Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their definition of a required skill for the purposes of immigration; in which sectors of the economy such skills are needed; whether they intend that that definition will change following Brexit; and what is their assessment of future skills requirements.

Tier 2 is the main immigration route for skilled non-EEA workers. The Tier 2 (General) route is designed to fill skilled vacancies for which no suitable resident workers are available. Applicants must have an offer of a graduate level job, paying an appropriate salary, from an employer which has been licensed by the Home Office to sponsor migrant workers. The skill level of a post must be level 6 on the Regulated Qualification Framework with some exceptions for the Shortage Occupation List and certain creative roles.

In July 2017, the Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the European Union and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The MAC’s call for evidence sought information on EU migrants’ skills, amongst other things, and this will be considered in their final report due in September 2018. Details can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-and-briefing-note-eea-workers-in-the-uk-labour-market

The Government will take account of the MAC’s advice when making any final decisions about our future immigration system for EU nationals.