Westkin Associates: “Boris Johnson Pledges To Revamp The Immigration System With An Australian Style Points System”

The new Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his desire to shake up the current Immigration system and fulfil the promise of bringing in an “Australian style points system.”

The meaning of what a points system is at this time unclear, however using Australia as a reference a number of key principles emerge:
Firstly there would be an overall hard cap on the number of visas that can be issued per year. This would include family based visas and would likely drastically increase the length of time migrants wait for their visas.

Secondly apart from family based migration, most other visas will be issued either on the basis of a sponsorship from a business, typically for skilled workers, or to persons whom wish to enter the country as independent migrants without being tied to a specific company.

Non Family related migrants would have to ensure their skill was on the approved list of jobs and then they would obtain points on the basis of a range of factors such as age, qualifications, experience and the type of skill they have.

As the lawyers at Westkin Associates have commented, in reality the UK already has a Points system known as the Tier 2 Visa, this visa requires migrants to obtain a sponsorship from a UK company, they must also be working in a job that is prescribed by the Home office, in a similar way to the Australian system. Although age and other factors are not considered, the amount of salary being offered to the migrant increases their overall visa score.

The current Tier 2 system could be the basis of the new points system. At this time a Tier 2 visa can only be obtained for a highly-skilled job, however the UK will need to find a solution for it’s need to service lower skilled jobs once it leaves the EU. Furthermore the new points system will have to be an effective and adaptable tool to support sectors where a skills shortage arises.
 

Contact Information

Amir Zaidi

Director

Amir Zaidi

(44) 207 118 8005

amir.zaidi@westkin.com