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IMPACT – HIGH
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.
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.
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.
IMPACT – MEDIUM
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.
IMPACT – Low
What is the change? Starting 31 October, residents of 10 more countries will be required to undergo tuberculosis (TB) screening before applying to visit the U.K. for stays longer than six months.
What does the change mean? The new requirement adds a step to the pre-application process for residents of these countries.
Background: In the past year, the U.K. has begun mandating TB screening for residents of several dozen countries for visas lasting longer than six months. For applications submitted on or after 31 October, TB screenings will be required for residents of:
Applications submitted before 31 October will not require TB screening certificates. The new requirement does not apply to stays of six months or less. However, six-month fiancé(e) visa applications must present TB screening certificates.
BAL analysis: Clients are advised to acquire TB screening certificates in advance for affected employees.
The Home Office plans to launch a pilot program in November that will require certain individuals to pay a cash bond of 3,000 pounds to enter the United Kingdom. The countries targeted for the new bond will include Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as citizens of these countries are considered high risks for overstays. The measure is intended to reduce overstaying and abuse of public services, and will apply to individuals seeking six-month visas. If citizens of these nations fail to leave the U.K. by the time their visas expire, they will forfeit the cash bond.
BAL will provide details about the pilot program as they become available.
For additional information on British immigration matters, please contact uk@bal.com.