From 30th June 2008 all highly skilled workers, entrepreneurs and investors wanting to come to the United Kingdom will be able to apply for their United Kingdom visa under a new Australian style points-based system.

Under the new system, applicants will need to earn points to prove that they can make a positive contribution to the United Kingdom. Points will be awarded for objective criteria such as qualifications, previous earnings, age and United Kingdom experience. Only those with enough points will be able to get a visa.

The system replaces the two staged Highly Skilled Migrant programme.

Border and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said:

"The introduction of Tier 1 of the Points Based System is good for those wanting to work in Britain and good for the UK economy. We are clear that we will not tolerate any abuse of our systems. That is why we have introduced fingerprint technology to check all visa applicants, a new force to police our borders and new rules that ban anyone using false documents or deception from the UK for up to ten years."

Today's changes introduce the first tier of the points-based system. Other tiers for students, skilled workers with a job offer and temporary workers such as musicians, actors and sportsmen will both be introduced over the next year.

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility for our services and a more detailed assessment of YOUR ELIGIBILITY UNDER THIS VISA CLASS and all other visa classes completed by our Registered Migration Agents and Licensed Immigration Advisors, please click here to proceed.

 Source: http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/