UK starts review of monthly visa cap to ease entry for professionals

The UK government on Friday tabled changes in Parliament to its immigration policy, which includes a review of its strict visa quotas available to professionals from countries like India. As part of the immigration changes, the government said it would ask the independent Migration Advisory Committee to review the composition of the Shortage Occupation List.

This is likely to further ease up the visa regime for businesses to be able to bring in professionals from countries like India to work in the UK.

The Indian IT sector is among those expected to benefit from the easing up of the cap, a move welcomed by Indian industry.

“Coming in the wake of long-standing demand from Indian professionals, the news to ease the Tier 2 visa category by the British government is a welcome development. This move will certainly smoothen the movement of highly-skilled professionals and increase overall competitiveness of the UK industry in the long run,” said Rashesh Shah, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), an industry body.

“FICCI has always stood for a free, fair and transparent UK visa regime for ensuring and promoting vibrant trade and economic relations between the two countries,” he said.

“Businesses will welcome these reforms as a good first move. International skills and talent are a core foundation of the Global Britain employers want to help build,” said Matthew Fell, Chief UK Policy Director for the Confederation of British Industry.

“A successful migration system should focus on people’s contribution to the UK economy and society, not numbers. Until our immigration system is reformed to reflect this, including scrapping the net migration target, businesses will continue to struggle to get the people they need to create jobs and growth,” he said.