By way of reminder, the Tier 1 post-study work route will close at 5pm on 5 April 2012. Any applications submitted before this time will still be considered under the UK Border Agency's current rules and guidance.
From 6 April 2012, applications for leave to remain in the UK will be considered under the other immigration routes. Students intending to apply should be pointed towards the “Working in the UK” guidance that the UKBA provides which outlines the requirements that will have to be met.
Rules have also been laid in Parliament today confirming changes to Tier 2 (the general immigration route), to include:
- the Tier 2 limit will remain at its current level of 20,700 for the next 2 years until April 2014;
- the skill level required by migrants who wish to work in the UK will increase; and
- the rules for businesses around advertising highly paid and PhD jobs will be relaxed; for example, employers will no longer have to advertise vacancies through JobCentrePlus.