The 'skilled occupation' test, used to decide which foreign nationals are allowed to remain in the country to work and which are not, has been ruled by the Supreme Court to be unlawful.
The court heard the appeal of a Pakistani man who worked as a physiotherapy assistant between 2005 and 2009. At that point his application to remain in the UK was refused, because under the newly-introduced 'points-based' system, his work did not qualify as a 'skilled occupation', which meant he did not have enough points to be granted leave to remain.
The practical effect is that the current point-based system has been thrown into disarray and the Government will undoubtedly have to revise the regulations.