me, which means that he has to sacrifice his current job. He has a good salary and can get his settlement visa soon. But if I cannot stay, he will have to leave this country as well.'
'I love London. It is a great city and I am in a relationship here. I don't have a plan in moving back.' said Elizabeth, 'Nothing is more stressful than the visa process. The second one (Tier 2) I went through I was in bits. Your whole life depends on it. It put a real strain on my relationships.'
Discriminatory System
Each Tier 2 visa application costs nearly £3,000 (incl. legal fee), and with the renewal it totals around £6,000.
'We pay our taxes and NI but get none of the benefits,' said Sher-Fynn, 'We even have to pay for our own healthcare!'
Elizabeth is on her 2nd Tier 2 visa valid until September, meaning that the new threshold will soon affect her.
'Funnily enough I found out only a few weeks ago, when I was browsing about the settlement visa,' said Elizabeth, 'I was like oh my god! I don't fit the requirement, even though I am a full time employee and I literally take nothing from the UK government! After working for 6 years, I was ready to change the (visa) category, only to find out that I cannot. It is just ridiculous.'
Future is put on hold
'Oh no you cannot plan for future,' said Elizabeth, 'because of the job we are in (i.e. Interior Design), it would be really nice to start my own business. But for me I cannot do that. Even though I've worked for 6 years, I am not able to make those decisions.'
Being unfairly targeted
'I understand about reducing immigration numbers,' said Sher-Fynn 'but what purpose these international people come to this country should play a big role. Especially for us who are contributing to the society, paying taxes and working hard, I just don't understand why we are targeted.' She went on, 'I would tell others don't even bother to come here and study. Each year you stay on, you feel more and more unwelcomed. Nothing is easy here.'
Lewis understood the need for threshold, but considered the current setting too high for most people.
Starving the talent pool
'Unfortunately I don't make that kind of money. I know a lot of people, like nurses and teachers, don't. Unless you are in banking or some other high-paying sector, it is unfair,' said Elizabeth.
Choosing to stay at this country does not mean that people wish to settle here for life. Many have strong family ties back home and intend to return later on. People stay because they find a job where they are needed; in a country they enjoy being in. The new system means that people are refused opportunities to stay on the job they love and excel at. Ultimately, small to medium companies will bear the brunt of this policy having to replace the employees who they have trained for years.
One thing for certain is that we will be seeing less and less diverse workforce in this country, all perhaps to the exception of the Finance industry. We wonder if the conservative government will regard the system as 'working' when the overseas workforce is concentrated in the highest-paying banking sector.