Thousands of non-EU workers, including professionals from India, could be forced to leave Britain if they fail to meet a new minimum income threshold of £35,000 being brought in as part of the Conservative government’s plans to reduce net annual migration to “tens” from “hundreds” of thousands.

The new rule requiring non-EU workers on Tier 2 visas (the most popular route for workers entering the UK) to earn at least £35,000 to settle for six years or longer is set to take effect early April. Only those jobs considered a PhD occupation level job, or one on the “Shortage Occupation List” drawn up by Britain’s Home Office will be exempt, including nurses, and some categories of teachers. The threshold was set on the advise of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent body that advises the government on immigration policy.

In a statement, the Home Office said the changes were being brought in to reduce the demand for migrant labour. “These reforms will ensure that businesses are able to attract the skilled migrants they need, but we also want them to get far better at recruiting and training UK workers first,” they said.

“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.”

In the past a Tier 2 skilled worker visa expired after five years, following which workers on them would have to return to their country of origin or could apply for settlement or indefinite leave to remain.

The Home Office’s new rules are attempting to break the link between coming to work in the UK and settlement; in order to apply for settlement, workers must earn at least £35,000. Those who fail to do so would be required to leave the UK, or face deportation.

The new rules have faced strong opposition, with critics pointing to the fact that the required figure is far higher than the UK’s median gross annual earnings of £27,500 for fulltime employees. “This…unfairly discriminates against charity workers, nurses students and others,” according to a parliamentary e-petition launched by the campaign group Stop 35K, which has gained over 108,000 signatures, and which estimates that around 40,000 people would be impacted. “This empty gesture will barely affect the immigration statistics. It’s a waste of time, money and lives.”

In response to the petition, the government said that £35,000 figure was the median pay for the UK population in skilled jobs, which qualified for Tier 2.

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