Demand for skilled foreigners exceeds Government limits

DEMAND for skilled foreign workers is so high that the number of applicants applying for special visas brought in by the Government has exceeded its limit just a month after being introduced, according to analysis last night.

Solicitor firms claimed they were having applicants rejected for so-called “Tier 2” visas from non-european Economic Area migrants, which are limited to 20,700 a year.

That is despite medical professionals – previously accounting for 40 per cent of applications – no longer being included in the process, the Financial Times reported.

In June, Theresa May announced that doctors and nurses would be excluded to free up spaces on the scheme.

Ian Robinson, a partner at Fragomen, an immigration law firm, told the FT his firm had an applicant accepted on a £41,000-a-year salary but one on £40,000 rejected, while Laura Devine Solicitors said it had an applicant on a £30,000 salary rejected.