UK removes 8 occupations from Tier 2 visa skilled occupation list

The UK government has announced that it will remove 8 occupations from Shortage Occupation List (SOL). If an occupation is on the shortage occupation list it is easier for an employer to employ a migrant under Tier 2 of the UK's points based immigration system.

If an occupation is on the shortage occupation list the UK feels there are not enough resident vacancies to fill the available vacancies.

"When the 8 occupations are removed from the list, the number of jobs available to migrants under the list will be reduced from 500,000 to around 230,000," the UK Border Agency said in a statement.

The UK Government is also removing another 71 professions from the list of 192 qualifying Tier 2 visa occupations. These occupations have been deemed to be below "graduate level".

According to the UKBA, new rules to be introduced in April will mean that anyone wishing to apply for a Tier 2 visa must be coming here to work in an occupation "at or above graduate level".

The announcement follows recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a body setup by the Government to study immigration levels into the UK.

This announcement follows the government's decision to accept all of the Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) recommendations following the publication of 2 reports looking at graduate-level jobs and the shortage occupation list for Tier 2.

"These changes to the shortage occupation list will ensure that only skilled workers are coming to the UK through Tier 2 of the points-based system," said Immigration Minister Damian Green.

"It will allow firms to bring in people with necessary skills without migrants becoming the first resort to fill a wide range of available jobs," he added.