{"id":378241,"date":"2020-03-06T06:59:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T04:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=378241"},"modified":"2020-03-09T11:05:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T09:05:40","slug":"south-africans-with-matric-certificates-will-be-able-to-move-to-the-uk-under-the-new-points-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/378241\/south-africans-with-matric-certificates-will-be-able-to-move-to-the-uk-under-the-new-points-system\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africans with matric certificates will be able to move to the UK under the new points-system"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The UK government has announced a new points-based immigration system that is due to come into effect 1 January 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The new system will significantly impact the Tier 2 visa scheme and what it means for South Africans looking to live and work in the UK, says immigration consultants Sable International.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Under the current Tier 2 visa scheme, skilled workers are required to have a degree and earn \u00a330,000. The Home Office says that this new system will provide greater flexibility and ensure UK businesses have access to a wider pool of highly skilled workers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The new system is inspired by Australia\u2019s points-based immigration system that assigns points for certain skills, qualifications, salaries or professions. It\u2019s aimed to attract individuals with the highest skills from across the globe.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The overall skills threshold will be reduced to only require A levels in the UK or a matriculation certificate from countries such as South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>The minimum salary threshold will also be reduced to \u00a325,600 (from \u00a330,000) per annum.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many points?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Skilled migrants from across the globe will require 70 points to be eligible to apply to enter and work in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to meeting the necessary points you must also:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have a job offer;<\/li>\n<li>Be offered a salary of \u00a325,600 a year or more;<\/li>\n<li>Be able to speak English;<\/li>\n<li>Have an A level qualification or equivalent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Some characteristics can be swapped out, meaning if you cannot meet one of the criteria but meet another, you may still qualify,&#8221; Sable said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For example, a university researcher in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) who earns \u00a322,000 (below the minimum salary threshold), may still enter the UK if they have a relevant PhD in a STEM subject.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, Sable International clarified that it is unlikely that a South African with just a matric certificate will have the necessary income, skill level, salary or job in demand to achieve the 70 points required.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an overview of how the points will be allocated:<\/p>\n<p><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Points.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-378253 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Points.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"643\" height=\"702\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Points.png 643w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Points-275x300.png 275w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>This article has been updated to clarify that a matric certificate alone is unlikely to be enough to qualify under the new system.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/373866\/these-are-some-of-the-most-popular-visas-south-africans-are-using-to-emigrate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">These are some of the most popular visas South Africans are using to emigrate<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UK government has announced a new points-based immigration system that\u2019s due to come into effect 1 January 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":344382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-378241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378241"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":380025,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378241\/revisions\/380025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}