More than 1600 IT workers and engineers denied UK visas

More than 1,600 visa applications for IT specialists and engineers who were offered jobs in the UK were refused between December 2017 and March 2018. The statistics shows that in December, January and February the refusal rate was 50% with this figure growing in March 2018. The reason for such high rate of refusal was because the number of people applying for Tier 2 visa exceeded the limit, which is 20 700 visas per year with a monthly limit of 1 600. The cause of such an increase in the number of the applications made under Tier 2 is unclear. It could be linked to the fact that many EU citizens are leaving the UK or are uncertain of their employment opportunities in the light of Brexit. As a result, due to labour shortages, companies are considering to hire overseas workers. Tier 2 visa system was introduced by Theresa May in November 2008 to set the limit of non-EU skilled workers with job offers from UK based companies. In order to recruit overseas workers, companies should firstly look at the UK resident labour market. Overall, between December 2017 and March 2018, Tier 2 visas were denied to 1226  IT specialists, 383 engineers, 1876 medical and healthcare workers, 197 teachers and other 584 professions.