UK Visa £1,000 Immigration Skills charge on Tier 2 working Visas starts 6 April 2017

The new Immigration Skills Charge for large numbers of Tier 2 holders will come into force from 6 April 2017.  The Home Office levy will be imposed on UK employers holding Tier 2 sponsorship licences employing non-EEA migrants on Tier 2 working visas.

UK Home Office

The Guardian recently reported that the skills levy on foreign workers could be extended to EU and EEA migrants post Brexit in order to reduce immigration and encourage employers to hire British workers first. Britain’s policy on European migrants resident in the UK has yet to be decided and will probably form part of ongoing negotiations once article 50 has been triggered later this month.

Net migration to the UK fell by 49,000 last year following the Brexit vote, but more likely due to earlier curbs on immigration. Meanwhile, thousands of EU citizens are applying for UK passports and Indefinite Leave to Remain (permanent residence) in the panic to beat possible Home Office restrictions.

The UK Immigration Minister, Robert Goodwill, has stated that that British businesses were over reliant on migrant labour and said that an apprenticeship levy would be put in place later in 2017, in order to help meet the government’s pledge to train more than three million apprentices prior to the 2020 general election.

Mr Goodwill said: “In April this year we are also bringing in the immigration skills charge for non-EEA skilled workers. If you want to recruit an Indian computer programmer on a four-year contract on top of the existing visa charges and the resident labour market test there will be a fee of £1,000 per year.

“So for a four-year contract that employer will need to pay a £4,000 immigration skills charge. That is something that currently applies to non-EU and it has been suggested to us that could be applied to EU.”.

In excess of 16,000 EU citizens were granted UK citizenship last year, indicating that despite Brexit and all the 'doom and gloom' predictions many Europeans want to remain living in Britain.

The UK is an attractive place to work, start a business or buy property, with no restrictions on foreign buyers and a vibrant mortgage market with record low interest rates. Last week, a leading mortgage lender announced that it was introducing a fixed rate mortgage with an interest rate of .99%.

If you would like to learn more about investing in UK property, I have a limited number of complimentary tickets to a LIVE EVENT  - Beginners Property Course (held in the UK), which will give you the basic knowledge and techniques to get started as a property investor. If you are interest, email me your full name and telephone number to euukimmigration@gmail.com.

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