HR Articles

From 10 January 2019 it become possible for architects to apply under a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa. Previously architects could only follow the Tier 2 route, where they would have to be sponsored by a licenced Sponsor, who would have to meet the Residence Labour Market Test (RLMT) before making an offer of employment to the migrant and prior to the migrant coming to the UK.

The Government, in its white paper last year, announced a proposal to remove the cap on sponsoring Tier 2 migrants. This cap applies to Tier 2 (General) migrants earning less than £159,600, applying from outside the UK or are already in the UK as a dependent of a Tier 4 migrant.

A key proposal of the new immigration system destined to start in 2021 is streamlining of the Sponsorship Licencing System under Tier 2 of the Immigration Rules. The Sponsorship Licencing System is currently a key resource available for businesses across the UK to sponsor non-EU nationals from across the world.

The UK is now 2 months away from its exit date from the EU. However, it is yet to agree on what type of Brexit deal it wants from the EU. This means that there remains a significant chance of exiting the EU without a deal.

The Government has published its report on the second private test phase of the EU Settlement Scheme. The results show that out of the 90.7% decided cases, no cases were refused. The Government says that it has used the data from the 29,987 applications received over the 51 days of this test phase to improve the overall user experience.

The 40-page AN EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO RIGHT TO WORK CHECKS published by the Home Office on 29 June 2018, 2 years after the EU referendum and more than a year after the Article 50 trigger, has no references to Brexit. It does not therefore mention what employers would have to do if there was no deal.

Application fee for EU Settlement Scheme to be scrapped

If you are an EU national or a non-EU family member of an EU national then you can register to enter the public test phase of the EU Settlement Scheme which opens today. Unfortunately, citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland will not be able to apply until the Scheme fully opens on 30 March 2019.

It is that of time of the year when most sponsors would have either received an email from UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) asking them to renew their CoS allocations or would have qualified for auto-allocation.

The UK is anticipated to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 (unless the two-year notice period is extended by agreement between the UK and EU). The new EU Settlement Scheme fully opens on 30 March 2019.