The statement of modifications by the immigration rules of the UK had earlier stated that the cyber security specialist job would be added to the list of skills shortage from 19th November 2015.
And despite its addition and also adding up some more IT related jobs to the list, it is clear that many of the firms would not meet the qualifying firm needs to get the tier 2 visas under the latest scheme.
And the shortage of professionals with cyber security skills in the UK might continue as many firms are not being able to meet the qualifying firm requirement criteria. And the only choice is to take the Resident Labor Market Test (RLMT) for showing that there is shortage of individuals.
After the recommendations from the Committee for Migration Advisory (MAC), the immigration department of the UK decides on the list of shortage occupation. Employers who are providing the job that is on the list of shortage occupation does not need to advertise the vacancies, and that is one of the criteria of the RLMT. But the company requires to be a qualifying firm.
The employers require applying under the RLMT that needs employers who are providing job in the categories of Tier 2 or Tier 5 visa which is not in the list of shortage occupation, to promote an employment for 28 days for showing that the suitable employee cannot be found for filling the vacant post.
The qualifying firm scheme makes it easy for some businesses for getting Tier 2 visas in the digital tech sector in the occupations like data scientist, cyber security specialist and senior developer. It the business becomes the qualifying firm then it will be exempted from promoting for 28 days for hiring the non-EU workers. It looks like it would be difficult for many firms to meet the criteria for becoming the qualifying firm.
To qualify the firms requires to meet some criteria. Initially, they should get a license for Tier 2 Sponsorship for hiring the non-EU employees who holds the Tier 2 visa. Then, the firms should hire less than 20 employees; they are needed to get the letter from the UKTI to support the application. Otherwise, the firm requires hiring around 20 and 250 individuals.
The reforms to the Tier 2 immigration regulations would do less in addressing the rising requirement of the UK for cyber security specialist and others occupations in the IT industry. Only a few firms would come under this scheme, and there are only four jobs that come under this scheme.
