Important Information for the attention of Heads of Department and Section and others involved in the employment of staff. 

The Home Office has introduced new immigration procedures, known as  the Points Based System (PBS). Tier 2 of the new PBS replaces the work permit arrangements.

Rather than apply for a work permit, the University will have to assign a certificate of sponsorship to each individual it wishes to employ to enable them to obtain the appropriate permission to come to, or remain in the UK.

In order to assign a certificate of sponsorship, an individual must score a total of 70 points as follows

Criteria		Points
Sponsorship	If the job is on the shortage occupation list	50
	If the job meets the resident labour market test (1)	30
	If the migrant is switching from a post-study worker category	30
Qualifications	None or under the level of a qualification below degree level	0
	Qualification below degree level	5
	Bachelors or Masters degree	10
	PhD	15
Future Expected Earnings	Less than £17,000	0
	£17,000 - £19,999	5
	£20,000 - £21,999	10
	£22,000 - £23,999	15
	£24,000 or more	20
Maintenance	£800	10
English language skills	If the migrant is a national of a majority English speaking country (2) Or If the migrant has passed an English language test (3) Or If the migrant has a degree taught in English	10

Please note that the 70 points must include 10 points for maintenance and 10 points for English language skills.

Notes:

(1) The resident labour market test requires us to advertise externally all vacancies under £40k per annum for a minimum of two weeks.  Vacancies attracting a salary of over £40k per annum must be advertised for at least one week.

(2)The Home Office recognises the following countries as majority English speaking:

• Antigua and Barbuda;
• Australia;
• The Bahamas;
• Barbados;
• Belize;
• Canada;
• Dominica;
• Grenada;
• New Zealand;
• St Kitts and Nevis;
• St Lucia;
• St Vincent and the Grenadines;
• Trinidad and Tobago;
• United States of America;.

(3) If the candidate needs to sit an English Language test, they must ensure that the test is one approved by the Home Office. A list of approved tests is available at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/pbs/approvedenglishtestst2.pdf

It is advisable for individuals to undertake the English Language test as soon as possible (if necessary) to avoid any delay.

Once a certificate of sponsorship has been obtained, it will be sent to the individual so that they can apply for a visa or for leave to remain in the UK.  Individuals can check to ensure that they should be able to obtain permission to enter or remain in the UK using the points calculator which is available at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/pointscalculator. Again, candidates are encouraged to use this calculator as soon as they have been offered a job to ensure that they are likely to be eligible to enter or remain in the UK. (For the purposes of the points calculator they should assume that they will get a certificate of sponsorship even if one has not yet been issued.)

Further information on how to apply for a visa or further leave to remain is available from the following website: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier2/general/applying/initialapplications/

Author:  Human Resources (AEPL) (March 2009)