Companies Must Submit Tier 2 Estimates Soon

IMPACT – Medium

What is the change? Employer allocations for Tier 2 (Intra-company transfers) and Tier 2 (General) will expire on April 5, 2014.

What does the change mean? Employers must submit their projected allocations for 2014-2015 as soon as possible after Jan. 5, 2014.

• Implementation timeframe: Jan. 5, 2014 to April 5, 2014.
• Visas/permits affected: Tier 2 Intra-company transfers (ICTs) and Tier 2 (General).
• Who is affected: Companies with sponsor licenses who anticipate non-European Economic Area assignees in the above categories.
• Impact on processing times: No impact on processing times, but if an employer does not make an allocation request or does not request enough Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS), and requires additional non-EEA workers mid-year, this can delay processing.
• Business impact: If allocations expire without renewal, businesses will not be able to sponsor non-EEA workers for the coming annual period until their request is made and approved. This would impact the usual processing times for U.K. work visas.
• Next steps: Clients should work with their BAL U.K. contact as soon as possible to review last year’s allocation and determine their anticipated numbers of ICTs and Tier 2 (General) assignees for 2014, together with any available justification.

Background: Under points-based sponsorship, allocation of CoS’s (which allow companies to sponsor non-European Economic Area employees and transferees) expires every year. Employers must submit an allocation request to the Home Office, estimating the number of ICTs and general Tier 2 they expect to need from April 6, 2014, to April 5, 2015, and stating the reason for those numbers. Approvals will appear on the sponsorship management system on April 6.

BAL Analysis: Clients should submit their allocation estimates as soon as possible, leaving sufficient time for the Home Office to process the request by April 5, 2014. Allocations that expire without renewal will seriously hinder companies from sponsoring Tier 2 workers.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in the United Kingdom. For additional information, please contact uk@bal.com.

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