Who we are 

My name is Josh Harbord and I am concerned about a new policy that came into effect on April 6th, 2016. It will mean that my friends, and people who contribute enormously to the UK economy, will be forced to leave. 

The £35k Policy

The Home Office recently announced that “Tier 2” skilled workers will need to leave the UK if they are earning less than £35,000. 

The £35,000 threshold for settlement is part of the Government's efforts to reduce immigration into the UK. 

For years the Government has been trying to reduce annual net migration to 'tens of thousands', but last year the annual net migration rose to a record high over 300,000. The £35,000 threshold for Tier 2 will have a 0-1% impact on this figure, resulting in the departure of only a few thousand valued workers who have already lived in the UK for 5 years, and in many cases longer. But for those few thousand this will be a disaster. They will lose their jobs, their homes, their friends, loved ones, and in some cases even their families. The international perception of Britain is already being affected. Schools and hospitals will struggle with increased skills shortages.

How much we need and what we are planning to do 

We are raising funds so that we can explore the legal merits of a Judicial Review with esteemed firm Bindmans LLP. 

The initial stages of this, from exploring all the options for a challenge to the threshold, to preparing the papers to serve to the Home Office (if a Judicial Review is found to be feasible by Bindmans LLP) will cost £6540. 

This includes advice in conference from leading counsel and the solicitor's fees. After that there will be a period of waiting before the hearing, which we hope to minimise, and the total costs of everything may be up to £40,000. In the past the Home Office has negotiated out of court to avoid being exposed to Judicial Review, which may also be their response in this instance.

About the claimant

Josh Harbord is a UK national, so is not directly affected. However several of his friends will be 'forced to leave voluntarily' when their visas expire in the coming years, and an increasing number of people have been making themselves known through Facebook and the Stop35k.org website. If we don't represent them, nobody will.

Fast facts

- Discriminates against women due to the underlying pay gap between genders

- Will cost the UK GDP several hundred million pounds

- Will have no impact on the annual net migration figures, nor the unemployment of UK nationals