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The Immigration Skills Charge for UK employers who are recruiting skilled Tier 2 workers from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) is being introduced on 6 April this year.

What is it for?

The Government says the new Tier 2 charge is to reduce Britain’s reliance on migrant workers and upskill British workers and reduce immigration system burdens on the tax payer

How much is the charge for Tier 2 workers ?

Under the new rules, employers will pay an additional £1,000 per year for each person sponsored. This includes new Certificate of Sponsorships and extensions.

If you have a turnover of £10.2 million or less, up to 50 employees, or are a charitable sponsor the charge is reduced to £364 per worker for each year.

Tier 2 workers

When do I pay?

The payment must be made when you assign the Certificate of Sponsorship.

Exemptions

The charge for Tier 2 workers won’t apply if you’re sponsoring:

  • a non-EEA worker who was sponsored under Tier 2 before 6 April 2017, and is applying to extend their visa with the same or a different sponsor;
  • a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Graduate Trainee;
  • a Tier 2 migrant who wants to do a specific PhD level role such as chemical scientists; biological scientists and biochemists; physical scientists; social and humanities scientists; natural and social science professionals; research and development managers; and higher education teaching professionals;
  • a Tier 4 student who wants to switch to a Tier 2 (General) visa;
  • Tier 2 family members/dependents

Our recommendations

If you’re looking to recruit Tier 2 workers and apply for Certificates of Sponsorship you should do this before 6 April 2017 to avoid the skills charge and other potential fee increases.

For more information please contact our Immigration team on 020 7631 4141.

This article originally appeared on the Fisher Meredith website in March 2017.



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