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.