Tier 2: Skilled individuals with a job offer
Tier 2 of the Points Based System is similar to the current uk work permit scheme 
whereby a job offer is required in order to submit a successful application. Tier 2 is intended to cater to people with qualifications or important work-related experience within a wide range of sectors from health service workers to white collar jobs and the trades.
As is the case for tier 3 visas, tier 4 visas and tier 5 visas, applying for a UK visa for immigration under tier two will require you to obtain a certificate of sponsorship, in this case from the sponsoring company, as part of your application. Like the existing UK work permit visa system, tier two visa applications are employer led and the sponsoring employer will need to satisfy certain responsibilities.
The tier 2 visa service also has shares some common elements with the tier 1 level and the outgoing HSMP in that there will be a minimum points threshold that must be met. To qualify for a tier 2 work permit you will be required to score 50 points on a skills assessment and you must also prove that you are proficient in the English language. Examples of sectors that will fall into the tier 2 category at present include teaching and nursing.
Benefits
Like tier 1 visas, a successful tier 2 visa application offers a potential route for permanent settlement in the United Kingdom. Aas with the current system of UK work permits , after five years in the UK you may become eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or permanent residence. Following this, provided you meet the requirements for British Naturalisation, you may be able to naturalise as a British citizen.
Eligibility assessment
The information below gives an overview of how the tier 2 points criteria is likely to function. Please note however that these details are still to be confirmed by the Home Office.
Qualifications
- NVQ3 = 5 points
- Bachelors Degree = 10 points
- Masters Degree = 10 points
- PhD = 15 points
Earnings
- £15,000 - £18,000 = 5 points
- £18,000 - £19,500 = 10 points
- £19,500 - £21,000 = 15 points
- More than £21,000 = 20 points
Job offers for positions identified as being in shortage sectors by the Skills Advisory Body are worth 50 points.
Intra-Company Transfer candidates [see below] will automatically receive 50 points.
Non-shortage positions which pass the Resident Labour Market Test are worth 30 points.
In addition to the points system outlined above, you will also be required to show that you are proficient in the English Language.
Employer responsibilities
Employers recruiting candidates through the tier 2 work permit system must provide a sponsorship certificate detailing the job title and demonstrating that the salary offered is appropriate for such a position and that the role is at or above NVQ3. The certificate acts as confirmation that the candidate has the necessary skills and the intention to fill the specified position.
Where a position being offered is not a shortage occupation the employer must illustrate that they have attempted to fill the role from the domestic workforce through appropriate advertising, without success.
In circumstances where a candidate wishes to change employment, a new certificate of sponsorship will be required and a re-assessment against the points system need to take place. Like the existing working permit service, a UK visa application under the tier two does not grant permission to live and work in the United Kingdom as such, and a new certificate will be required for each change of employment.
Intra-Company Transfers (ICT)
The current system of ICTs will also be catered for by second tier visas, however under the new Intra-company transfer system, an ICT will place more reliance on the responsibility of the employer to show that a position cannot be filled from within the domestic workforce and that the salary is appropriate.
Additional Information
Under the second tier of UK immigration services family immigration will be permitted for your wife, husband, civil partner, unmarried partner and/or dependent children. Spouse immigration and dependency immigration will continue to operate along similar lines to the current dependency visa. Furthermore, the marriage visa, unmarried partner visa and fiance visa categories will remain distinct from the new visas for points based immigration.