United Kingdom authorities in view of the huge burden place on the country by foreigners has come up with a new convention to eject low-earning Nigerians this year, 2016.
From next month, non-European Union migrants in the United Kingdom which includes Nigerians earning less than ÂŁ35,000 will be deported.
The new Home Office policy, which comes into force on April 6, applies to all overseas workers who have been in the UK for five years on a Tier 2 visa.
If they canât prove that theyâre earning more than ÂŁ35,000, they will be denied settlement and will face deportation.
Teachers, IT professionals and journalists could all be badly affected. A petition launched at the beginning of the year called for the threshold to be reconsidered â it gathered more than 100,000 signatures and was debated in parliament last week.
So whatâs actually changing?
To settle in the UK as a skilled worker, non-EU migrants need to have a Tier 2 visa. For this you need:
*. An offer for a job in the UK that pays at least ÂŁ20,800
*. Have had at least ÂŁ945 in your bank account for 90 days
*. A certificate of sponsorship from your employer (which can cost between ÂŁ536 and ÂŁ1,476)
*. To pay a ÂŁ200 annual healthcare surcharge
*. To prove your English language proficiency
After five years on this visa, skilled workers are able to apply for âindefinite leave to remainâ â and this is what is about to change.
From April, anyone applying for indefinite leave to remain will need to earn at least ÂŁ35,000.
Nurses are temporarily exempt from this threshold, along with PhD-level jobs and any professions that have been on the official âshortage occupation listâ while the person has been living here.
However, the earnings threshold could be applied to migrant nurses in the future. Teachers arenât exempt (unless they are professors in certain disciplines). Even David Cameronâs mum has lost her job because of Tory cuts.
In fact, the Home Officeâs own analysis of the policy in 2012 revealed that the new threshold would have a significant impact on teachers, IT professionals and marketing managers.
In other to clarify their stand, a few questions have been raised by some immigrants:
What if Iâve been in the UK for more than five years?
Then you wonât be deported â the new rule doesnât apply to anyone who entered the country on a Tier 2 visa on or before April 5 2011.
Iâve been here for a decade, will I be deported?
No â as long as youâve been living here for 10 continuous years, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain with no salary threshold.
So if you came here in 2006 as a student visa, then moved directly onto a skilled workersâ visa, you can apply to settle here regardless of how much you earn.
The only condition is that you canât have left the UK for more than 180 days at a time, or 540 days in total.
Iâm here on a marriage visa, will I have to leave?
No, the changes only apply to people on a Tier 2 visa.
Eze Afrika
