Immigration application process - the points-based system
The points-based system is the UK’s immigration system for managing applications by individuals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland wishing to work, train or study in the UK.
Within the points-based system, there are five education and employment categories available to foreign nationals:
- Tier 1(General): highly skilled individuals to contribute to growth and productivity (previously the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme). This route is now closed to all new applicants.
- Tier 2: skilled workers with a job offer to fill gaps in the UK labour force (previously the work permit route).
- Tier 3: low skilled workers needed to fill specific temporary labour shortages. This tier is suspended indefinitely.
- Tier 4: students wanting to come to the UK to study.
- Tier 5: youth mobility and temporary workers – people allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives such as exchange schemes or agreements. This tier replaces the working holidaymaker and Medical Training Initiative schemes.
The number of points required and the way the points are awarded depend on the tier you are applying under, but will reflect your qualifications, experience, age, previous earnings and language competence.
You can check if you have enough points to qualify for a particular tier by carrying out a self assessment of your eligibility online on the UK Border Agency (UKBA) website.
Under the points-based system, the UKBA will decide who is admitted or allowed to stay in the UK. In order to assess this, you will need to provide evidence of a sponsor in the UK who is licensed by the UKBA. Information about the points-based system is available on the UKBA website and may be subject to change. You are advised to check the website to establish which route of entry you are eligible to apply for.
International medical graduates (IMGs) and doctors from outside the EEA can apply for, and take up employment in, training posts that may qualify for sponsorship under Tier 2 (General). IMGs can find more about these employment opportunities under Tier 2 on the NHS Jobs website.
Tier 1 (General): highly skilled workers
This route is now closed to all new applicants, whether applying from inside or outside of the UK.
If you already hold a Tier 1 (General) visa or the previous highly skilled migrant programme (HSMP) visa, you will be able to extend your stay based on the rules and criteria that were in place at the time you were first granted leave to remain in this category.
Tier 1 (Post-study work):
The Tier 1 (Post-study work) category provides a bridge to highly skilled or skilled work. This category grants individuals who have graduated from a UK university leave to remain for two years, with the ability to work without having a sponsor. Individuals can move into this tier from Tier 4. Prior to the two-year visa expiring, individuals need to transfer into another tier of the points-based system if they wish to continue to stay and work in the UK.
Within the NHS, the majority of individuals who access this route are either pre-registration pharmacists or doctors in training, although anyone who has graduated from a UK university and meets the criteria is eligible to apply. The UKBA has announced their intention to close this route from April 2012; it is likely that individuals who previously accessed the post-study work visa will apply to move directly from Tier 4 into Tier 2 (General).
Tier 2 (General): skilled workers
The tier 2 (general) skilled worker category is employer-led and allows NHS organisations to recruit individuals from outside the EEA to fill vacancies that cannot be filled by a British or EEA worker. This tier replaces the work permit application process.
On 6 April 2011, the Government introduced a cap on the number of migrants allowed to come into the UK to work.
Under this tier, you must have both a sponsor and a valid certificate of sponsorship before applying to the UKBA for leave to enter, or remain in, the UK. The certificate of sponsorship is not an actual document but a unique reference number which will be issued to you by your sponsor and will form part of the documentary evidence required when making your application.
A certificate of sponsorship can be issued for a maximum of three years. Your employer can apply for a two-year extension at the end of this period, after which you may qualify for settlement. If you change employment whilst in the UK, you will need a new certificate of sponsorship from your employer.
More information can be found on the UKBA's website.
Tier 3: low skilled workers
This category has been suspended indefinitely by the UKBA.
Tier 4: students
Tier 4 is the student category. Individuals from outside the EEA who wish to study at a UK university will need to be sponsored by the educational establishment to undertake their studies.
Foundation Programme training for doctors and dentists
There are exceptions to university sponsorship for Tier 4:
- Two-year Foundation Programme for doctors - sponsorship is granted by the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO)
- Two-year Foundation Programme for dentists - sponsorship is granted by Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority.
In order to be issued with a Tier 4 visa to undertake a recognised Foundation Programme in either medicine or dentistry, you must have graduated from an accredited UK university with a UK degree in either medicine or dentistry. You will be issued with an extension to your Tier 4 visa by the new sponsor, as outlined above, to cover the duration of the Foundation Programme training up to a maximum of three years.
Upon completion of the Foundation Programme training, you will be able to transfer into one of two tiers:
- Tier 1 (Post-study work) to continue with your core or specialty training, until this is phased out in April 2012
- Tier 2 to either continue your core or specialty training or pursue another career route.
Recruitment into medical and dental posts
Arrangements for non-EEA graduates of UK medical schools entering Foundation Programme training
The UKBA has formally approved the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) as a sponsor under Tier 4 of the points-based system. The UKFPO will act as the sponsor for individuals from outside the EEA who have graduated from a UK medical school and who require a Tier 4 visa and are starting their Foundation Programme training.
The UKFPO visa sponsorship letter will include a statement on behalf of the postgraduate deans confirming that the applicant has been offered a Foundation Programme post recognised by the medical community.
Restriction on supplementary working
Students can usually undertake supplementary work under Tier 4 (General). This does not apply to doctors and dentists entering their Foundation Programme training, who are restricted to working only within their Foundation Programme.
Medical specialty training
Individuals should apply for their visa under the Tier 1 (Post-study work) category and the resident labour market test will not need to be applied, providing they meet the following criteria:
- graduated from a UK medical school
- require a visa to study, train and work in the UK
- due to complete their F2 programme in July 2010
- need to apply for specialty training posts in round 1.
Applications from those completing their second year of Foundation Programme training who have not graduated from a UK medical school are subject to the rules relating to all other overseas applicants. Applications from individuals in this category will be subject to the Tier 2 regulations and will need to meet the resident labour market test rules in place at the time the advertisement was placed.
Other medical and dental posts
All other doctors and dentists requiring limited leave to remain must meet the requirements of Tier 2. Employers must apply the resident labour market test unless the post appears on the shortage occupation list.
For students over the age of 16, work in the UK:
- must be no more than 20 hours a week of part-time work during term time
- can be full-time work during vacations
- can include work placements as part of a recognised course
- cannot be as a self-employed individual
- cannot be as a doctor in training (with the exception of Foundation Programme training).
Tier 5: temporary workers
The temporary worker category of Tier 5 allows NHS organisations to employ individuals if they are from outside the EEA for up 24 months as part of a government-authorised exchange programme. This tier replaces the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) route.
Migrants will be issued with a certificate of sponsorship by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges who co-ordinate the programme. The aim of the scheme is to extend their knowledge and skills with experience that they cannot gain within their own country. The temporary worker category does not include short-term skilled worker posts such as locums. These fall within Tier 2 of the new system.
Tier 5: youth mobility
The youth mobility category of Tier 5 replaces the working holidaymaker visa. Individual countries apply to join the Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS), and, if successful, the national Government will be automatically licensed by the UKBA as sponsors to issue certificates of sponsorship to nationals of their country.
A YMS entry clearance will allow you to:
- enter the UK for a period of up to 24 months
- undertake lawful work of any type (except for working as a doctor in training) for as much of your stay as you wish.
The YMS is a temporary migration route which does not lead to settlement. Participants will be expected to leave the UK at or before the expiry of their 24 month stay.
Biometric residence permits
Biometric residence permits have been issued to foreign nationals since November 2008. They are part of the National Identity Scheme which was launched in 2008 by the Home Office to strengthen processes for tracking migrant activity and prevent illegal working in the UK.
Over 1.3 million people are employed in the NHS. As part of recruitment practice in the NHS, verification of identity checks is used to determine that the identity of an individual is genuine, that it relates to a real person and that the individual owns and is rightfully using that identity. The NHS currently uses two methods for verifying identity - requesting original documents and checking an individual's personal details against external databases.
- Biometric residence permits may support NHS organisations with employment checks.
- Biometric residence permits for existing NHS staff may support the work of NHS registration authorities which manage the identity checks, registration and related control processes for all staff in the NHS who access patients' electronic medical records.
Who will be issued with biometric residence permits?
Individuals who are currently in the UK and want to extend their temporary permission to stay in the country in one of the following immigration categories must apply for a biometric residence permit.
- Students applying under Tier 4 (General) - excludes students visitors.
- Dependants of a main applicant in a category that requires a biometric residence permit.
- Postgraduate doctors and dentists applying under Tier 4 (adult student category) to undertake Foundation Programme training.
- Academic visitors granted leave for a period exceeding six months.
- UK ancestry.
- Husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried partner or same-sex partner of a British citizen or a person who has settled in the UK.
- Individuals who apply to transfer their temporary permission to stay in the UK from an old passport or similar document.
- Tier 1.
- Tier 5.
Individuals are required to provide their biometric information (fingerprints and facial photograph), which are checked against existing records and then stored on the UKBA's system and on the microchip card.
Contact details of public enquiry offices, biometric enrolment centres and post offices where individuals can enrol their biometric information can be found on the UKBA's website.
