ELIGIBILITY
The highly skilled migrant programme, renamed as being Tier 1 General, is designed to allow skilled people to come or remain in the United Kingdom to work or do self employment. There is no requirement of you to have an employer.
Please note that from 6 April 2011 the Tier 1 General route is closed and the following points specifications are applicable only for extension applications of existing Tier 1 migrants.
Under Tier 1 Highly skilled workers, applicant must fulfil the following conditions;
POINTS FOR YOUR ATTRIBUTES
The attributes for which points are awarded for is Age, Qualifications, your last 12 months earnings and your UK Experience. If you are applying from inside the UK and your last granted leave was granted in Tier 1 (General) under the immigration rules in place before 6 April 2010, Highly Skilled Migrant, Writer, Composer or Artist or Self Employed Lawyer then the points required is 75. If you are applying for an extension of a Tier 1 migrant who was granted permission to stay after 6 April 2010 or switching from any eligible categories then you are required to have 80 points for your attributes.
Age
The table below shows the points that you will score if your last granted leave was granted in Tier 1 (General) under the immigration rules in place before 6 April 2010, Highly Skilled Migrant, Writer, Composer or Artist or Self Employed Lawyer.
| Age on your application date for your first permission to enter or stay | Points |
| Under 28 years | 20 |
| 28 or 29 years | 10 |
| 30 or 31 years | 5 |
| 32 years or over | 0 |
If your current permission to enter or stay was granted after 6 April 2010 the points awarded are:
| Age on your application date for your first permission to enter or stay | Points |
| Under 30 years | 20 |
| 30 to 34 years | 10 |
| 35 to 39 years | 5 |
| 40 years or over | 0 |
Qualification
The table below shows the points that you will score if your last granted leave was granted in Tier 1 (General) under the immigration rules in place before 6 April 2010, Highly Skilled Migrant, Writer, Composer or Artist or Self Employed Lawyer.
| Bachelor’s Degree | 30 |
| Master’s degree | 35 |
| PhD | 50 |
If your current permission to enter or stay was granted after 6 April 2010 , the points awarded are:
| Bachelor’s Degree* | 30 |
| Master’s degree | 35 |
| PhD | 45 |
* You will score no points for a Bachelor’s Degree if, under the immigration rules in place between 31 March 2009 and 5 April 2010 you were given permission to enter the UK under Tier 1 (General); or you were given permission to switch into Tier 1 (General) from an immigration category other than those listed above.
Previous Earnings
The points awarded for salaried employment or self-employed earnings are as follows
If your current permission to enter or stay was granted on or after 6 April 2010, the points awarded are:
| £25,000 – £29,999 | 5 |
| £30,000 – £34,999 | 15 |
| £35,000 – £39,999 | 20 |
| £40,000 – £49,999 | 25 |
| £50,000 – £54,999 | 30 |
| £55,000 – £64,999 | 35 |
| £65,000 – £74,999 | 40 |
| £75,000 – £149,999 | 45 |
| £150,000 or more | 80 |
The table below shows the points that you will score if your last granted leave was granted in Tier 1 (General) under the immigration rules in place before 6 April 2010, Highly Skilled Migrant, Writer, Composer or Artist or Self Employed Lawyer.
| £16,000 – £17,999* | 5 |
| £18,000 – £19,999* | 10 |
| £20,000 – £22,999 | 15 |
| £23,000 – £25,999 | 20 |
| £26,000 – £28,999 | 25 |
| £29,000 – £31,999 | 30 |
| £32,000 – £34,999 | 35 |
| £35,000 – £39,999 | 40 |
| £40,000 or more | 45 |
* You will score no points for Previous Earnings below £20,000 if, under the immigration rules in place between 31 March 2009 and 5 April 2010 you were given permission to enter the UK under Tier 1 (General); or you were given permission to switch into Tier 1 (General) from an immigration category other than those listed above.
You can include previous your earnings from:
| salaried employment; or | |
| self-employed activities. |
Your overall total earnings can include those from several sources of work, including salaried employment and self-employed activities. Earnings do not need to have been with a single employer, and can be considered from full-time, part-time, temporary and short-term work.
Earnings may include, among other things:
| salaries (including full-time, part-time, and bonuses); | |
| earnings from self-employment; | |
| earnings from business activities; | |
| statutory maternity pay and contractual maternity pay; | |
| allowances (such as accommodation, schooling or car allowances) that form part of your remuneration package; | |
| dividends paid by a company, where it is a company in which you are active in the day-to-day management, or where you receive the dividend as part or all of your remuneration package; | |
| income from property rental, where this forms part of your business; and | |
| payment in lieu of notice (a payment made instead of requiring an employee to work the normal period of notice when leaving a job). |
If you have permission to stay in the United Kingdom (known as ‘leave to remain’) as a highly skilled migrant or worker, the period over which your earnings are to be assessed must:
| be no more than 12 consecutive months; and | |
| fall within the 15 months immediately before your application. |
UK Experience
You can claim 5 points for previous UK experience as follows;
The table below shows the points that you will score if your last granted leave was granted in Tier 1 (General) under the immigration rules in place before 6 April 2010, Highly Skilled Migrant, Writer, Composer or Artist or Self Employed Lawyer.
| You are successfully scoring points for your previous earnings, and £16,000 or more of those earnings were made in the UK | 5 |
If your current permission to enter or stay was granted on or after 6 April 2010, the points awarded are:
| You are successfully scoring points for your previous earnings, and £25,000 or more of those earnings were made in the UK | 5 |
10 points for English Language
There are three ways that you can score points for English language. You can:
| be a national of a majority English speaking country; or | |
| pass an English language test on our list of approved | |
| hold a degree assessed by UK NARIC as being taught in English and is equivalent to a United Kingdom bachelor’s degree or above. |
10 points for Maintenance funds
You must score 10 points for maintenance (funds). These will be awarded if you are applying for permission to stay in the United Kingdom (known as ‘leave to remain’) and have £800 in available funds.
| cash savings in your account that have been in your account for a consecutive period of 90 days before your application; | |
| cash savings in a joint account that have been in your joint account for a consecutive period of 90 days before your application; | |
| cash savings in a account overseas, that have been in your account for a consecutive period of 90 days before your application. |
APPLYING
While each of these tiers is meant to define clearly those who may benefit, the UK Border Agency has been applying rules relating to the provision of supporting evidence very strictly so extreme care must be exercised in making applications. There are also specific rules relating to the money you must have available to maintain yourself when you first arrive in the United Kingdom. Large numbers of applications in these categories which on their face ought to succeed are being refused because of the failure by applicants to provide all of the information and documentation requested or because of a failure to meet the maintenance requirements. It is therefore beneficial for you to apply through a legal professional who has expertise in UK immigration Law.
WE at IDICULLA SOLICITORS undertake both postal applications and Home Office Same Day premium service.Our fees only cover the cost of preparing and making the initial application. If an appeal or challenge is necessary subsequent to the submission of your application or if a separate application is subsequently required, we will agree separate fees with you. Our fee is as follows and excludes VAT and Home Office Fee;
OUR LEGAL FEES
| Postal Applications | £900.00 |
| Same day Premium Service | £1250.00 |
Please be advised that we also charge an additional fee of £50.00 for each dependent.
Home Office Fees
Applying by post
Fees
| Who you’re applying for | Applying inside the UK | Applying outside the UK |
|---|---|---|
| All dependants | £1,878 per person | £1,021 per person |
Dependant application for spouse/partner or children under 18 will cost £ 750.00 per dependant, if applied with main applicant. Dependant application for children above 18, or any dependant application made separately will cost £561.00. Dependant application for spouse/partner or children under 18 of an applicant having HSMP valid approval letter will cost £ 250 per dependant, if applied with main applicant.
Applying in person
1.£ 700.00, If you have an HSMP valid approval letter
2.£1,800 for all other applications
Dependant application for spouse/partner or children under 18 will cost £900.00 per dependant, if applied with main applicant. Dependant application for children above 18, or any dependant application made separately will cost £867.00. Dependant application for spouse/partner or children under 18 of an applicant having HSMP valid approval letter will cost £ 350.00 per dependant, if applied with main applicant.
If you meet the above criteria please call us on 02380 630 905 or you may contact us online by clicking the button below: