Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules

On 13 March 2014, the Home Secretary laid before the House of Commons a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules which are designed to improve flexibility for applicants applying under the work route On 13 March 2014, the Home Secretary laid before the House of Commons a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules which are designed to improve flexibility for applicants applying under the work route of the Points Based System and to help boost economic growth whilst the Government continues to "be tough on those who break the rules or flout the law". Some of the changes are effective from 13 March 2014 whilst others will come into force over the next few months. Key highlights are detailed below:

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)

• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category is for those applicants who wish to invest in the UK by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in the running of one or more business in the UK. Applicants may qualify for this category on the basis of funds invested in their businesses up to 12 months before they apply. This is being widened to 24 months for applicants switching from the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) category, which is designed to feed into Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and in which leave may be granted for up to two years in total.


• Minor changes are being made to refine the rules around funds being spent by the business and provisions for entrepreneurial teams.


• Minor updates are being made to the evidential requirements including (i) removing the need for third party declarations to be provided when funds are held in a joint account with the applicant's spouse or partner; (ii) requiring lawyers providing declarations to be independent of those providing investment funds; (iii) changing the contents of third party funding declarations from banks to better reflect banking practice; (iv) and requiring business accounts produced as evidence of investment to meet statutory requirements.

Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)

• The Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) category caters for graduates who have been endorsed by UK Higher Education Institutions or by UK Trade and Investment to establish one or more businesses in the UK.


• The requirement for applicants to have obtained their degrees within the last twelve months or from a particular institution is being removed. This will be advantageous to overseas applicants and will also benefit those who have been undertaking research in the UK since graduating. As a consequence of this change, the evidence required to support this application is also changing.


• Under current rules, applicants can have a maximum of two grants of leave in this category and a change is being made to allow the second grant to be with a different endorsing body than the first, to increase flexibility for applicants.

Tier 1 (Investor)

• Tier 1 (Investor) category is for high net worth individuals making a substantial financial investment in the UK.  Investors are required to invest their funds within three months of entering the UK in this category. Under current Immigration Rules, if an applicant fails to make their investment within three months of entry, they cannot be granted an extension. However, a change is being made to allow extensions to be granted if there are exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing, providing the reasons were unforeseeable and outside the investor's control. Investors who do not invest within the first three months may still have their leave curtailed and will have to wait for longer before they become eligible to apply for settlement.

Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent)

• Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) category was introduced for those who lead the world or show exceptional promise in the field of science, humanities, engineering and the arts, who have been endorsed by a Designated Competent Body and wish to work in the UK. This category will be expanded to include world-leading individuals in the digital technology sector by enabling Tech City UK to endorse Tier 1 visa applications. This will allow innovators and professionals in the digital technology industry to come to the UK without the need for a sponsoring employer.


• Rules are being introduced to allow applicants applying under Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) to apply from any country overseas as opposed to the usual standard of being able to apply from only your country of residence or country of nationality. Greater flexibility will also enable applicants to switch from all other Tier 1 categories whilst in the UK and for those already in the category to make extension applications whilst overseas.


• An amendment is being made to the settlement rules to allow applicants to amalgamate time spent in other Tier 1 and Tier 2 settlement routes towards the five year qualifying period.

Tier 2

• Tier 2 of the Points Based System is for migrants with an employment offer from an employer that holds a Sponsor Licence in the UK.


• A fundamental change is being made to allow applicants under Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) and Tier 2 (General) be granted leave up to five years at a time as opposed to the current three years. This will benefit employers by providing them with greater flexibility and comfort in knowing that their employee can remain in the UK for up to five years whilst also reducing the management time and cost of making an extension application after three years.


• Annual updates are being made to the minimum salary thresholds and appropriate salary rates for individual occupations (as set out in the relevant Codes of Practice) to reflect changes in average weekly earnings for resident workers.


• The maintenance funds threshold in Tier 2 will increase to £900 in line with the cost of living increase in the UK. This change is planned to take effect from 1 July 2014. As applicants must typically hold the maintenance funds for a period of 90 consecutive days it is imperative that note is taken of this change and funds held accordingly for any future application.

Tier 5 (Temporary Workers)

• A new 24 month visa category under the Tier 5 Government Authorised Exchange route for overseas government language placements has been created. This category will enable language teachers who are sponsored by their overseas government to carry out teaching placements at UK institutions through established government to government partnership agreements. The first of these schemes will support a Mandarin teaching scheme designed to foster good cultural relations between the UK and China.

There have also been a series of minor changes to reflect the fact that all information and forms are now available on the UK Visas & Immigration pages of the gov.uk website rather than the former UK Border Agency website. For further information, please contact Lynn McCloghry.