BAL designation gives employees flexible option to pick up biometric residence permit

IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Berry Appleman & Leiden’s London office has been registered as an alternative collection location (ACL) to allow migrants to collect their biometric residence permits with greater ease.

What does the change mean? The U.K. now requires that successful overseas visa applicants collect their biometric residence permits within 10 days of arrival in the U.K. by attending an appointment at the post office nearest to the their home or workplace. The fact that BAL has been granted ACL status as the representative of premium/high volume employers allows BAL clients an additional option to have biometric residence permits delivered directly to BAL, which may prove more convenient and lessen the administrative burden on employees and assignees.

• Implementation time frame: Immediate and ongoing.
• Visas/permits affected: All visa categories for stays of longer than six months’ duration.
• Who is affected: Employers and employees working in the U.K.
• Impact on processing times: Processing times will remain unaffected, but an improved range of options for biometric residence permit collection gives employees further choice and flexibility.
• Business impact: All migrants working with BAL can benefit from this additional option for biometric residence permit delivery, as they will not have to appear at the post office on arrival if it is not convenient so early in their relocation.
• Next steps: Effective immediately, migrants do not have to attend an appointment at the post office if they prefer to collect the permits from BAL’s office.

Background: The new requirement that new migrants and assignees to the U.K. collect biometric residence permits in person within 10 days of arrival from a designated post office has introduced an inconvenient additional step into the relocation process.

While representatives are generally not permitted to collect and deliver biometric residence permits, BAL has been recognized as qualified to receive the permits on behalf of clients and so can act as an alternative collection location in lieu of a post office.

BAL Analysis: The Home Office is currently taking great care to ensure that biometric residence permits, which authorize employment, are not vulnerable to misuse, and has established strict controls over their safe storage and distribution. While the permits must still be delivered directly to the individual by a registered person, BAL’s ACL status means our clients will have greater flexibility to select a collection or delivery method that best suits their migrant work force and service standards.

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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