No such luck with the proposed Immigration Skills Charge we suspect, as the government continues to press ahead with plans to introduce a new skills charge, with effect from 6 April 2017.
The Immigration Skills Charge will be levied on employers that employ migrants in skilled areas. Set at £1,000 per year for each Tier 2 CoS issued by large organisations, and a reduced rate of £364 for small or charitable organisations, it is designed to cut down on the number of businesses taking on migrant workers and incentivise training British staff to fill those jobs.
An exemption to the charge means that it won’t apply to PhD-level jobs and international students switching from student visas to working visas – a key protection they would say to help retain the talented workers and students who are vital in helping the British economy grow. Neither does it apply to ICT Graduate Trainees.