Please note that Tier 1 of the UK Immigration five-tier System now replaces the old Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).

All of the tiers that make up the UK immigration tier system cover employment and student based immigration into the UK. The tier system comes into action later this year and will provide access for migrants hoping to gain work and Residence in the UK.

The tier system consists of the following:

Tier One
Tier one of the UK immigration tier system is designed to attract top talent from outside the European Union who can contribute the most to the UK economy. It is designed for UK visa applicants who can bring desirable professional skills, qualifications and experience to the UK.  

Tier one of the UK Immigration tier system is an application led process where candidates have the right to immigrate with full and free access to the UK employment market. You are under no obligation to already have a job lined up and you are free to join employment in any part of the UK. This tier removes the need to apply for a UK work permit.

As with the previous Highly Skilled Migrant Programme you need to gain a required amount of 75 points to be granted access to the UK under tier one of the immigration tier system. A migrant who is successful in their application to become an employee in the UK under tier one of the system is allowed to stay in the UK for between two and three years. Once this time is up a migrant will have to re-apply under tier one if they wish to continue living and working within the UK.

Tier one of the UK immigration tier system can be split into a number of sub categories, which are:

• General Highly Skilled Migrants – your age, qualifications, work experience and earnings are all taken into consideration when it comes to the amount of points you will gain from this section
• Entrepreneurs – you must plan to invest in the UK by, for example, setting up your own business or over taking an existing one. You need at least £200,000 of disposable capital in order to qualify for this category
• Investors – you must plan to make a substantial financial investment in the UK. At least £1,000,000 of disposable capital is required. In this sub-category you are however exempt from the English language requirement; you however have to be able to provide evidence that you are going to be able to support yourself financially.
• Post-study work – this sub-category exists in order to retain the brightest foreign students who have studied in the UK. Successful applicants in this sub category will be free to find work after study without the need for a sponsor

Each of these categories allow you to earn points according to certain sets of criteria; including criteria specific to each sub-category and English language ability; migrants are required to score 10 points in an assessment of their English language competency. Migrants also need to demonstrate an ability to support themselves, meaning they need to prove they have sufficient funds until they find employment; need to score 10 points within this criteria.

See Tier Two