New Immigration Rules Released
The UK Home Office has released an update to the Immigration
rules, below are the key changes to make note of:
Changes to the Skilled Worker, ICT and Tier 5 Government
Authorized Exchange Route
From May 21, 2021: A new ATAS (Academic Technology Approval
Scheme) requirement is being introduced for certain roles, which
must be confirmed on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) and
requires the applicant to provide a valid ATAS certificate.
ATAS is traditionally used for international students (apart
from exempt nationalities) and are intending to study at
postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects. The subjects are
those where students’ knowledge could be used in programs to
develop Advanced Conventional Military Technology (ACMT), weapons
of mass destruction (WMDs) or their means of delivery. These
students must apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme
(ATAS) certificate before they can study in the UK.
The new rules state that a non-exempt national requires a valid
ATAS certificate if they are applying in a work route which
requires a Certificate of Sponsorship, that Certificate of
Sponsorship is issued by a work sponsor that is also a licensed
student sponsor, and the role set out in the Certificate of
Sponsorship is one of the relevant occupation codes, includes an
element of research at PhD level or above and that field of
research is a subject as listed in the immigration rules.
Changes to the Skilled Worker route
From April 6th:
· There will be an introduction of a blanket £10.10
per hour to the Skilled Worker minimum salary requirement. This
will not apply to an applicant who was granted permission as a
Skilled Worker under the Rules in place before April 6, 2021 and
has had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then.
· If a sponsor wishes to reduce a salary on the basis the
Skilled Worker can offset the reduced salary by relying on a
different set of tradeable points, a new application will be
needed. This ensures the new points are assessed by the Home Office
and the Skilled Worker continues to meet the requirements of the
route
· Amendment is being made to the transitional
arrangements for the acceptance of allowances for people previously
on Tier 2 General, to incorporate those who have since extended
their leave as a Skilled Worker and have held this leave
continuously
From July 1st:
· Those who wish to rely on the ‘New Entrant’
provision for skilled worker will also need to include any leave
granted under the new Graduate route towards the maximum 4 years
permitted under the new entrant provision.
· In relation to the ability to switch from
Student/Graduate visa to Skilled Worker, a change is being made to
the requirement for the applicant’s most recent permission to
be as a Student (or Graduate), so that “most recent
permission” does not include permission as a visitor.
Changes to the ICT route
From April 6th:
· A transitional provision is being reinstated to exempt
Intra-Company workers who have been in Intra-Company routes since
before April 5, 2011 from the maximum time limits that apply in the
Intra-Company routes. Eligible workers can extend their permission
for up to five years with each application.
Changes to the Global Talent route
From May 5th:
· A change is being made to allow applicants who have
reached the pinnacle of their careers to bypass the endorsement
requirement and instead qualify if they have received a prestigious
prize.
Employers who may be affected are advised to contact an
immigration specialist for general or case-specific advice.
Please note that this is general information only and not
intended as advice on a specific matter. Please feel free to
contact FGI directly with questions
exclusive to your situation. This news alert may have been prepared
using information from Peregrine Immigration Management, which is
licensed to FGI.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.