Migration Advisory Committee advises sweeping changes to Intra-Company Transfer route
Migration Advisory Committee advises sweeping changes to Intra-Company Transfer route
15 October 2021
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has published a report on the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) and Intra-Company Graduate Trainee (ICGT) routes, setting out an extensive list of recommendations. Whilst in some areas the MAC recommends the Home Office to maintain the status quo, in others it proposes significant changes to the current provisions. We take a look at some of the more noteworthy recommendations.
Changes to salary thresholds
To apply for the ICT route, an applicant must earn at least £41,500 per year or the “going rate”, whichever is higher. The MAC recommends that the salary threshold be increased to £42,400. This is in line with the median annual gross wage of occupations at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) level 6 or above (equivalent to graduate level occupations) in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The MAC also recommends that the salary threshold and “going rate” be updated annually.
The MAC does not put forward any revisions to the higher-earner threshold, which is currently set at £73,900 per year but does recommend that this be updated annually.
As for the ICGT visa, the MAC recommends that the salary thresholds be revised downwards to match the level of a graduate entrant (or “new entrant”) in the Skilled Worker (SW) route. This is the higher of £20,480 or 70% of the “going rate” for the occupation code. The current salary threshold for ICGT is £23,000.
Immigration health surcharge
The MAC recommends that the immigration health surcharge (IHS) continues to be levied on the ICT, subject to any trade agreement precluding this. One such agreement is the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement which prevents the IHS from being applied to EU nationals from 1 January 2023. This will be a significant saving for employers, with the IHS costing £3,120 (£624 per year) for a five-year visa.
Increased scrutiny of allowances
Allowances paid by employers to ICT workers may be included as part of the workers’ salary threshold assessments. The MAC recommends that the Home Office take a more proactive approach to scrutinising any allowances paid. This may be done via enhanced data sharing with the HMRC, a move which the Home Office previously alluded to in its sponsorship roadmap.
Separately, the MAC also recommends that the Home Office takes a stricter approach to compliance to determine whether there is “widespread abuse of the rules”. Again, this is something which the Home Office mentioned in its sponsorship roadmap, with a key focus of compliance checks set to be reported salaries.
Route to settlement
Whilst switching to other routes, such as Skilled Worker, is now permitted under the ICT, any time spent on this route does not count towards settlement. The ‘settlement clock’ does not start to run until an ICT employee has switched to an eligible route.
The MAC recommends that this restriction be removed, so that an ICT employee does not need to switch route in order to settle. The MAC goes further to say that the ICT route itself should lead to settlement.
Introduction of new subsidiary route
The MAC recommends the Home Office introduce a new subsidiary route to overcome the shortcoming of the Representative of an overseas business route (RoBR). The new visa would be limited to a maximum of two years and five team members, one of which must meet the criteria of the RoBR whilst the others must meet the SW criteria. The MAC has said that it is willing to support the Home Office with the trial of this new route.
Introduction of secondments
The MAC proposes that a secondment route be established that has a strict set of criteria, namely that the contract value be in excess of £50 million, that the overseas business be in operation for at least 12 months, and that the visa be issued for a maximum of 12 months with the possibility of a single renewal.
Review short-term assignments
The MAC does not recommend that the Home Office reinstate the previous ICT short-term route. Instead, it recommends that the Home Office introduce a new short-term assignment route and amend the current Visitor rules to facilitate short-term visits for essential work.
Maintaining the status quo
There are a number of areas which the MAC does not recommend changing, these include the English language requirement, the skills threshold, and the length of time an employee is required to have worked overseas to be eligible for the ICT.
Of course, it remains to be seen when, or if, the Home Office adopts the MAC’s recommendations. If it does, it could mean sweeping changes for ICT employees and employers.
Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Miglena Ilieva
Senior Solicitor and PSL Team Manager
Robert Greene
Paralegal
Rules on travel clarified for pending EUSS applicants
Rules on travel clarified for pending EUSS applicants
14 October 2021
The Home Office has published a letter clarifying the rights of EUSS applicants to travel to and from the UK whilst their application to the scheme is pending. The rules depend on whether the application was made before or after the 30 June 2021.
Rules for in-time applicants
EEA citizens and their family members who applied to the EUSS on or before 30 June 2021 (‘in-time applicants’) are advised not to travel to or from the UK until they have been granted a Certificate of Application that confirms they have made a valid in-time application. If an in-time applicant travels to or from the UK without a Certificate of Application, they may face delays at the border. However, they will be admitted into the UK if it can be proven that their application is pending.
Rules for late applicants
EEA citizens and their family members who applied to the EUSS after the 30 June 2021 (‘late applicants’) must not travel to or from the UK until they are in possession of a Certificate of Application confirming that they have made a valid late application. If a late applicant travels to the UK, they may also be required to show evidence that they were a resident in the UK before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.
Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com
Miglena Ilieva
PSL Team Manager and Senior Solicitor
Robert Greene
Paralegal
Patel raises sentences for those entering the UK illegally
Patel raises sentences for those entering the UK illegally
7 October 2021
Priti Patel took to the floor of the Conservative Party Conference on 5 October to announce new penalty and sentencing guidelines for people smugglers and those entering the UK illegally. The maximum penalty of entering the country illegally has been raised from 6 months to 4 years, whereas sentencing for people smugglers has been raised from 14 years to life.
This decision follows those crossing the channel in small boats from vast camps outside Calais which has been described by Patel to hinder the chances of those in genuine need of protection such as those coming through the legal resettlement scheme routes. For this reason, Patel has stated the route in which somebody arrives in the United Kingdom will impact on how their asylum claim is processed.
Boris Johnson upheld Patel’s views at the Conservative Party Conference by promising to reform the economic system and pledged to move away from the pre-Brexit system of “low wages, low growth, low skills and low productivity, all of it enabled and assisted by uncontrolled immigration”. Johnson is pleading for the removal of mass immigration to be replaced with higher wages in the hopes to encourage people into key sectors.
Although Patel and Johnson are striving to create a ‘controlled immigration system’, there is great controversy surrounding the next few months following a decrease in food and gas supplies which could lead to price rises and economic disruption.
Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Nadine Darwish
Paralegal
New report shows decline in EU workers coming to the UK
New report shows decline in EU workers coming to the UK
22 September 2021
The Migration Observatory has published a new report that takes a look at migrant worker trends for EU and non-EU nationals. The report shows a widespread decline in visa applications since the onset of COVID-19, particularly among EU workers.
Decline in applications from overseas workers
The number of EU migrants coming to the UK for long-term work has been in decline since 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum.
Since the onset of COVID-19, the EU migrant workforce has taken a sharp hit. Figures suggest net out-migration of 50,000 EU citizens during the first lockdown from March to June 2020.
In addition, the demand for work visas since the end of the free movement on 1 January 2021 has been low. There were just over 15,000 visa applications from EU citizens in the first half of 2021, representing 14% of visa applications. Over half of these were for Frontier Work permits. There were 2,900 applications for Skilled Worker visas during this period, representing 12% of the total number of Skilled Worker visa applications.
These figures are quite drastic compared to those in 2019, where EU migrants represented 45% of migrants coming to the UK to work for at least one year. The reasons for the decline are not entirely clear as there are several factors at play, including international travel restrictions and the possibility that EU citizens moved to the UK before the end of the free movement.COVID-19 has also had a big impact on non-EU migration, with the total number of visas granted for main applicants falling by 40%. Applications for Intra-Company Transfer visas were hit hardest, with a 68% decline between 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, Skilled Worker visa applications dropped by 22%.
Rebound in non-EU migration
Applications for some categories have rebounded in 2021. Applications for the Skilled Worker route, for example, were 37% higher in the first half of 2021 compared to 2019.
With COVID-19 still having an impact on international travel, it will take some time before the impact of the UK’s new immigration system on EU and non-EU migration becomes clearer.
Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Miglena Ilieva
PSL Team Manager and Senior Solicitor
Robert Greene
Paralegal
Government announces overhaul of traffic-light system
Government announces overhaul of traffic-light system
22 September 2021
The government has announced plans to replace the current traffic-light system with a single red list from 4am on 4 October 2021. It has also announced changes to the entry requirements for fully vaccinated travellers travelling from non-red list countries.
Travelling to England if you are fully vaccinated
From 4am on 4 October 2021, fully vaccinated travellers who travel to England from non-red list countries will no longer be required to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test, day eight post-arrival COVID-19 test or quarantine. Instead, they will only be required to book and pay for a day two post-arrival COVID-19 test before travel and take the test on or before day two of their arrival in England.
Fully vaccinated means 14 days after the administration of the second vaccine of an approved two-dose vaccine (eg Moderna) or the first vaccine of an approved one dose vaccine (eg Janssen).
The list of approved vaccines is Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen vaccines or formulations of those vaccines (eg AstraZeneca Covishield), and a combination of any two of these vaccines will count as full vaccination from 4 October 2021. Currently, mixed vaccines are only permitted under the UK, Europe, USA or UK overseas vaccination programmes.
To qualify for the new exemptions, individuals must have received their vaccines from a relevant health body in the UK, Europe, US, Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, or the UAE. They can receive the two doses (where applicable) from two different approved vaccination programmes.
Travelling to the UK if you are not fully vaccinated
The rules for individuals who are not fully vaccinated according to the rules above remain the same ie take a pre-departure PCR test and post-arrival day two and day eight tests. Individuals arriving from a red list country must continue to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival.
Other changes to the rules
In a press release, the government also said that from the end of October, eligible fully vaccinated travellers will be able to take a post-arrival day two lateral flow test, instead of a PCR test. If a person tests positive, they will be required to isolate and take a free PCR test.
Unvaccinated travellers will continue to be obliged to take pre-departure and post-arrival PCR tests and quarantine (if travelling from a red list country). The test to release scheme will remain open.
Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Miglena Ilieva
PSL Team Manager and Senior Solicitor
Robert Greene
Paralegal
US travel ban to be lifted for vaccinated travellers
US travel ban to be lifted for vaccinated travellers
20 September 2021
Multiple news sources have reported that the US will be relaxing travel restrictions for vaccinated passengers from November. The Biden administration is expected to announce the new travel policy later today, marking the end of the 18-month travel ban imposed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All vaccinated travellers from countries affected by the travel bans, including the UK, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe, as well as Ireland, China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, and India, reportedly will be allowed to travel to the US from November onwards. International travellers will be required to show proof of full vaccination as well as a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure.
Details of what vaccines will be accepted and how evidence of vaccination status has not yet been released. Stricter requirements for non-vaccinated American citizen travellers are also reported. We understand that there will also be a contract tracing order placed on airlines so that potentially exposed travellers will be alerted.
This update will come as welcome news to many UK and EU travellers. Under the current policy, only American citizens, their immediate families, green card holders, and those with national interest exceptions may enter the US if they have been in the UK or the EU in the previous 14 days.
While The White House has not yet officially announced this update, we recommend monitoring their website for upcoming announcements.
Get in touch
For information on other areas of US and UK immigration law, please see our website or contact your assigned LDI lawyer or enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Christi Hufford Jackson
Partner and Head of the US Practice
Government publishes Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules
Government publishes Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules
15 September 2021
The government published a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules on 10 September 2021, outlining important changes to a number of existing routes and the introduction of a new route. The changes also incorporate several COVID-19 concessions into the Rules. The majority of the changes will take effect on 6 October 2021, unless otherwise specified.
EEA and Swiss nationals: use of ID cards
From 1 October 2021, EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be permitted to enter the UK using their national identity card. Instead, they will be required to use their passport.
There is an exception for EEA and Swiss nationals, and their family members, who have been granted, or are eligible for, pre-settled or settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS). They may continue to use their national identity card to enter the UK until 31 December 2025.
EUSS family members
From 6 October 2021, joining family members will be able to apply to the EUSS in the UK as a visitor. This means the current concession to this effect will become a rule on that date.
International Sportsperson
A new category, International Sportsperson, is being introduced. This will amalgamate and replace the existing sportsperson categories, T2 Sportsperson and T5 Creative or Sporting Worker.
Applicants applying for permission to enter or stay for 12 months or less will be required to obtain 70 mandatory points, whilst those applying to enter or stay for more than 12 months will be required to obtain 80 mandatory points.
Mandatory points will be awarded for an endorsement from a Sports Governing Body (50 points), a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from a club (10 points) and meeting the financial requirement (10 points).
An additional 10 points will be awarded to an individual applying to enter or stay in the UK for more than 12 months if they pass an English language test at level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
The new route will be introduced at 9am on 11 October 2021.
Temporary Workers
The T5 Temporary Worker routes are being rebranded, with all references to ‘T5’ being removed. For example, ‘Appendix T5 (Temporary Worker) Creative or Sporting Worker’ will be rebranded as ‘Appendix Temporary Work – Creative Worker’. These changes will take effect at 9am on 11 October 2021.
Global Talent route
Numerous changes are being made to the Global Talent route. These include:
- changes to the endorsement criteria for arts and culture fields to allow individuals to submit evidence that relates to a group;
- changes to the endorsement criteria for science, engineering, humanities and medicine fields to extend the eligibility period for the fellowship fast track pathway from 12 months to five years after the completion of an approved fellowship or award;
- changes to the endorsed funder fast track pathway to no longer require applicants whose award has been listed on a publicly accessible research database accepted by UK Research and Innovation to provide a letter from the endorser confirming their suitability for the award; and
- changes to the evidential requirements for digital technology endorsements to only require one example of each of the exceptional promise criteria, instead of two.
Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes is also being amended to expand the list of prestigious prizes to include an additional 70 eligible prizes, almost double the number of awards currently listed.
These changes will take effect on 6 October 2021.
Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS)
The ‘T5 (Temporary Worker) Youth Mobility Scheme’ is being rebranded as the ‘Youth Mobility Scheme’.
It will also being expanded to add Iceland and India, which will have 1,000 and 3,000 spaces respectively.
Applicants from India will have to meet one of the following additional requirements:
- hold a qualification at RQF level 6 or above, with written confirmation from the issuing institution; or
- have three years’ work experience in a role equivalent to an occupation listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations, with evidence of the work in the form of formal payslips or payslips and a letter from the employer.
These changes will take effect on 1 January 2022.
Visitor routes
Changes are being made to allow student nurses and research students completing overseas studies to visit the UK for a limited period as part of their studies or research. These changes will bring nursing students in line with those studying medicine, veterinary medicine and science, and dentistry.
Changes are also being introduced to clarify the entry permissions for employees of overseas manufacturers and suppliers. Employees of overseas manufacturers or suppliers or employees of overseas companies involved in after-sales services will be allowed to enter the UK to provide services to a UK company in relation to a purchase, supply or lease contract.
These changes will take effect on 6 October 2021.
Skilled Worker
A few corrections and technical changes, which do not affect policy, are being made to the Skilled Worker route.
COVID-19 concessions
The following COVID-19 concessions are being incorporated into the rules:
- Concession for Tier 1 (Entrepreneurs) who were unable to satisfy the two full-time jobs requirement;
- Concession for absences from the UK due to COVID-19 for people with pre-settled status under the EUSS; and
- Concession for people under the Skilled Worker and Tier 2 Sportsperson routes to include time spent waiting for a decision on their application to count towards the five year requirement for settlement.
Travel outside the Common Travel Area
For in-country applications to stay in the UK, the new Statement of Changes clarifies that an application will be considered as withdrawn on the date of application – not the date on which biometrics are submitted – if the applicant travels outside the common travel area (CTA) whilst their application is pending. Essentially, once an applicant submits an application to stay, they cannot leave the CTA until they are granted permission to stay.
These changes shall take effect on 6 October 2021. Applications to remain that were made before 6 October 2021, shall be decided in line with the Rules in force on 5 October 2021.
Afghan Locally Supported Staff (LES)
Current and former Afghan LES, and their family members, will be able to relocate to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the ex gratia scheme from outside Afghanistan. Currently, they can only apply from within Afghanistan.
In addition, applicants will qualify for indefinite leave to enter. Currently, they are granted permission to enter the UK for five years.
Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Miglena Ilieva
Senior Solicitor and PSL Team Manager
Robert Greene
Paralegal
Zeena Luchowa looks at the skilled immigration sponsorship ‘roadmap’ for Free Movement
Zeena Luchowa looks at the skilled immigration sponsorship ‘roadmap’ for Free Movement
2 September 2021
In a blog post for Free Movement, Zeena Luchowa examines the details of the government’s sponsorship ‘roadmap’, which was published on 26 August 2021. She looks at the Home Office’s proposals for long-overdue ‘radical changes’ to the sponsorship system, which will come into effect over the next three years, and asks whether we should be hopeful or cautiously optimistic.
Zeena Luchowa
Senior Solicitor
Government publishes plans for new sponsorship system
Government publishes plans for new sponsorship system
1 September 2021
The Home Office has published its sponsorship roadmap, which sets out its plans to transform the existing process for employing foreign nationals. According to the document, over the course of the next three years, the Home Office plans to simplify and streamline the sponsorship system through a series of IT, customer service and compliance changes. It expects the new system to be operational by Q1 2024 with all sponsors being transferred to the new system by this date.
Why is the Home Office changing the sponsorship system?
The Home Office has said that its ambition is to create a system which is easier to navigate and reduces the time it takes to sponsor a migrant worker.
What are the key changes?
The focus of the reforms is on customer service, IT, compliance, and engagement. The Home Office has set out a series of ‘radical changes’ in each of these areas, which it hopes to deliver between 2022 and 2024.
Customer service
The roadmap contains details of several changes to the Home Office’s customer service delivery, including:
• reforming sponsor licence renewal patterns;
• reviewing the Home Office’s service standards; and
• delivering a new support package for SMEs.
IT transformation
The roadmap sets out an ambitious IT transformation, with three key stages:
• Phase 1: Sponsor a visa – workers’ applications will be pre-populated with data previously submitted by their sponsor.
• Phase 2: Manage a licence – the Home Office will do checks on employers and workers using data held by other government departments (eg HMRC).
• Phase 3: Become a sponsor – automatic checks will be implemented to verify key information about employers and individuals employed by sponsored organisations.
Compliance
The compliance measures in the new system will largely reflect those under the current system, but the focus of compliance visits will be on sponsors who pose a heightened risk of non-compliance or those who have no track record of compliance.
Engagement
The Home Office has said that it will deliver a ‘comprehensive’ engagement strategy to accompany the new system, with customer feedback built into the design and delivery of the system.
What are the key dates?
Between now and early 2022, the Home Office will continue to implement changes to the current system. These changes include a review of fees, the introduction of a Skilled Worker eligibility tool and the launch of a pilot salary checking tool in conjunction with HMRC.
Between 2022 and early 2024, the Home Office will start the roll out of its new sponsorship system. The IT transformation will be introduced to a test group of SMEs and larger organisations, before being rolled out to a wider pool of sponsors. The Home Office expects that all employers will be transferred to the new IT system between mid-2023 and Q1 2024.
Get in touch
Laura Devine Immigration will keep you informed of any further relevant Home Office updates and would be pleased to assist you with any queries you may have in relation to these changes. For further information on recent and forthcoming changes to UK and US immigration law visit our website www.lauradevine.com, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Miglena Ilieva
Senior Solicitor and PSL Manager
Robert Greene
Paralegal
Home Office publishes latest EUSS statistics
Home Office publishes latest EUSS statistics
27 August 2021
The Home Office has published the latest statistics on applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) before and after the 30 June 2021 deadline.
Number of applications
The total number of applications that were made on or before the 30 June 2021 deadline is 6,015,400, of which 5,446,300 have been concluded. This means there were 569,100 outstanding cases by the end of June.
The number of applications made in July was 58,200. This includes applications from late applicants, joining family members and individuals moving from pre-settled to settled status.
By the end of July, the total number of applications made to the EUSS stood at 6,073,600 and there were 483,200 outstanding applications.
Status granted
The majority of applicants to the scheme have been granted settled status (52%), followed closely by pre-settled status (43%). The number of refusals as of 30 June 2021 stood at 109,400 or 2%. This is slightly higher than the number of withdrawn or void applications (80,8000) and invalid applications (79,800). There were 464,000 repeat applications by the end of June, suggesting that 5.5 million people had applied to the EUSS by the June deadline.
Applications by nationality
Applications from Polish and Romanian citizens represent the highest number of applications by nationality at 1,091,500 and 1,067,200 applications respectively. This is followed by Italian applicants (545,600) and Portuguese applicants (414,100).
The lowest number of applications by nationality is Luxembourg (1,800), Slovenia (5,100) and Malta (7,900). Interestingly, there have been 14,800 applications from Irish citizens, who are not required to apply to the EUSS to protect their right to enter, live and work in the UK. However, their non-Irish family members may be able to join them in the UK if they are granted pre-settled or settled status.
For further information on the EUSS, read our article on EUSS FAQs.
Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Miglena Ilieva
Senior Solicitor and PSL Team Manager