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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Theresa May relaxes immigration rules for senior executives and elite graduates | Theresa May relaxes immigration rules for senior executives and elite graduates |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| The home secretary, Theresa May, has responded to business pressure and moved to relax some of the immigration rules for senior company executives and elite graduates. | The home secretary, Theresa May, has responded to business pressure and moved to relax some of the immigration rules for senior company executives and elite graduates. |
| She has tabled changes to the "graduate entrepreneur scheme", which will allow up to 1,000 international graduates with masters degrees in business administration to stay on in Britain to work for 12 months after they finish their course. | She has tabled changes to the "graduate entrepreneur scheme", which will allow up to 1,000 international graduates with masters degrees in business administration to stay on in Britain to work for 12 months after they finish their course. |
| In a major change to the clampdown on the "post-study work route", all graduate students who now complete a PhD will be allowed to stay in Britain for a further year to find skilled work or set up as an entrepreneur. | In a major change to the clampdown on the "post-study work route", all graduate students who now complete a PhD will be allowed to stay in Britain for a further year to find skilled work or set up as an entrepreneur. |
| She has also moved to scrap an English test for senior business executives who come on intra-company transfers and earn more than £152,100 a year who want to extend their time in Britain. | She has also moved to scrap an English test for senior business executives who come on intra-company transfers and earn more than £152,100 a year who want to extend their time in Britain. |
| Highly paid foreign skilled workers, who also earn more than £152,100, will be able to take up another job in Britain without having to wait 12 months between postings. The changes will come into effect on 6 April. | Highly paid foreign skilled workers, who also earn more than £152,100, will be able to take up another job in Britain without having to wait 12 months between postings. The changes will come into effect on 6 April. |
| The new concessions for international corporate executives follow May's decision to put on hold her plan for new visa restrictions on Brazilian visitors to Britain following cabinet opposition from the business secretary, Vince Cable, and others. | The new concessions for international corporate executives follow May's decision to put on hold her plan for new visa restrictions on Brazilian visitors to Britain following cabinet opposition from the business secretary, Vince Cable, and others. |
| Mark Harper, the immigration minister, said: "The latest net migration statistics show numbers are now coming under control and our radical changes are having the desired effect – abuse has been stamped out and net migration is down, while the number of skilled workers and university students coming to the UK is up." | Mark Harper, the immigration minister, said: "The latest net migration statistics show numbers are now coming under control and our radical changes are having the desired effect – abuse has been stamped out and net migration is down, while the number of skilled workers and university students coming to the UK is up." |
| He said the changes announced on Thursday would continue this pattern by lowering administrative burdens on employers and giving greater flexibility to senior executives and elite graduates who want to work and study in Britain. | He said the changes announced on Thursday would continue this pattern by lowering administrative burdens on employers and giving greater flexibility to senior executives and elite graduates who want to work and study in Britain. |
| The last set of net migration figures published in February showed numbers down 84,000 or one third in the year to June 2012 compared with the previous year. | The last set of net migration figures published in February showed numbers down 84,000 or one third in the year to June 2012 compared with the previous year. |
| The main source of the falls was a decline of more than 60% in the numbers of overseas students coming to Britain to study at further education colleges and English language colleges. University visa applications rose by 3%. | The main source of the falls was a decline of more than 60% in the numbers of overseas students coming to Britain to study at further education colleges and English language colleges. University visa applications rose by 3%. |
| The immigration changes also contained the announcement that the cap on skilled workers with a job offer coming to Britain through tier 2 of the points-based system would be permanently set at 20,700. It has been annually renewable. | The immigration changes also contained the announcement that the cap on skilled workers with a job offer coming to Britain through tier 2 of the points-based system would be permanently set at 20,700. It has been annually renewable. |
| The change is largely academic as the limit has never been reached as employers have used the intra-company transfer route as an alternative way of bringing in skilled labour from their offices and factories abroad. | The change is largely academic as the limit has never been reached as employers have used the intra-company transfer route as an alternative way of bringing in skilled labour from their offices and factories abroad. |
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