The UK Home Office’s Spring 2023 “Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules,” published on March 9, 2023, includes updates on salary thresholds for several immigration routes and the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme.
Starting from 6 April 2022, Biometric Residence Card (BRC), Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), and Frontier Worker Permit (FWP) holders in the United Kingdom will evidence their right to work by using the Home Office online service.
Following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and, therefore, the end of free movement, there have been questions as to how and when a postgraduate visa would be available to help international students currently studying in the UK. In September 2019, the UK government announced plans for a post-study work visa for international students as part of a new points-based immigration system.
The United Kingdom is operating a traffic light system for foreign travel, and what passengers must do upon arrival in England depends on where they have been in the 10 days before they arrive.
On 15 February 2021, the UK government imposed stricter requirements on individuals travelling or transiting from any of the 33 countries (‘red list countries’) that have had a travel ban to England applied. Separate advice applies to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
On 11 January 2021, the UK Home Office published guidance on the “Covid Visa Concession Scheme (CVCS).” The scheme applies to individuals who left the United Kingdom before 17 March 2020, with permission to live in the UK, whose visas have since expired whilst they were abroad, and are now unable to return to the UK due to coronavirus travel restrictions. The CVCS allows those individuals to enter the UK to make leave to remain (LTR) or indefinite leave to remain (ILR) applications.
A “frontier worker” is a resident of the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, who is employed or self-employed in the United Kingdom.
Applications for the new work visa routes for eligible overseas workers who wish to work in the United Kingdom from 1 January 2021 opened on 1 December 2020. Provided applicants meet the criteria, workers from overseas, including the European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals, are now able to apply online for (among other new entry routes), the skilled worker visa, the intra-company transfer visa and the global talent visa.
The new Global Talent immigration category is available for talented and promising applicants in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, humanities, digital technology, and arts and culture (including architecture, fashion design, film and television, and literature). The Global Talent visa is very similar to its predecessor, the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa; however, it provides a simpler route and expands on the existing rules. The Global Talent visa is no longer part of the points-based system. Instead, the Global Talent visa route consists of two main stages: the endorsement stage and the application stage. An applicant must already be a leader in his or her respective field (i.e., one who is considered an exceptional talent) or a person with the potential to become a leader in his or her field (i.e., one who shows exceptional promise).
On 13 July 2020, the UK Home Office published further details on the UK’s points-based system through a detailed policy statement regarding the changes to the UK immigration system due to come into effect from 1 January 2021, once freedom of movement with the European Union has ended. The document builds on the policy statement published in February 2020 and aims to provide “more detail to applicants, employers and educational institutions on the draft requirements and conditions underpinning the key immigration routes in the Points-Based System.”
In light of the Home Office now making regular policy announcements and issuing revised guidance, here are the main immigration law issues that employers may want to keep in mind in order to consider the implications of COVID-19 on their organisations.
The United Kingdom (UK) formally left the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020, and entered a transition period that will officially end on December 31, 2020. The UK and EU have agreed that EU nationals who move to the UK before January 1, 2021, will be permitted to remain in the UK. However, they must apply under the EU Settlement Scheme by June 30, 2021, to secure confirmation of their immigration status.
On June 21, 2018, the government of the United Kingdom (UK) issued a “statement of intent” that provides further details on how citizens of the European Union (EU) and their family members can continue to live in the UK after Brexit.
