NEW DELHI, Aug 3:
India has expressed concerns regarding changes in UK visa rules and taken up the matter with the British authorities, Parliament was informed today.
“The Government has taken up the matter bilaterally with the UK Government at various levels and expressed concerns over the changes in UK visa rules,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
In 2012, the UK announced that from April 6 this year, those applying for settlement from tier-2 visa and who entered tier 2 after April 6, 2011 must be paid at least 35,000 pounds salary per annum.
This means that those non-EU migrants who came to UK after April 6, 2011 and want to apply for settlement/permanent residency/indefinite leave to remain after five years of staying in the UK on tier-2 visa must have at least 35,000 pounds salary per annum.
Workers who can not satisfy the salary requirement will not be able to stay in the UK for longer than six years.
Indian professionals have formed the largest category of individuals issued such visas by the UK over the years Thousands of Indians in the UK may get hit by this new law.
The bilateral trade between India and the UK stood at USD 14 billion in 2015-16. (PTI)
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