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IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? The U.K. government’s announcement of changes to the Points-Based System includes changes to Tier 1, Tier 4 and Tier 5 sponsors.
What does the change mean? The changes include expansion and easing of restrictions under Tier 1, country-specific relaxation of rules under the Tier 4 student category, and a new government-authorized teaching exchange program under the Tier 5 category.
Background: The U.K. government is making a package of changes to Points-Based System work routes to improve flexibility for sponsors and applicants and boost the U.K. economy.
We reported the major changes to Tier 2 sponsorship last week.
Here are the major changes for Tier 1, Tier 4 and Tier 5 sponsors:
BAL Analysis: These changes signal the U.K. government’s efforts to expand certain categories to attract more talent from foreign graduate entrepreneurs, investors and digital technology workers, and to promote greater cultural and language exchange.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in the United Kingdom. For additional information, please contact uk@bal.com.
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
What is the change? Worldbridge, the U.K. Home Office’s outsourced commercial partner, will no longer be offering Priority Service for U.K. visa applicants in the U.S.
What does the change mean? Applicants in the U.S. should expect some temporary slowdown in the Priority Service, and potentially increased costs, as the contract for service provision changes hands.
Background: The Priority Service is an add-on service delivered by outsourced commercial partners, at a current additional cost of $150 per application, which can be selected when applying to U.K. Visa and Immigration in New York to guarantee the fastest processing times. Applicants follow the standard visa application procedure, apply and pay online, attend a biometric appointment, and then submit documents to the British Embassy. However, prior to submission, they must have paid the additional fee online to the outsourced provider to secure “priority.” The service is used heavily by the corporate sector. Worldbridge has announced that it will no longer offer the service from Wednesday, March 26, 2014. VFS Global will be the new outsourced provider.
BAL Analysis: Companies moving high numbers of employees from the U.S. to the U.K. and other frequent users of the Priority Service should anticipate higher processing costs – potentially $170 per applicant going forward. In the short term, companies and applicants should be aware of potential service disruptions as the transfer of service takes place. During the transition, it will be essential to verify legal and procedural changes with BAL. Applicants should, as always, plan sufficient lead time to minimize delays.
IMPACT – HIGH
What is the change? The government has announced a series of amendments to the U.K.’s immigration rules impacting Tier 2 sponsors.
What does the change mean? The package of changes will generally increase flexibility for businesses, but new salary requirements for Tier 2 workers and maintenance increases across all categories will also raise the cost of business.
Background: The U.K. government is creating a package of changes to Points-Based System work routes, to improve flexibility for sponsors and applicants and boost the U.K. economy. In this alert we focus on Tier 2, but further updates will be published relating to Tiers 1, 4 and 5.
The main changes to Tier 2 are that Intra-company transfers and Tier 2 (general) applicants will be granted up to five years leave at a time (rather than the current maximum of three years). Employers will pay a higher government fee for the longer duration, but they will not have to apply for extensions as often.
The government has updated minimum salary thresholds as follows:
BAL Analysis: The Tier 2 changes that corporate clients will be most interested in is the possibility of paying a higher initial fee to secure a one off five-year visa for Tier 2 (general) employees who intend to settle, or for Tier 2 ICTs who intend to stay on assignment for the maximum five-year period before “cooling off” outside the U.K. They should also be aware that salaries they have historically used to support Tier 2 visas may be out of line with new Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes and the revised minimum salaries. Employers may need to revise salary packages for future assignees and new hires accordingly.
What is the change? The Home Office will update its salary rates for Tier 2 skilled workers on April 6 – a change that will also impact upcoming application periods and allocation dates for Restricted Certificate of Sponsorship (RCoS) in the next two months.
What does the change mean? After April 5, companies must meet the higher salary rates for RCoS applications. Therefore, the Home Office has changed the RCoS application periods in April and May, and delayed the allocation date in April.
Background: The new salary rates, to be released on April 6, put pressure on companies to assign RCoS before that date. Companies that do not assign by that date will be bound by the higher salaries.
The new salary schedule will also impact upcoming application and allocation dates. The Home Office will only accept applications for April RCoS allocations between April 6 and April 16 (instead of March 6 to April 5). Decisions will be made on those applications on April 18 (one week later than normal). The Home Office will accept applications for May RCoS allocations from April 17 to May 5 (instead of April 6 to May 5), but will decide those applications on May 12 in line with the normal schedule. Please note that the Home Office will still accept urgent requests between March 6 and April 16 via email. A company making an urgent request must submit both the application and its reasons for exceptional consideration on the same day to Tier2Limits@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.
On April 6, in addition to salary increases, the Home Office will also replace several current Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes with more options that cover different job titles within those occupations. The occupations are: Electrical engineers, medical practitioners, pharmacists, health professionals not elsewhere classified, nurses and social workers. However, RCoS applications made before April 6 based on current SOC codes can be assigned after that date.
BAL Analysis: We strongly advise that any RCoS applications granted on Jan. 11, Feb. 11, or due to be granted on March 11, are assigned immediately, and no later than April 5. After that date, sponsors must make sure salaries meet the new higher salary rates before they will be able to assign them. Businesses and recruiters should be prepared for a delay in securing RCoS to support Tier 2 applications in April, as employers cannot apply until April 6 and will not receive a decision until April 18. Thereafter, the Home Office should return to its normal cycle of RCoS applications by the 5th of every month and approvals by the 11th of every month.
What is the change? The U.K. has submitted draft legislation that would raise the maximum penalty to £20,000 against employers who hire undocumented workers.
What does the change mean? Assuming this secondary legislation passes, it will double the maximum civil penalty for employing an illegal worker in the U.K.
Background: Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, the Secretary of State has authority to serve civil penalty notices on employers who hire undocumented workers. In 2008, the maximum penalty was set at £10,000 per illegal worker as a deterrent. The Act also carves out an excuse from liability for employers who perform face-to-face checks of employees’ right-to-work documents. The scheme was meant to encourage compliance but not penalize employers who make honest mistakes.
The Home Office is now concerned that the maximum penalties, which have not been raised since 2008, are too low to deter employers who hire workers illegally, and do not adequately reflect the economic advantage from using illegal labor. The government has submitted a draft amendment to double the maximum penalty to £20,000 (roughly US$33,000) per undocumented worker.
“[T]he government intends to reform the scheme so that it becomes tougher on rogue employers by increasing the level of the maximum penalty to £20,000 per illegal worker,” the Home Office said in a statement accompanying the draft order. The Home Office noted it would continue to follow the current practice of imposing the maximum penalty only on employers found to be repeat offenders.
BAL Analysis: The significant hike in penalties sends a clear message. The government intends to increase operational enforcement under the Immigration Bill 2013, while it has also promised to reduce the regulatory burden on employers by simplifying document check procedures. All U.K. employers – even those who do not employ large numbers of migrant workers or assignees – are encouraged to perform compliance reviews of their onboarding processes and right-to-work check procedures to make sure they are applying rules consistently and methodically.
IMPACT – LOW
What is the change? The Home Office has announced it will shortly finalize the move of all content from its current website to the one-stop government website, GOV.UK.
What does the change mean? The GOV.UK website will serve as the primary source of information in the U.K. for immigration law, policy, news, application forms, procedures and processing times, and the UKBA’s historic site will no longer be used, but will re-direct visitors to GOV.UK in the short term.
Background: The U.K. government set up the GOV.UK site in October 2012 as a place to bring information on all government services into one place, and the UKBA has been migrating immigration content there since March 2013. This process is due to finalize in March 2014, when the former UKBA website will be archived. As part of this process, UKBA content has been reviewed and rewritten to bring it in line with the GOV.UK “style,” but there should be no substantive changes.
BAL Analysis: The move of content will likely cause some short-term frustrations amongst frequent users of the Home Office’s current website, but planned redirects should ease this. Advisors are recommended to familiarize themselves with the GOV.UK site while there is still an opportunity to refer back.
What is the change? A new legislative proposal would hike government fees for visas, immigration services and premium services.
What does the change mean? If Parliament approves it (and based on past experience, it almost certainly will), the legislation will increase most fees by 4 percent beginning in April, while immigration fees for dependent family members will sharply increase by 38 percent. The legislation would also create new fees for some services, including Tier 1 and Tier 2 subcategories.
Background: Minister for Immigration Mark Harper announced the changes on Feb. 3. Most fee increases in the points-based system and naturalization fees are limited to a 4 percent hike, but several new fees have been introduced in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 subcategories and many of the fees for dependent family members have jumped by over 38 percent.
For example, Intra-Company Transfers for long-term staff for over three years would have a new fee of £1,028 for the principal and each dependent (£1,202 if applying within the U.K.). Priority visa services would increase to £100 (non-settlement) and £300 (settlement) under the proposed changes. On the other hand, immigration fees will be reduced for foreign nationals in shortage occupations.
A full schedule of proposed fees can be viewed on this chart.
BAL Analysis: Companies should factor the government fee increases into business costs.
IMPACT – Medium
What is the change? The U.K. has added more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe whose citizens must undergo tuberculosis testing for stays in the U.K. over six months.
What does the change mean? The change adds a step to the processing of visas.
Background: Over the past year, the U.K. imposed compulsory TB testing for long-term visas, gradually expanding the requirement to more and more countries.
The final list of countries includes:
Applicants who file on or after Dec. 31, 2013, must include a TB clearance certificate.
Applicants must go to a clinic approved by the U.K. Home Office and undergo a chest X-ray. Those who test negative will get a TB certificate. Those who are diagnosed with TB will not get a certificate and will receive a referral letter for treatment that can take up to six months to complete. Applicants cannot apply for a U.K. visa until they can prove that they are free of the disease.
The U.K. Home Office publishes a list of approved clinics in each country on its website.
BAL Analysis: Companies and individuals can avoid surprises by planning well in advance to get TB clearance certificates for stays in the U.K. lasting longer than six months.
What are the changes? Beginning on Dec. 31, the United Kingdom will require all long-term visa applicants from China, Hong Kong and Macau to undergo tuberculosis testing.
What does the change mean? Residents of China, Hong Kong and Macau applying for visas to the U.K. for more than six months must be tested.
Background: Over the past year, the U.K. has phased in several dozen countries requiring TB screening for long-term visas, and recently added 10 countries in October.
Under current rules for residents of China, Hong Kong and Macau, TB testing is only required for applicants wishing to settle in the U.K. As of Dec. 31, those applying to stay in the U.K. for more than six months, including employees and students, must present a TB clearance certificate. Those planning to stay for six months or less do not need to get a TB test, but applicants seeking a six-month fiancé(e) visa must get tested.
Applicants must go to a clinic approved by the U.K. Home Office and undergo a chest x-ray. Those who test negative will get a TB certificate. Those who are diagnosed with TB will not get a certificate and will receive a referral letter for treatment that can take up to six months to complete. Applicants cannot apply for a U.K. visa until they can prove they are free of the disease.
BAL Analysis: To avoid delays in processing, employers and sponsors should plan well in advance to get TB clearance certificates from employees, students or assignees from the designated areas for stays in the U.K. lasting longer than six months.
What are the changes? New initiatives by the Home Office will further expand priority visa service to Entry Clearance applicants in over 90 countries by spring 2014, and add same-day visa services for several countries by the end of 2014.
What does the change mean? Applicants for U.K. Entry Clearance in more countries will be able to expedite their applications in exchange for an additional nonrefundable fee.
Background: While the details are scant, the Home Office announced that it aims to attract business travelers to the U.K. by expanding priority visa service from 67 countries to 90 countries by spring 2014. Priority service allows all qualified applicants to have their applications processed before non-priority applicants by paying a nonrefundable fee.
The U.K. also plans to expand same-day visa service, available since May in India and newly-offered in China, to “other key locations” by the end of next year, according to an announcement by the Home Office.
Coinciding with the Prime Minister’s state visit to New Delhi and the Commonwealth Gathering, mobile biometrics clinics service is being rebranded and promoted to certain Indian VIP travelers as a way for them to get their biometric information and photo taken at their place of work. Furthermore, a pilot program in southern India will allow visa applicants to keep their passports while their application is pending. The goal is to expand the scheme throughout India if the pilot is successful.
BAL analysis: The initiatives, if launched, will significantly expand the number of foreign nationals who are able to take advantage of faster processing of visa applications. However, it is unclear how a government hiring freeze will impact the U.K.’s ability to handle an ever-increasing demand for priority processing, which in some posts accounts for double-digit percentages of all applications received. In addition, the 24-hour turnaround time for biometric screening, which is mandatory for all applications, may limit the extent to which “same-day” services are available in a given country.