On 25 February 2015, the Secretary of State issued a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, which highlighted a number of changes,  most of which came into force on 6 April 2015.
 (1)   Changes to Tier 2 Cooling Off period
The Tier 2 ‘cooling off’ period was in place to prevent a migrant who was in the UK under Tier 2 within the previous 12 month period being granted leave under Tier 2 again. From 6 April 2015 onwards, the 12 month ‘cooling off period’ where the migrant is assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for three months or less will be waived. This will enable employers to sponsor interns and then bring them back to the UK for a permanent job within one year Period thus improving flexibility.
With respect to Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer migrants, the qualifying12 month’s prior employment will now be able to include time spent lawfully employed by a group company in the UK as well as overseas.
The minimum salary thresholds as set out in the Codes of Practice (COP) have increased by 1.2% and the revised salary thresholds will apply from 6 April 2015. The revised minimum salary thresholds are as follows:
Tier 2 sub- categories
Current salary threshold
Salary threshold from 6 April 2015
Tier 2 General 
£20,500
£20,800
Tier 2 General (jobs exempt
£71,600
72,500
from job centre plus advertising)


Tier 2  General (jobs exempt from
£153,500
£155,300
the annual limit)


Tier 2 (General) & Sportsperson
£35,800
£36,200
(earnings qualifying for settlement)
(apps. made after 06/04/2019)
(apps.made after 06/04/2019)
Tier 2 (ICT) (Short term staff,
£24,500
£24,800
graduate trainee, skills transfer)


Tier 2 (ICT) Long Term staff
£41,000
£41,500
Tier 2 (ICT) Long Term staff
£153,500
£155,300
(jobs qualifying for 9 year transfers)


 The COP and salary thresholds for individual occupations have been updated and have increased in most cases. It is important that employers are aware of these increases as issuing a CoS on the old salary will result in an application being refused.
 (2)    Changes to English Language tests
 The list of approved English language tests has been updated and many tests that were previously accepted have been removed including the Pearson Test; Cambridge tests such as Key English Test, Preliminary English Test, First Certificate in English, Certificate of Proficiency in English, Business English Certificate Preliminary, and Business English Certificate Vantage; ESOL tests and IESOL tests.
A few new test providers have been added to the list including Trinity College London, for the UK only and IELTS SELT Consortia for the UK and the rest of the world. There will be some migrants who have taken their tests in advance to their applications and these tests may have now been removed; hence a transitional period has been introduced. If a migrant passed their test before 6 April 2015, then they can continue to use the test results for their immigration application up until 6 April 2015.
(3)    NHS surcharge for non-EEA migrants
In addition to the increase in Home Office fees for applications, non-EEA migrants will now be subject to a ‘health surcharge’ as part of their immigration application, if they are coming to the UK for longer than 6 months or extending their stay in the UK. The following people will be exempt from the surcharge:
  • visitors and those granted entry clearance for 6 months or less
  • Tier 2 intra – company transfer migrants
  • migrants making an application for asylum, humanitarian protection or Article 3 claims
  • victims of human trafficking
  • a migrant applying under the ‘destitute domestic violence concession’
  • Her Majesty’s Forces family members
  • a dependent of another country’s armed forces member who is exempt from immigration control
  • those making immigration applications under the Turkish European Communities Association Agreement
  • a British Overseas Territory Citizen who is resident of the Falkland Islands
  • nationals of Australia and New Zealand
Prior to this, migrants coming to the UK to work, study or join family members in the UK were entitled to free NHS treatment in the same way as permanent residents. For temporary migrants the health surcharge will be £200 per annum and for students, the health surcharge will be £150 per annum. The charge will be payable when the immigration application is made and will be calculated on the basis of the time that the migrant will be allowed to stay in the UK and the number of defendants they have. For example, a migrant who has been sponsored for 3 years under Tier 2 General of the points based system accompanied by a spouse and a child will need to pay £1800 in addition to the Home Office application fees.
However, if the individual’s application is refused then they will be refunded the surcharge payment automatically. Individuals with private healthcare insurance will still need to pay the surcharge. The surcharge does not apply to applications submitted before this date.
Courtesy- http://www.turbervilles.co.uk/