New Visa law great for U.K. businesses

Two weeks ago, the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme or HSMP along with the International Graduates Scheme or IGS were modified under new immigration laws.

These programmes have been substituted respectively by the Highly Skilled Workers or HSW and the Post-Study Work or PSW plans. These schemes come under the Tier 1 section of the new visa system.

Although that may be difficult to understand for residents of Birmingham, the plans are an encouragement for businesses in the locale, including the West Midlands. In fact, news reports say that the most significant beneficiary of the change is the business industry.

Under the new immigration plan, graduates are allowed to stay within Britain for as long as two years. That period was just a year under the previous programme - IGS. This translates into companies and organisations investing their time and money into training the most qualified graduates and retaining them for at least two years. This provides businesses and corporations with some degree of security as they are able to derive two years of work experience from these employees.

Earlier, it was rather difficult for qualified graduates to find work, as they would have to leave to their home countries after a year, when their training was completed. And this was also a poor scenario for the companies since they had to start interviewing and begin the recruiting process all over again.

This is also great for those who own property, since the PSW cannot be renewed and is only applicable for two years. Subsequently, foreign students can now maintain leases that cover a longer period.