Earlier I published a post about moving to UK on Tier 1 General visa. And looking at the response to that post, I thought it’s useful to publish the latest on Tier 1 General visa.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has recently mentioned the changes that will take place in April 2011 which include a permanent immigration cap on skilled immigration, a new exceptional talent visa, and new criteria for skilled workers with a job offer and intra-company transfers. There will in effect be significant changes in the rules for sponsoring non-EU workers. In addition the Tier 1 General skilled immigration visa will in effect end on 6 April 2011.
From 6 April 2011, there will an annual limit of 20,700 Tier 2 visas and 1,000 visas for the new ‘exceptional talent’ visa category. The exceptional talent visa will replace the popular Tier 1 (General) highly skilled immigration route.
So if you are thinking about applying for Tier 1 General Visa, either you do it now before 6th April 2011, or forget it!
Wow, this is kind of unexpected. My cousin was planning to apply for it later this year as he’s still continuing his education through the summer.