Migration Advisory Committee Report – Tier 2 And Dependants: Recommendations

Further to our Law-Nowof 4 August 2009, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its report in relation to the following two questions on 19 August 2009:

1. Is there an economic case for restricting Tier 2 to shortage occupations only?
2. What is your assessment of the economic contribution made by the dependants of Points Based System (PBS) migrants and their role in the labour market?

The MAC's key comments and recommendations in relation to these two questions are summarised below.

Is there an economic case for restricting Tier 2 to shortage occupations only?

The MAC's most significant recommendation is that Tier 2 should not be restricted to shortage occupations only, and that both the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) route and the intra-company transfer (ICT) route should be retained.