Another one bites the dust :(

even though i am on a work permit, i read this with great interest because we are facing similar changes and restrictions...residency requirment increased from 4 to 5 yeras and as a nurse, several areas have been removed from the shortage list so i feel like the home office is taking aim at us also!
i have alot of sympathy for you all, hope it doesn't go much further...

It will.


Vicky

What I can't believe is that they want to boot out of the country many of the people who are already in the country on HSMP and don't qualify under the new rules for an extension.  I mean, okay you're always going to have some people who can't get a job and end up working low-skilled positions, but what about the people with who are older, who have tons of experience and are working within their field in the UK and have basically settled here, but don't qualify under the new rules because they don't have enough education or perhaps don't make quite enough money?  All of a sudden they're not highly skilled anymore and don't contribute anything to the UK economy?  That's ridiculous.

argh, double post.

Forgive my ignorance, but what prompted this overhaul of the system?  Why is it so out of the blue?  It is really unfair to kick out those who's visa has not expired and did qualify under the old system.  I am really sorry that it hits you and your clients so hard Vicky!  Much sympathy to those affected!   :\\\'(

Andrea...I haven't found out about the issue of extensions yet...i haven't actually got round to reading the new guidance yet, still writing my notes and clearing up other messes caused by the Home Office.  I will get back to you when I have got that confirmed, although if anyone else finds out in the meantime, please post it.

Persephone..."what prompted this overhaul?"  Hmmm...how about a government who could be reasonably compared to the Gestapo, pandering, once again, to the racists and bigots and those who will only ever want to see minimum/no migration, in order to keep hold of power?

Just a guess 

Vicky

Andrea...I haven't found out about the issue of extensions yet...i haven't actually got round to reading the new guidance yet, still writing my notes and clearing up other messes caused by the Home Office.  I will get back to you when I have got that confirmed, although if anyone else finds out in the meantime, please post it.

They do have "transitional" arrangements in place whereby many existing (non-self employed) HSMP holders who don't meet the points test can apply for a work permit without having to have their job advertised, which isn't as bad as I feared.  And there is a special arrangement for self-employed people, which is heartening, but not every self-employed person on HSMP will qualify for that, unfortunately.

But even the work permit arrangement will still leave some people out in the cold- namely, those who either took a while to find a job or those who changed jobs shortly before they're up for extension, since it's a requirement to have to have 8-12 months in the same post before being eligible for a work permit under the transitional rules. (And if you're going to do that, why not make it 8-12 months of employment total? Why does it have to be the same job?  And what if someone's been working at the same company for say the last 2 years but got promoted to a different job within the company 6 months before having to apply for an extension?  Does that mean they'd have to go home?)

And of course once they switch to a work permit, they're now tied to their employer, eliminating one of the biggest benefits of having HSMP in the first place. 

I appreciate that at least they *have* some transitional arrangements in place for existing HSMP holders, but those have very big cracks through which many hard-working people could and will fall, meaning after having made a new life for themselves in the UK they're now essentially being kicked out.  It's just really, really unfair.

i've read the guidlines several times and I don't THINK ILR's been effected... could someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

i'm working on the following timeline...
sep 03- 2 year WP
sep 05- 3 year WP
Jan 07- Apply for HSMP
May 07- switch from FLR(WP) to FLR(HSMP)
Sep 08- Apply for ILR based on 5 years working legally here in the UK...

looks like i also won't have to reapply for HSMP extension at any time.

No, there is nothing in the rules which has been changed AS OF TODAY, so as long as you still will qualify for the HSMP then your timeline is still going to be okay.

Mind you, do we know that it will still be possible to switch in country to the HSMP in Jan 07?  I suspect that you will be okay, but you never know.

Vicky

The new guidance notes aren't very user friendly, at least for me. I find it very confusing. I cannot find anything that says what salary you need if you have not previously been in the UK. I used the new points calculator on Skillclear and it is still unclear to me about the salary.

I think experience should count for something. It says the new points system is to better determine the possibility of success in the UK, but it doesn't seem to. For people having to rely on the salary scale to get a couple of points, it's difficult because the exchange rate can be a HUGE factor! From what I am able to understand, my salary would have been enough with the currency exchange from January-March 2006, but now I believe I fall about $3,000 short. 5 points! I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position too.

even though i am on a work permit, i read this with great interest because we are facing similar changes and restrictions...residency requirment increased from 4 to 5 yeras and as a nurse, several areas have been removed from the shortage list so i feel like the home office is taking aim at us also!
i have alot of sympathy for you all, hope it doesn't go much further...

It will.


Vicky

Vicky~ Do you have any opinions on how WP holders may be affected by future changes or are you just commenting on the general trend of things?

I only have concrete infor on the points system which will come into effect in 2008, but there were changes to the shortage skills list yesterday.  My general feeling is that, as with the HSMP, work permits will start moving towards the proposed new system.  Obvoiusly I'll let you know when/if changes occur.

Scarlett - I don't think the guidance are designed to be user friendly. Chris (HSMP guru) is working on a new guide for our website, and i'll let you know when it is up.

Vicky

Thanks Vicky! The people on this forum are definitely a great help for clearing up the legal information from the government.

scarlett- the best place for you to know what country band and hence what your previous earnings are worth in terms of points- can be found in the guidance notes for new HSMP.  to be exact annex c, page 25.

Thanks, Meggles.

I looked where you mentioned and I must be missing something, I still don't see anything for intial applicants. The section about previous earnings from overseas seems to be directed at people who are already in the UK. The old one had different tables for countries. I'm sure the US is in the highest one, but I don't see a table like that anywhere.

Am I to assume that I should base my earnings on the 12 month earning table with the exhange rate for the date on which I would apply? If so, I LOATHE fluctuating exchange rates but pray the dollar gains value or the pound loses or both!!