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UK TIER 2 VISAS POINT BASED SYSTEM

Tier 2 of the UK visa points-based system covers work permits for sponsored employees.

Tier 2 visas are designed for medium- and highly-skilled workers interested in UK immigration. They require applicants to have a confirmed offer of employment with a British company. Tier 2 was introduced on 27 November 2008 and offers an entry route into the United Kingdom for skilled workers who are citizens of countries outside of the European Economic Area. In all cases people applying for entry under this scheme MUST be in possession of a JOB OFFER and fulfill other requirements as detailed for the different categories.

The second tier of the new points based UK immigration service replaced UK work permits and applies to medium and highly skilled workers wishing to immigrate to the UK who have an offer from a UK sponsoring company in place. As is the case for a tier 3 visas, tier 4 visas and a tier 5 visa, applying for a UK visa for immigration under tier 2 will require each candidate to obtain a certificate of sponsorship, in this case from the sponsoring company, as part of their visa application.

A tier 2 work permit visa application is an employer led process and the company in question will need to fulfil certain responsibilities. However, this visa service also has elements in common with tier 1 and the old Highly Skilled Migrant Programme or HSMP, in that a point's threshold, in this case 50 points must be met on a skills assessment and a level of proficiency in the English language is required.

Employer's requirements for Tier 2

Employers recruiting applicant through the five tier immigration service must provide a sponsorship certificate detailing the job title and demonstrating that the salary offered is appropriate for such a position and that the role is at or above NVQ3. The certificate acts as confirmation that a candidate has the intention and necessary skills to fill the specified position. In situation where a position being offered is not a shortage occupation, the employer will be required to show that they have attempted without success to fill the role from the domestic workforce through appropriate advertising. In situation where a candidate wishes to change employment, a new certificate of sponsorship must be obtained and a re-assessment against the points system will be required. A tier 2 visa application is required for each change of employment.

Since the second of the tier immigration services may be regarded as a route to potential settlement, family immigration is permitted for your wife, husband, civil partner, unmarried partner and/or dependent children. Spouse immigration and dependency immigration operate along similar lines to the current Dependency Visa. On the other hand, the marriage visa, unmarried partner visa and fianc� visa categories will remain distinct from the new visas for points based immigration.

Like tier 1 visas, a tier 2 visa application is a potential route for settlement in the United Kingdom and as with the current system of UK work permits, applicants may become eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR) or permanent residence after five years in Britain. Beyond this, subject to meeting the requirements for British Naturalization, a candidate may be able to naturalize as a British citizen. are some of the benefits.

Under Tier 2 there are four different categories:

General: Applicants coming to the United Kingdom with a job offer to fill a gap that cannot be filled by a settled worker which may or may not be on the Shortage Occupation List.

Intra Company Transfers: Applicants who have been employed by the multi-national companies who are being transferred by an overseas employer to a skilled job in a UK-based branch of the organisation.

Sports People: Elite sportspeople and coaches whose employment will make a significant contribution to the development of their sport at the highest level * can apply under this category.

Ministers of Religion: Candidates coming to fill a vacancy as a Minister of Religion, Missionary or Member of a Religious Order * can qualify on this category. To qualify for inclusion under the General and Intra Company Transfer categories of Tier 2, a job must require a skill level of S/NVQ level 3 or above as indicated in the codes of practice relevant to the sector and to the job. Ministers of religion and sports people on temporary assignment should apply for entry under Tier 5 for Temporary Workers.

Tier 2 replaced the UK Work Permits scheme. People wanting to extend their leave to remain in the UK who were initially granted leave under the Work Permit scheme are allowed to switch into Tier 2. For a complete list of categories eligible to switch please see Tier 2 - Switching from another scheme. If you do not have a job offer and can be categorised as highly skilled then Tier 1 (General) for Highly Skilled Migrants may offer an appropriate route of entry to the UK

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