A
government drive to recruit highly-skilled workers from abroad has had a huge
response, with applications running into the thousands from India
and Pakistan
alone.
The
Home Office launched the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme to fill the UK’s
skill gap and has received 4,798 applications from India
and 2,840 from Pakistan.
Of
these, 1,569 Indian applications have been accepted and 639 from Pakistan.
The most successful candidates are from the US,
with 1,094 of the 1,448 applications being accepted.
The
Highly Skilled Migrant Programme is different from the normal work permit
scheme because applicants do not need a specific job offer in the UK
to apply.
The
scheme is a points-based immigration scheme and points are scored in five main
areas:
–
educational qualifications
–
work experience
–
past earnings
–
your achievement in your
chosen field
–
your husband, wife or unmarried partner’s
achievements.
