A new £35,000 financial requirement?

[crispy]

Hi All,

A headline article in today's Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... ns-nursing) refers to a £35,000 financial requirement:

New immigration rules that will mean lower-earning non-EU workers being deported will exacerbate the shortage of nurses in the UK and cost the NHS tens of millions in recruitment, the government has been warned by nursing leaders.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the change, due to come into effect in April next year, will cause chaos in the health service. Under the new rules, non-EU workers who are earning less than £35,000 after six years in the UK will be deported.

Does anyone know anything about this? Does it mean £35,000 per year or £35,000 over the course of five years?

I know about the £18,600 per year requirement (I'm personally affected by it) but this £35,000 one is news to me and I don't understand it.

I googled around but could only find some 2012 news items predicting that this could be a reality by 2016.

[vinny]

They were referring to Tier 2 holders.

[crispy]

They were referring to Tier 2 holders.

Aha. Gotcha.

I'm coming from a TIER 5 situation.

Still sucks though. None of my business, but £35,000 per year seems incredibly high.

[Petaltop]

They were referring to Tier 2 holders.

Aha. Gotcha.

I'm coming from a TIER 5 situation.

Still sucks though. None of my business, but £35,000 per year seems incredibly high.

Not really. 33k per year is below the poverty level for parents with one healthy child and no childminding fees to pay and they are given benefits. For 2 children in the same circumstances, it is something like 36k. Giving ILR gives access to UK benefits.

[chocolateorange88]

i bekieve its over the 6 years to make 35kand if not you have toleavebut seriouslyhow can they ensure this happens....

[secret.simon]

Not really. 33k per year is below the poverty level for parents with one healthy child and no childminding fees to pay and they are given benefits. For 2 children in the same circumstances, it is something like 36k. Giving ILR gives access to UK benefits.

I was not aware that 33K is below the poverty line of two parents and one child. Can I request for a link to the basis of these statistics to improve my knowledge?

[Casa]

Not really. 33k per year is below the poverty level for parents with one healthy child and no childminding fees to pay and they are given benefits. For 2 children in the same circumstances, it is something like 36k. Giving ILR gives access to UK benefits.

I was not aware that 33K is below the poverty line of two parents and one child. Can I request for a link to the basis of these statistics to improve my knowledge?

secret.simon, if you're better at maths than I am:
The current definition of child poverty is whether a child lives in a household with an income less than 60% of the national average
The national average weekly wage = £493.
My reckoning (which may be open to challenge) is that the poverty level would be way below £33,000. Unless of course I'm missing something?

[secret.simon]

Casa,

The national average weekly wage = £493.

The current definition of child poverty is whether a child lives in a household with an income less than 60% of the national average

So, that would be a household earning less than £295.80 (£493*0.6) a week. Which works out to £15381.60 (£295.80*52) per annum.

Nowhere near 33k. Again, it could be that Petaltop was relating to a different statistic or standard, not that of child poverty.

[Casa]

Wow! I made it £295.80 too. I didn't trust my calculation. As you say, maybe Petaltop has a different benchmark for poverty.

[nicnacks]

Hi, so I can check my understanding.

I am currently on a Tier 2 visa, and due to be eligible to apply for LTR next June.

Does this new rule mean that I would need to earn a minimum of £35k per year to retain the Visa once it is granted?
Currently you only need to enter the country once each 2 years to keep the visa - so I am presuming that if you had the visa but resided overseas your visa would be revoked under these new rules?

Also, if I were to decide I wanted to study and work part time with ILR (without support from the government in any way - funded 100% by my self), or even undergo a career change which would mean I earned a lower salary for a short period of time, I would no longer be able to do this after the visa changes?

Thanks in advance, I have to say this is potentially very frustrating and restricting for someone who has spent the last 7 years trying to obtain LTR!..

Nicnacks

[secret.simon]

A few questions for Nicnacks

• Tier 2 visa is a sponsored work visa. I think the expectation is that you are working in the UK. I am surprised about the entrying the country once every two years for renewal. Are you sure you are on Tier 2 visa? And if so, which sub-category?
  
  What is "LTR"? Do you mean ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain)?

If you are on ILR, you can change jobs. But it is quite hard to change jobs on Tier 2, as your new company must have a sponsorship licence from the Home Office. And in appropriate cases, an RLMT needs to be done.

Broadly, the rules, which were published in 2012 so they should not be a surprise, says that from 2016, a Tier 2 migrant must show earnings of atleast £35000 per annum for application for ILR. I believe that the earnings need to be demonstrated for the year before the application. So, if you are due to apply in June 2016, your year would be July 2015-June 2016.

Vinny's link above links to the government document that has the details.