The “Highly Skilled Migration Programme” has been replaced by the Tier 1 visa. This is a system of immigration aimed at foreigners who hold academic qualifications; have UK work experience; tangible earning power and are the right age for working.

This programme is a form of a work permit to work in UK: so long as an applicant shows an interest of working in the UK and the meets the requirements needed then he or she qualifies for this visa. This is normally encouraged by the UK government because the it helps build their economy by outsourcing manpower from outside and in return benefits the Skilled Migration applicant to have an opportunity that he or she might have never seen in his or her country of origin.

The Highly Skilled Migration Programme can lead to British citizenship for the visa holder, so long as the person has stayed in UK for the first two years and has been granted another three years extension. After this five years period has elapsed, the visa holder can apply for an indefinite leave to remain in UK so long as the he or she is economically active and later can then apply for a British citizenship.

Many countries in the world have adopted the system of looking for skilled foreigners for employment. A good example in Africa is Botswana and Namibia, who have given work permits to skilled foreigners to help in the field of engineering, medical industries and even teaching. As an example, many Kenyans are employed in Botswana and Namibia as result of work permit programmes based on the Highly Skilled Migration Programme in the UK.