UK Immigration into 2021 and Beyond!

In late October 2020, Parliament found some time to squeeze in some chatter about Brexit (remember that?) in among all the Covid chaos. They came up with some legislation and set out some changes to the UK Immigration Policy. Most of these will go live in the month between 1 Dec 2020 and 1 Jan 2021 and is due to the UK leaving the EU. It also means that all EU and EEA nationals will be treated the same as those entering from other developed nations such as the US, Australia and New Zealand. 

Some of the main changes for non-European Economic Area nationals include the new Student and Child Student route (which opened earlier this month), a new and improved Skilled Worker route, updates to the Intra-Company Transfer rules, as well as enhanced criminality checks for EU citizens.

Tier 2 (General) is being scrapped and replaced with the snazzily named Skilled Worker route (yawn, are you still awake?). Everyone who wishes to come to the UK to work in a skilled role should apply via this route. The company they’re going to work for must hold a sponsor licence issued by the Home Office, the job must be specific and should meet the skill and salary requirements set out by Boris. There are some clear positives to the new legislation. Firstly, they’re lowering the skill threshold from degree level to A Level. Also, the salary threshold is being reduced by £5,000 to £25k pa. The employer must pay their skilled worker a salary equal to or exceeding this or the ‘going rate’ for their profession, whichever is highest. This means that more people will be eligible, subject of course to applicants obtaining enough points and having good English language skills.

Boris has also agreed that there will be no cap on T2 Skilled works, meaning that there will be no restrictions on how many EU migrants can come to the UK via the Skilled Worker Route. The Labour Market Test is also being scrapped along with the 12 month cooling off period and the six year maximum stay. If EEA migrants choose to settle in the UK long term, the salary threshold has also been reduced by just over £10k a year to £25,600 or the ‘going rate’. Are you still with me?

Up next is Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) route. This is exactly what is says on the tin, and applicants should be experienced staff transferring to the UK for a skilled role. The new amendments here are to give more flexibility for short term assignments. There will also be better opportunity to switch into the ICT route provided applicants meet certain criteria.

If you reside in Hong Kong as a British National Overseas, there is specific guidance now for if you want to live and work in the UK.

The Home Office believe that this represents a ‘firmer and fairer’ approach to the new immigration system. What do you think?

As always, we’ll keep you posted on further changes as and when Boris gives them the thumbs up! In the meantime, you know where we are if you have questions, or just fancy a chat. +44 (0) 1473 890660 hello@vivalavisa.co.uk

Until next time…….!