HSMP stands for ‘Highly Skilled Migrant Programme’ that encourages foreigners to apply for job opportunities or even self-employment in UK. It was introduced on 28th January 2002 and has since been replaced by the Tier 1 visa. This was also based on a points based system, where the Home Office used points to assess an applicant; academic qualification up to a maximum of fifty points; earning power based the country up to forty-five points; age up to twenty points and finally five points for any UK work experience.
An HSMP applicant must also show that he or she does not have any serious criminal record. An applicant must never been made bankrupt or be a discharged bankrupt. The HSMP applicant must also be intending to make the UK his or her main home; they must be able to prove that they are in a position to support themselves financially, by producing a bank statement or a pay-slip and finally the applicant must show proficiency in English.
For many current HSMP visa holders many feared that this change to a new tiered system of visas was going to force them out of UK. These concerns immediately prompted the House of Commons and House of Lords Human Rights Committee to intervene, arguing that the changes infringed on human rights legislation and it was later ruled in a judicial review as unlawful. The judicial review helped the affected HSMP visa holders to apply for the Tier 1 visa without leaving the country.