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Comments by Sanwar Ali:
If architects are no longer included in the Shortage Occupation List under the new UK visa points based system this may make things more difficult for some Tier 2 sponsor employers and Tier 2 visa applicants. In most cases you will need to meet the following requirements to gain the necessary 20 points under the new 2021 UK visa points system:
80 percent of the going rate for the job for experienced workers for architects of £28,000 = zero points
Plus
Shortage Occupation List = 20 points
OR
At least the going rate for the profession which for architects is £35,000 = 20 points
OR
At least at the new entrant rate of £24,500 which is 70 percent of the going rate for architects= zero points
Plus
New entrant as designated by MAC = 20 points.
Another way to gain 20 points under the “tradeable points” system is to have a STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) PhD. However, not many people have a PhD. In addition if you do not have a STEM PhD and only a relevant PhD to your job you will only gain ten points, and will need to find some way of gaining another ten points to make it up to twenty points.
Under the new points based system the experienced worker rate is going up from £33,200 to £35,000 so making it more difficult for some employers to meet the salary requirements. It seems that for the new entrant rate the minimum salary will be increasing from £22,300 to £24,500. So for many it may turn out to be more difficult under the new 2021 points system.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has said that removing architects from the Tier 2 visa Shortage Occupation List would add £7,000 to the cost of bringing in international architectural professionals under the government’s new post-Brexit UK immigration system.
Portland Place, home of the RIBA, said it was vital that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) recommended keeping architects on the Shortage Occupation List when it reports to government ministers in September.
UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, recently revealed more details about how UK work visas would be assessed once Britain officially leaves the European Union on 1 January 2021. Under the new rules, EU citizens will need to demonstrate that they can speak English and have a job offer that requires a skill level equivalent to A-Level.
A further 20 points will then be needed to be eligible for a UK Tier 2 visa. Additional points can be achieved by earning the ‘going rate’ for an architectural job, which the government has specified as £35,000.
Shortage Occupation List
However, should architects remain on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), the minimum salary threshold is lowered to £28,000 under the Points Based System. Architecture was officially added to the SOL in autumn 2019, but RIBA fears that this can change at any moment.
The latest consultation on occupational shortages concluded in June, with the MAC’s recommendations now with the Home Secretary.
Lucy Monks, the RIBA’s public affairs manager, said: “Architecture losing its SOL status would give large London practices a ‘huge competitive advantage’ over smaller regional firms unable to afford the extra £7,000 a year to bring in a skilled foreign worker at the ‘going rate’.”
Another immigration route for architects
Another UK immigration under the new system, which allows new entrants into the field of architecture to come to the UK on a salary of £23,500, will be unavailable to many foreign architects, the RIBA fears.
The new, post-Brexit immigration system defines new entrants into architecture by one of three measures, which includes applicants having to be under 26, switching from a student or graduate migration route, or working towards recognised professional qualifications.
However, RIBA research has revealed that historically, many overseas architects come to the UK in their 30s, fully qualified after studying for years in their home nations.
Alan Jones, president of the RIBA, said: “It’s ‘essential’ that ministers get the immigration system right. UK practices must be able to attract and retain global talent, especially smaller firms and those outside of London who are looking to recruit international skills.”
“Salary thresholds must not be a barrier. The new entrant salary discount will provide support for some, but we are concerned that the length of study for many international architects will make this benefit unobtainable.
To mitigate this difference, it is crucial that architects are retained on the Shortage Occupation List, and we await a decision from the Migration Advisory Committee on this,” Jones added.
RIBA report on skills shortages due to Brexit
In a report issued by the RIBA in 2019, the industry body warned that Britain’s departure from the European Union could create a ‘severe talent gap’ because 80% of the UK’s 10,000 overseas architects come from the EU.
In a statement revealing the new details about the post-Brexit immigration system, Priti Patel said: “The British people voted to take back control of our borders and introduce a new points-based immigration system.”
“Now we have left the EU, we are free to unleash this country’s full potential and implement the changes we need to restore trust in the immigration system and deliver a new fairer, firmer, skills-led system from 1 January 2021,” the Home Secretary added.
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