Wednesday, July 15, 2020

UK New Points Based System 2021 - Commonly Asked Questions & Salary Calculations


UK New points based work Visa - Explained with Commonly Asked Questions & Salary Calculations

Youtube Video



Salary Calculations & LINK



1 - What is the Major Diffference between Tier 2 General & New Points Based System

- Tier 2 ICT Switching (Without Cooling Off Period)
- No RLMT - Resident Labour Market Test

Employers No longer need to advertise a job in UK Market (open to EU) and prove that you are unable to hire anyone locally and show why you were unable to hire someone locally. Major Hindrance to hire outside UK when people are still unemployed in UK. Especially people with no Experience & Fresh Graduates from India.

- The combination of the above 2 should allow more employers to get License
- This will also allow UK Consultancies having contracts with Clients to hire.

2 - Will PBS allow Settlement or ILR - What happens switching from ICT to PBS ?

Yes , PBS visa holders will be allowed settlement. Like any settlement route, if you work in PBS Visa for 5 years, you should be eligible for ILR. Home Office might consider previous stay under ICT , but unclear. So when you move into PBS, the 5 year ILR rule might start from that point. So if someone was in UK 3 years in ICT and move to PBS they may have to spend another 5 years in PBS - total of 8 years - however home office might bring a rule to expedite / special case scenario of only 3 years for e.g. in PBS for such people for ILR. Still to be clarified further. But as it stands for sure 5 years ILR is always there. - The Settlement Option -No marked in ICT Section Page 44 was if you stayed in ICT visa itself then you don't get settlement.

3 - PBS without a Job Offer / Sponsor - Any updates?

Page 26 - Point 59 - Beyond January 2021 and in line with the recommendations from the MAC, we will create a broader unsponsored route within the Points-Based System to run alongside the employer-led system. This will allow a smaller number of the most highly skilled workers to come to the UK without a job offer. This route will not open on 1 January 2021 and we are exploring proposals for this additional route with stakeholders over the coming year. Our starting point is that this route would be capped and would be carefully monitored during the implementation phase. Further details will be shared in due course.


4 - Tier 2 General to PBS Switching & Job / Sponsor Switching within PBS

Page 25 - Points 53,54 & 55.
53. Those who enter the Skilled Worker route will need to make a new application if they (a) change employer; (b) change jobs (to another SOC code); or (c) need to extend their stay. Existing Tier 2 (General) migrants who need to do any of the above will also need to make such an application under the Skilled Worker route once the Tier 2 (General) route closes. The points table will apply to these further applications.
54. If the migrant has changed their employer and/or their job, there will be a reassessment of whether their new post meets the required skill and salary level.
PAYE records for all skilled workers will be regularly checked to confirm they are being paid the correct salary.

5 English Language Requirements

Page 13 - Points 22,23,24 - For Indians & Non English Nations this will mean
• having an academic degree taught in English * Recognized by UK NARIC;
• passing a secure English language test; * IELTS for e.g.
• having shown they meet the required level in a previous successful immigration application.
• Skilled workers who are sponsored as a doctor, dentist, nurse or midwife can rely on the assessment of their professional body as proof of their English language ability.

For e.g. this will mean Nurses will still need Higher English Language requirements as governed by NMC & UKNARIC will not be sufficient. IELTS or OET is still required.

Schooling in Tamil, University in English - Should be OK as UK NARIC checks University
Even if you are in UK in ICT and have not shown English Language Proof earlier  you have to do now. Working in UK in ICT is not sufficient.
Have done UG & PG - but don't have PG Certificates. Doesn't matter. Just use UG.
Have done distant learning ?- I don't think it is accepted - Proficiency won't be proven.

6 - Tier 2 ICT Switching Concerns

Page 44 - Table for ICT which says "Meet cooling" off period is for working in ICT going back to India and coming back in another ICT Visa which has cooling off period even now. Same for Settlement - Staying in ICT Does not give settlement. That table rules are for people staying in ICT - check page 42 Visitor visa table to understand the comparison. The point # 108 about more than 5 years in any 6 year period and all that applies to Staying in ICT , Extending ICT Stay & Another ICT application only - not switching to PBS.

7 - Already working for a employer (Dependent/ICT etc) - How does Job Offer Work?

If someone is working in UK Currently in some other category (Tier 2 Dependent for e.g.) and want to Switch to Tier 2 General for the same company, the company will still need to create a fresh role and give them a job offer and hire and sponsor them. The challenge earlier was RLMT - where they have to conduct interviews for the job created for this person and reject candidates (not ethical - but legal)
Now they just need to create a new ""job"" or ""role"" and just offer it straight to them as a new job offer for the PBS Application. Even ICT employees - the company can hire them in a UK based role created for that employee.

8 - My ICT Visa is ending in 2020 before December - What can I do ? What Start Date?

If you go back to India, you can still apply from India - ICT Switching - also means the cooling off period will not be applicable for PBS.
Applying for PBS from India - is also slightly cheaper than applying from UK.
However if you want to extend your stay and apply early, it depends exactly when the application process can start.

Unsure of the definitive date when application process can star - Visa Validity is only applicable from Jan 2021. But processing could start prior to that. So if someone's ICT visa expires in Oct 2020 and visa application opens in Oct 2020 and they apply they could technically stay till application is processed , however if they get the PBS visa in Nov 2020, then they don't have any eligible visa for Dec 2020 and still have to go back. Might need special request.

Potenitally Covid 2nd Wave could mean visa offices are closed and application process does not even start.

9 - Do we need a Solicitor / Lawyer / Agency - and pay additional fees for them?

Absolutely not required, once you start the process is very well defined and clear. So you won't need a lawyer or agency and you can avoid that fees. Fees for the visa processing is clearly mentioned in the policy document - Page 61 - Annex A
I have never used any agency for any of my applications & most of my friends have never used an agency too.

10 - My ICT Employer is unwilling to help. What happens if they find out ?

Some employers may not want their employees to switch or offer PBS. And if they find out you are going through the PBS process, they could just ask you to go back. You can't stay in UK in that circumstances just because you are searching for a PBS Sponsor. This could be tricky. However if the Visa Processing has started , you could quit. But this is very sticky and need Home Office guidance on case to case basis.

Friday, June 12, 2020

How I Saved 660£ in Gas & Electric Bill | Tamil



How I Saved 660£ in Gas & Electric Bill in UK

Having been meticulous in exploring all opportunities to save costs even the smallest of amounts, I usually monitor my Utility Bills to see if I can switch to get a better deal.

This time I was distracted with the Covid19 and Lockdown and had not checked for 3-4 months, when out of the blue I got a call from my provider Scottish Power to discuss my monthly payments. They wanted to increase my monthly payments as it was not enough to cover the bills and I knew immediately it was time to switch.

A simple excel that I maintain helped me with the comparison











The key is to have a year of meter reading for Gas and Electricity and knowing how to convert the meter reading into Kwh the unit of measurement used for calculating the energy bills.

Electricity meter readings are simpler. Gas meter readings are a bit confusing with the fact that they are shown in Volume and need to be converted and the conversion is different if you have a Imperial Gas Meter or a Metric Gas Meter.

I have provided a simpler explanation of the calculation and also the comparison to get a cheaper quote in my latest video.

LINK to the Excel File Used (Please make a copy to Edit) - Gas & Electricity
Watch the Full Video Below


Saturday, March 14, 2020

UK Secondary Schools & Grammar Schools Explained




UK Secondary Schools & Grammar Schools Explained

As a parent especially new to the education system of UK , it is daunting to try and understand the move from Primary School to Secondary school and the choices you have to make for your child with the added complexity of choosing between State Schools, Grammar Schools and Private Schools.

From personal experience, I have created a video to explain this in detail with regards to making this choice and also about the 11+ Exams and the Grammar Schools in detail.

Especially if you are living in London, there are some choices you can make as a parent to help the Child and make it a level playing field for them. Watch the video below.


LINK to the Presentation - HERE

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

UK New Points Based System Explained


UK New Points Based System Explained

UK Home Office released their new Points Based System that is going to be effective from 2021 on the 19th Feb 2020. In this Policy Statement they had made a few details clear with regards to how many points are needed for qualifying.

The most confusing aspect of this was the salary requirements. It seems most people have understood this to be the salary of the job offer they will get. This is not the case. This is the salary that they are currently getting and here is where the clarification is needed from Home office. If you read the policy statement carefully, you can see this even though it is confusing. I have further explained it in my Youtube video on the same.

Last time when UK had the points based system for Tier 1 they had a Band Multiplier for Country specific incomes. India was on Band D with a Band Multiplier of 5.3. If this band multiplier didn't exist very few people would have been eligible for the tier 1 from India. And only because of this band multiplier most Indians from India were able to come through the HSMP or Tier 1.

Hence I have made a video comparing the Tier 1 Country Income Bands and Band Multipliers to the new points based system with a few examples. You can find the calculations in this LINK here



I have also made a detailed video explaining this in my Youtube Channel in both Tamil and English. You can find the Links below
Tamil Version


English Version



Hope this excel file is helpful for people to understand the policy statement better. Please do post your comments on my channel if you found this useful.

UK New Points Based System 2021 - Commonly Asked Questions & Salary Calculations

UK New points based work Visa - Explained with Commonly Asked Questions & Salary Calculations Youtube Video Salary Calculation...