The British Government in a new set of rules has said that non-European Union (EU) residents, who earn less than 35,000 British pounds a year, will be deported.
The new rules, which come into effect from April 6, will mean that all skilled workers from outside the EU who have been living here for less than 10 years will need to earn at least £35,000 a year to settle permanently in the UK.
However, certain jobs like nursing are exempt from the regulation.
A petition to repeal the new regulations has been signed by 100,000 British citizens and was even discussed in the parliament, but the government insists the new regulations are fair and added that the people have been given many years to prepare.
“In the past it has been too easy for some businesses to bring in workers from overseas rather than to take the long-term decision to train our workforce here at home," the guardian quoted a British Home Office spokesman as saying.
The Home Office in its impact assessment estimated that the new salary threshold will cost the British economy between 181m pounds and 171m pounds while other organisations cited a much higher amount of 761m pounds.
The British Government even admitted that the new measures will effect on reducing net immigration.
“We do not believe there should be an automatic link between coming to work in the UK temporarily and staying permanently.
The 35,000 threshold was set following advice from the Migration Advisory Committee, an independent advisory body consisting of expert labour market economists, and was equivalent to the median pay of the UK population in skilled jobs," the Guardian quoted the British Home Office statement as saying.
To enter or stay in the UK as a skilled worker, non-EU migrants must have a Tier 2 visa and to qualify for that one must have been offered a job in the UK and have held at least 945 pounds in the bank account for 90 days.
The job a migrant is offered must pay at least 20,800 pounds, although the British government is currently considering a recommendation to raise the amount to 30,000 pounds. This threshold is not met by certain occupations.
Individuals must pay 200 pounds per year as a healthcare surcharge, should be able to prove knowledge in English language and must get a certificate of sponsorship from the employer.
The non-EU migrants are only permitted to remain in the UK on Tier 2 visas for a maximum of six years.
