In a Statement of Intent released yesterday by Liam Byrne, the Minister of State for Border and Immigration, the Home Office's proposed amendments to the UK immigration system were released. A new tier level points based system will come into law later this year and the popular Working Holiday Visa will be replaced by tier 5, the temporary workers and youth mobility scheme.

The majority of South Africans coming to the United Kingdom do so on the Working Holiday Visa that allows them to travel and work for a period of two years. However South Africa will be excluded when the tier 5 scheme comes into place. Therefore it will not be easy for South African youth to get the highly sought after "London experience".

The tier 5 scheme will only be open to countries that offer similar opportunities to UK citizens; this is not the case in South Africa and therefore they have been excluded.

Robbie Ragless of www.globalvisas.co.za, the international visa and immigration authority says, "This leaves many South African's seeking a gap year or two in the UK in the lurch, making life in the UK only accessible for highly skilled migrants."

For those South Africans looking for opportunities in South Africa or elsewhere, visit www.globalvisas.co.za to find out what your options are.