The Points-Based System Makes Migration Work in Britain - Essay Example

? The Points Based System Makes Migration Work in Britain Britain has remained as a leading industrial and naval power in 19th century. Over one-fourth of the earth's surface was under ‘The British Empire’. The two world wars and the withdrawal of Irish republic from its union in 19th century, showed the depletion in Britain’s strength. Eventually, the empire was dismantled in the second half of 19th century and took a way towards rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous UK. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, NATO and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. Since, the rebuilding of modern UK results in a huge demand of skilled labor from outside countries; Britain largely remained a country of net emigration until the 1990s. The government's latest population projections, published in October 2009, have an annual net immigration of 180,000 (BBC 2009). Successive governments from the early 1970 itself, operated tight controls on immigration in an effort to curb immigration from New Commonwealth countries. In the past decade UK has mostly put effort on enhancing the skill level of the workforce within the country that supports the interdependent aspirations of a competitive and productive economy in global market. Finally, government took step towards initiating the Points Based System in order to create a unified selection system. As a result, points based system has now occupied central part of the UK Government's five year strategy for asylum and immigration (MAC 2009).Point Based System and Its Procedure The UK Points Based system is based on a five tier framework: Tier 1: Highly skilled migrants, entrepreneurs, investors and graduate students. Tier 2: Skilled workers with a job offer; this tier replaced the work permit rules. Tier 3: Low skilled workers – restricted to those needed to fill temporary shortages. Tier 4: Students. Tier 5: Youth mobility and other mainly unpaid temporary workers such as interns (Murray 2011). The five tiers were brought in action in between February 2008 and March 2009. Tiers 1 and 2 can lead to permanent settlement. Migrants in Tiers 1, 2 and 4 can potentially switch between one another. Tiers 3 and 5 are temporary routes and migrants cannot move out of these tiers once they are in the UK. Dependants are allowed to come to the United Kingdom with the main applicant, but they are not allowed to work if they accompany a student under Tier 4 or a temporary worker under Tier 5, who has less than 12 month’s leave to remain in the country. An employer or educational institution issues a certificate of sponsorship to the migrant they have chosen; the migrant can then make an application for clearance through the points test and will receive more points if their sponsor is ‘A’ rated and less if it is ‘B’ rated. Tier 1 applicants do not require a job offer so therefore do not need a certificate of sponsorship. Points are awarded differently in each tier. The government introduced several categories for Tier 1: an applicant under the ‘entrepreneurs’ category must hold at least ?200,000 of disposable capital in a regulated financial institution; under the investors category they must hold at least ?1 million of disposable funds; applicants under the ‘graduate students’ category must have a qualification from a UK institution; under the general highly skilled category an applicant is awarded points based on a range of factors including age, qualifications, work experience or education in the UK, and previous earnings. There are five routes of entry under Tier 2: Shortage occupation for skilled people coming to the UK for a specific vacancy that cannot be filled by a British. Resident labour market test for jobs that cannot be filled through the other Tier 2 routes. The employer (sponsor) needs to show that there is no suitably qualified worker from the UK. Intra-company transfer for established employees of multinational companies who are being transferred to a skilled job in a UK-based branch of the organisation. Sports people and coaches whose employment will make a significant contribution to the development of UK sport at the highest level. Ministers of religion: for those people coming to fill a vacancy as a minister of religion. Dependets applying for UK Visa Regarding dependants accompanying PBS immigrants to the UK, relevant relationships are limited to the spouse or partner and dependent children of the principal PBS immigrant. Families must be able to show that they can support themselves. Dependants are allowed to take on any work in the UK, provided that the principal PBS immigrant has been granted more than 12 months’ leave to stay in the UK. They are not allowed access to public funds. There can be some modifications in the conditions of tier two. All routes other than the shortage occupation route can be closed. Therefore, skilled immigrants could only come to work in the UK. Students applying for Visa Previously a student could apply for a visa on the basis of an offer letter from a given institution, but could then choose to study at a different institution. Under the new system, a student’s leave to be in the UK is tied to a specific institution. The government has also cracked down on the number of institutions which are eligible to sponsor students, and has demanded minimum language qualifications even for students attending UK based language schools. Tier 5 is for youth mobility and temporary workers, those who come through working holiday agreements with other countries (MAC 2009). There were certain changes to the PBS resulting from the MAC recommendations on April 6, 2010. These included the return to awarding points for Bachelor degrees under the Tier 1 (General). This was the case when Tier 1 was first introduced on June 30, 2008, but changed on March 31, 2009 to a minimum qualification level of Masters Degree. Under the new changes, applicants with only a bachelor’s degree will be subject to a higher previous-earnings requirement. However, applicants with previous earnings of at least ?150,000 or over will not require evidence of any qualifications (MAC,2009). Duty of employers An employer must obtain a licence to act as a sponsor and be included on the UK Border Agency’s (UKBA) register of sponsors by paying between ?300 and ?1,000, depending on the size of the business. The registered sponsor is able to obtain a certificate of sponsorship in relation to a non-EEA applicant and the job for which he or she is being recruited. There is a rating system for sponsors, based on past performance. RLMT jobs have to be advertised for up to two weeks in Job centre Plus. Intra-company transferees need to have been with the company for more than six months and be paid at the going rate. Non-EEA graduates, who have graduated from a recognised UK higher education institution, can work in the UK under Tier 1 without the need for a sponsoring employer. They can switch into Tier 2, if they meet the relevant requirements. All Tier 2 immigrants are able to undertake supplementary work without the need for the additional sponsorship. However, they are not entitled to access to public funds. Successful Tier 2 PBS applicants are given three years’ leave to enter followed by a two-year extension if they still meet the requirements. Once they have lived in the UK continuously for five years, they can apply for permanent residency. • Sponsors of Tier 2 immigrants must pay them the going rate for the job and can claim some allowances as constituting part of that salary. The Tier 2 applicant must obtain a visa to come and work in the UK which cost between ?265 and ?665. The UKBA carries out post-licensing checks on sponsors, who are required to keep a range of detailed information showing their compliance with the PBS (Goldfoot 2010). Once the RLTM test is complete, an employer can submit a certificate of sponsorship to the applicant, who must then undergo a points test. Points are awarded under Tier 2 for qualifications and prospective earnings. All applicants must demonstrate English language competence. Under Tier 2 extra points can be earned if the job is on a list of shortage occupations identified by the Migration Advisory Committee. Another important source of Tier 2 entrants are intra-company transfers. Applicants must have spent at least six months with the firm. Tier 3 has been suspended because the UK government assumes that the UK’s low skilled seasonal labour needs, which the tier covers, are met by migration from the EU at present. However, two low skilled migration routes, the seasonal agricultural workers scheme and the sector based schemes remain open to temporary Romanian and Bulgarian migrants, who do not yet have unrestricted access to the UK labour market (Murray 2011). Cases in the Court against PBS There are certain cases in UK court against the PBS system; one among them is the case between the Secretary of State for the Home Department v Pankina, The appeals that came before the Court concerned the maintenance aspect of Tier 1 Post Study Work visas, the only requirement was that the applicant held ?800 at the time of application, as specified in Appendix C of the Immigration Rules. However the court does not strike down the entire PBS system but holds that the only binding and effective part of the PBS rules and guidance are those set out in the Immigration Rules themselves. This is because these are the only provisions that have been properly laid before Parliament. The Court also held that that Tribunal was correct regarding the effect of section 85(4) of the 2002 Act, in that the relevant date is the date of application, not the date of appeal. This is specified in the rule itself. The Court takes a notably different approach to the tribunal on human rights issues, making it clear that the Tribunal should properly consider the context of the alleged need to maintain immigration control in a particular case. The Court held that the Home Secretary must have regard and give effect to applicants’ Convention Rights (Bvunzawabaya 2010). On one more case of MR Bangladesh v Entry Clearance Officer, appeal to Court of Appeal in a working holidaymaker case arguing that failure to consider the entry clearance guidance, when applying the immigration rule on maintenance etc, rendered the decision 'not in accordance with the law’. And finally Laws LJ granted permission to the applicant (Vaughan 2010). In one more case in December 2010, the dourt deemed to include Applications made under Tier 2 (Intra-company transfer), Tier 2 (Minister of religion) and Tier 2 (Sportsperson) until April 2011 in the intrim limit ‘cap’, which was especially for the applications under Tier 2 (General) The occupation list is under review by the Migration Advisory Committee (‘MAC’). There was an application for judicial review against the interim (R v SSHD). However, the ides of PBS in UK is the need of the time and a historical step towards creating the skilled work force in the country itself. Therefore, it should be supported by the people to give a correct shape. Global Impact of PBS in Britain UK is the second largest country in the world receiving the direct inward investment, which is second to the USA, which amounts for ?25.2 billion every year. There are several multinational companies operating in the UK functioning as the headquarters for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. If the UK Government closed Tier 2 to only Shortage Occupations, the companies will be bound to step back from the UK business as there will be shortage in the labour market to fulfil their requirements. Major Japanese companies, including Hitachi Europe Ltd, Honda of UK Manufacturing Ltd, Mitsubishi Corporation, plc, Nissan Motor Manufacturing Ltd, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Ltd, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the UK, the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi Ltd and the Japan Green Medical Centre. Overall 92 Japanese companies have expressed dissatisfaction regarding the closure of the intra-company transfer route. The majority of the companies said that the closure of the intra-company transfer route would result in them withdrawing their businesses from the UK or scaling back their UK activities, which would cause job losses among the UK workers they employ (MAC 2009). Need of Socio-Economic and Cultural Development in the UK In the recent time, after the Point based system came into effect, policies and strategies of the governments in UK has focussed increasingly on the needs of employers and learners as end users of the UK’s education learning and skills ecosystem. The report of an independent review “Prosperity for All in the Global Economy: World Class Skills” calls for a ‘demand led’ and integrated system, generating ‘economically valuable skills’ to support social and economic goals. The analysis was accepted by the UK government and many of its recommendations are being implemented in England. In the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the report has been considered in the context of post devolutionary strategies and the culture and infrastructures in each nation. Many current communities of interest have a deep rooted involvement with the evolution of provision and qualifications and how they have related to employment needs and certainly, this represents an ecosystem that can generate the growth that the UK needs to thrive in the global economy. Having endured the social and economic impact of moving from industrial manufacturing to a service based economy, globalisation is driving further restructuring. The UK must develop a knowledge based economy, where production, assimilation and application of ideas ensure that the core manufacturing and extensive service economy remains competitive. Impact of Point based system on the labour market will be measured against the aspiration that the proportion of adults of working age in employment should grow up to 100 percent. There seems to be a strong emphasis on sustainable employment and ending the recurrent problem of outsourcing. In Scotland the Learning through Life and Life through Learning, strategy underlines the strong reputation of the Scottish system in areas such as qualification framework development. This emphasises making the impact of learning and education in the economy more visible. However, there remains a strong commitment to continuity and harmony with the culture of lifelong learning. In Wales, similar themes of national need, social purpose and recognition for all forms of learning are reinforced such as, ‘The Learning Country’. Northern Ireland’s Key policy of ‘Skills Strategy’, focus on supporting productivity and competitiveness in an economy with high employment rates, which encourages profound social reconstruction. Education and learning systems are also influenced by the American community college model. Despite some cultural, strategic and operational differences, there is a shared aspiration in the United Kingdom, to ensure that learning and qualifications meet the needs of employers (Burnand) Conclusion The global economic slowdown, tight credit, and falling home prices, however, pushed Britain back into recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompted the government to implement a number of new measures to stimulate the economy and stabilize the financial markets; these include part-nationalizing the banking system, cutting taxes, suspending public sector borrowing rules, and bringing forward public spending on capital projects (MAC 2009). Eventually, the government realized the importance of skilled labor market’s positive contribution to the GDP of the country. Since, the active participation of UK in the global marketing, it requires the efficient workforce to accomplish the demand of consumers worldwide. Therefore to attain the safe stand in global market and maintain its quality, UK government decided to filter the incoming labor force on the basis of Point Based System to ensure only required skilled workforce has entered the country. References Burnand Paul, The role and interaction of Frameworks and Networks in the UK’s Learning and Skills Ecosystem, Sector Skills Development Agency Abstract. BBC News, 2009, Net migration to UK rose in, statistics show, 2010, web source. situation for children living with HIV and insecure immigration status. Bvunzawabaya Rumbidzai, Secretary of State for the Home Department v Pankina 2010, EWCA, 719, news Zimbabwe, Read More