Aussie, Aussie, Aussie? Nope. New visa rule changes are due to take effect in April in Britain.
EVERYTHING is about to change for plenty of Aussies hoping to settle down in Britain for the long-term.
Under new visa rule changes due to take effect in April, lower-income earning Australians working in the UK may not be allowed to stay there indefinitely.
Non-European workers will have to earn at least £35,000 ($72,000) a year to qualify for settlement in Britain for longer than a period of six years.
The visa change will apply to those from outside the European Economic Zone.
The change was first flagged back in 2012 in a move by the Cameron government to reduce the number of non-Europeans and their dependants granted settlement each year from 60,000 to 20,000.
According to official figures, in 1997 fewer than 10,000 migrant workers and their dependants were granted settlement, but by 2010 this had risen to 84,000, BBC reported at the time.
The pay threshold is the first time that a British government has imposed an economic test on the right to settlement in the UK.
Aussies make up the top nationalities granted work visas in the UK, along with Indians and Americans, according to immigration statistics from October — December 2014.
Aussies celebrate at The Walkabout Pub in Shepherd's Bush, London.Source:News Limited
A spokeswoman for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Fairfax Australia had “made representations” to the British government on the changes to its migration system.
“The Australian submission noted that further restricting the Tier 2 visa [which involves the £35,000 rule] had the potential to adversely affect the commercial interests of both countries’ businesses and investors, and consequently the economic interests of both Australia and the UK, and could impact on people-to-people links,” the spokeswoman said.
A petition lodged with the British Parliament against the change has already garnered more than 75,000 signatures. If it reaches 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
The petition argues the visa change “unfairly discriminates against charity workers, nurses, students and others.”
The report in December from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned the changes to UK working visas could cause “structural damage to formal relations between the two countries.”
A copy of the report, obtained by News Corp Australia, revealed out of 100 Australian businesses operating in the UK surveyed, two-thirds said changes to visa rules would directly “impact their ability and willingness to recruit Australians”.
London landmark Big Ben seen from the south side of the Thames.Source:Supplied
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