Retrospective Changes To Highly Skilled Migrants Ruled Illegal

In a landmark judgement, the High Court ruled on 8 April 2008 that the changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme implemented in November 2006 were unfair and discriminatory due to their retrospective effect, and that the terms of the original scheme should be honoured for those already in the UK at the time of change.

A pressure group was established in late 2006 to campaign for the Government to alter its decision to force Highly Skilled Migrants who had entered the UK prior to November 2006 to qualify for an extension under a new set of criteria. As a result of these changes, thousands of Highly Skilled Migrants who had already established their lives in the UK were unable to qualify under the new scheme due to the more onerous conditions imposed.