Immigration seems to be in the news every day whether on the television, in the newspaper or on the radio. Reducing net migration into the UK is still one of the Government’s mantras. In July of this year, the Home Office raised the minimum salary thresholds which Sponsors could pay to Skilled Workers and they also increased the skills threshold from A Level to Graduate Level. Following these changes, there has been a significant reduction in the number of businesses which are looking to apply for a Home Office Sponsor Licence to employ international workers. What with the increase of the skills threshold, many jobs which were previously suitable for sponsorship are now excluded and roles such as a Junior Software Developer and Analysts for example are now unlikely to qualify under the new criteria.
It is not however all bad news for businesses. There is the Temporary Shortage List (TSL) and this list contains medium skilled jobs which are still eligible for work sponsorship. However, the Home Office has said that the TSL will close at the end of next year and currently the TSL includes quite a few positions, especially at the Technician level which previously were all eligible for sponsorship anyway. In certain circumstances, businesses are also permitted to take advantage of salary discounts, for example when they are looking to recruit an international worker who is under the age of 26. In this scenario, the business only needs to pay 70% of the “going rate” for the position as noted in the Home Office Rules. In this way, businesses can employ early career talent which otherwise they would be prevented from doing so in view of the higher income thresholds introduced in July. The Home Office still has the Graduate Visa which enables students who have graduated successfully in the UK transitioning to a Graduate Visa which generally permits unrestricted work for two years. The UK also has a Global Talent Visa which enables highly skilled individuals across various sectors including technology and research to work in the UK, again without needing sponsorship from a UK employer. Whilst quite restrictive, there is also the Innovator Founder Visa which allows individuals to establish and operate a UK business and this may therefore be a solution to a potential entrepreneur looking to set up a viable and innovative business in the UK.
International recruitment is still possible but the Home Office are continuing to introduce many hurdles at every stage of the process. Currently, the Government are considering a number of quite far reaching changes to the Immigration System including increasing the time a Skilled Worker needs to be working in the UK before they qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain from the current period of 5 years to a proposed period of 10 years. All of this is creating quite a lot of uncertainty, especially considering the Government may make retrospective changes to those who are already on a 5-year pathway towards permanent residence. Immigration at the moment is very much in the spotlight and it really is a question of watch this space.
For advice on this or any other immigration issue, please do not hesitate to contact Sohan Sidhu.
