Theresa May urged to rethink new £35,000 earnings threshold for non-EU migrants

英國為移民關門 ! 

賺唔夠35000英鎊不是歐盟成員的人民, 而在英國沒住夠10年, 但己做咗5年工作, 在4月6日起須離開英國 !

如果英國脫歐, 可能更多的人須離開 !

www.independent.co.uk

Theresa May is facing calls to rethink the “discriminatory” new earnings threshold of £35,000 for non-EU migrants that could starve Britain of vital talent in the teaching, charity and entrepreneur sectors when the changes take effect in April.

Overseas workers who have lived in the UK for five years will have to prove they will be paid the new minimum threshold in order to stay in the country.

Those who fail to demonstrate earnings of more than £35,000 will be denied settlement in the UK and will face deportation according to the new Home Office policy.

The Government temporarily exempted nurses from the new rules last autumn in response to fears about widespread shortages of workers across the NHS.

But the earnings threshold could be applied to migrant nurses in the future should the Government decide to take them off the Shortage Occupation List.

Former Cabinet minister Alistair Carmichael, who was David Cameron's Scottish Secretary before the election, told The Independent that discriminating on the basis of income would harm the UK’s place at the “forefront of the global economy”, while shadow immigration minister Keir Starmer said there were “real concerns” over how key industries would be affected.

Mr Starmer, who served as the Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008-2013, urged ministers to “look more closely” at the threshold, which is currently £20,800 – around £5,000 less than the average UK salary.

A petition launched earlier this week to try to force the Government to rethink the sharp rise in the minimum income requirements has attracted more than 2,000 signatures.

Joshua Harbord, who set up the petition on the Parliament website, told The Independent that he decided to take action because he knew a number of “incredibly upset and scared” people who were set to be affected by the changes but had no one speaking up on their behalf.

“These aren’t the benefits-scrounging, baby-sprouting terrorists that everyone seems so afraid of,” he said.

"They're people who have worked in the UK for years, making friends and families, building homes and communities and contributing to this country's culture and economy.”

The petition, which calls for the Government to scrap the new £35,000 threshold for non-EU citizens, could be debated by MPs if it reaches 100,000 signatures but only needs 10,000 to receive a response from the Government.

“At the very least, I want an answer from the Home Office, and for the population in general to realise it's impossible to rationalise this insanity,” Mr Harbord said.

"I want them to take responsibility for this incredible mistake, even if they never intend to correct it or make amends.

“Ultimately, I just want my friends and the thousands of other people who face deportation to be allowed to remain in their homes and their jobs."

Mr Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, is writing to Ms May calling on her to publish the Government’s latest assessment on how many people will face deportation when the new rules take effect in April.

The Home Office’s own assessment of the policy in 2012 admitted that the higher threshold would have a significant impact on teachers, nurses, marketing managers and IT professionals.

Mr Carmichael told The Independent: “Britain must remain open for business – we should be looking to attract the best and brightest not turn them away.

"Discrimination based on income fails to take talent and new sectors like tech start-ups, whose staff might be paid less than £35,000, are essential to keeping the UK at the forefront of the global economy.”

The Home Office has yet to respond to a request for comment.

www.theguardian.com全文

The Home Office says anyone who is unsure whether they may be affected by the changes can call the general inquiries for immigration matters on 0300 123 2241.

www.theguardian.com

From April 2016, migrant workers will need to earn at least £35,000 to qualify for settlement in the UK. Will this affect your life in the country? 

Non-EU migrants who have spent more than five years working in the country will be required to earn £35,000 per year or else face deportation, according to a policy that comes into effect in April next year. The policy, announced in 2012 by the home secretary Theresa May, has been criticised this week by the Royal College of Nursing. It predicted chaos in the health service, and urged the Home Office to add nursing to the list of occupations exempt from the rules and reconsider the salary threshold.

But nurses won’t be the only people affected by the changes. Migration figures published in May reveal migration for work from outside Europe rose by 24,000 to 68,000 in 2014, with nearly all coming on skilled work visas. £35,000 is a salary that won’t affect those working in finance or, for the most part, IT, but there are many other sectors with workers who will be forced to leave when the pay threshold comes into force.

For decades, settlement has been granted on the basis of length of time living in the UK, as well as pre-existing ties to the country. The policy is part of the government’s determination to reduce annual net migration.