Changes to the Immigration Rules effective from 19 November 2015
The main changes to the Immigration Rules are the following ones:
Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
– making an amendment to the genuine entrepreneur test for initial applications so that the Secretary of State can make an assessment of any previous investment made by an applicant into a UK business, in order to be satisfied that this investment was genuine;
– amending the rules on acceptable evidence of funding and investment to clarify that the restriction on applicants investing in other businesses does not apply to those which the migrant is running as self-employed or as a director, clarify the evidence required from applicants where they have invested by way of share capital, or by way of a director’s loan; and remove the requirement for applicants with third party funds from a UK government department or an approved seed fund to provide additional legal documentation to further validate this arrangement.
Tier 1 (Investor)
The provision in Appendix A, at paragraph 65-SD (b), only applies to migrants who previously had leave in the pre-Points Based System (PBS) Investor category;
– when property is used as evidence for balance of funds, it can only be jointly owned with the spouse or partner of applicant; and
– investment by way of share or loan capital in investment syndicate companies is not acceptable.
Other visa categories
Asylum claims from EU nationals will be considered invalid, unless exceptional circumstances apply;
Permanent residence and naturalisation applicants, who normally rely on an English language qualification, will have to take a secure English language test instead of relying on an English language qualification;
Tier 2 settlement applicants will have to meet the £30,000 minimum earnings threshold effective from 6 April 2016;
Adding nurses and four digital technology jobs to the Tier 2 shortage occupation list.