The UKBA published several changes to the Points Based System on Friday 7th August 2009. It has also revised its guidance for employers and education providers who act as sponsors for migrant workers or students.

The changes have been made in response to concerns raised by sponsors and the changes aim to ensure the Points Based System continues to improve the trade and travel that benefit the UK whilst simultaneously protecting the immigration system from abuse.

The changes to the system include:

• Creating an escalation route for University Vice-Chancellors and Academic Registrars through the use of a dedicated mailbox for urgent incidents requiring immediate attention, with a guaranteed response within 72 hours.
• Modified rules on students' maintenance requirements.

Additionally, the UKBA are:

• Developing new guidance for 'milkround' recruitment campaigns, to provide a truer test of the resident labour market whilst meeting the needs of businesses;
• Outlining plans to develop the IT system, making it even easier for customers and sponsors to use;
• Looking at developing a new employer led route for interns to sit alongside and complement existing Government Authorised Exchange schemes
• Making a number of changes to the guidance for points-based system sponsors

A full list of changes to the sponsor guidance and further information on all other announcements can be found via these links:

• Table outlining changes in brief (PDF document)
• Document containing details of all changes to PBS (PDF document) 

The above extract has been adapted from this UKBA news article.