THE government has revealed its new immigration points system which will come into full force next year.

The move will see all EU and non-EU citizens wanting to live and work in the UK will have to gain 70 points to be eligible to apply for a visa.

The points would be gaining from certain criteria, which include having a job offer by a Home Office-approved sponsor, as well as speaking English at a required level.

As a citizen of the UK - would you pass the criteria? The Lancashire Telegraph has put together the full list of requirements you would need in order to reach the 70 point mark.

Job offers

A big point-gainer is having a job offer from an approved sponsor - the list of companies approved by the Home Office in Blackburn are:

  • Al-Imdaad Foundation UK
  • Aquidata Excel Ltd
  • Assystem Energy & Infrastructure Limited
  • Blackburn Cathedral
  • Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Ltd
  • Cherry Tree Cricket and Tennis Club
  • Dinner Lady Fam (UK)
  • East Lancashire Club
  • East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Euro Garages Ltd
  • Great Harwood Cricket Club
  • Hanfi Sunni Muslim Circle Blackburn
  • Markazul-Uloom independent school
  • NeoNickel Blackburn
  • Park Computers Ltd
  • Pharmakeion Ltd
  • Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd
  • Presspart Manufacturing Limited
  • Promethean Limited
  • Raw Indigo Limited
  • Rishton Cricket Club
  • Salesbury Cricket Club
  • Shajan Indian Restaurant Ltd
  • Star Academies
  • Tayyabah Bakery Ltd
  • Tensar International Limited
  • The Blackburn Rovers Football & Athletic Limited
  • US Apparel (UK) Ltd
  • Vital Energi Utilities Ltd

So if you have an offer at one of these companies, you're off to a great start - 20 points.

What else do I need?

These are the other criteria available to get points:

  • According to the government, immigrants will need to be able to speak English at a 'required level' which will give you 10 points.
  • If you have a salary of £23,040 between £25,599 you will gain 10 points, if you have a salary of £25,600 you'll gain 20 points.
  • If you have a job that is in a shortage occupation you can get 20 points.
  • Startlingly, if you have a PhD in a subject relevant to the job, you only get 10 points and if you have a PhD in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, you get 20 points.

If you earn under the minimum salary required - but no less than £20,240, you might still be able to come to the UK if they have a job in a specific industry that is short or workers.

But for lower skilled workers, there will not by any temporary or general visa options for them.

Within the new UK's points-based immigration system policy statement, a spokesman said: "UK businesses will need to adapt and adjust to the end of free movement, and we will not seek to recreate the outcomes from free movement within the points-based system.

"As such, it is important that employers move away from a reliance on the UK’s immigration system as an alternative to investment in staff retention, productivity, and wider investment in technology and automation."

The statement did not define what the required English level migrant workers would need be able to speak at, but related to just speaking English on other occasions.

The Migration Advisory Committee estimated that, under their recommendations, around 70 per cent of resident European economic area citizens arriving in the UK since 2004 would be found ineligible for either a skilled-work, family or general student visa given their current characteristics.