Can immigrants work in the UK?

A new immigration system for employing non-UK employees was implemented by the government of the United Kingdom towards the end of the year 2020. This system had the same regulations for EU nationals and non-EU people alike.

In addition to this, it made an effort to streamline the Immigration Rules, the majority of which are concerned with work visas.

To better assist their clients in making use of the new system, solicitors need to be informed of the changes.

Significant modifications

A new skilled worker route was made available by the Home Office on December 1, 2020 for foreign employees who already have a job offer from a company in the United Kingdom.

Free movement within the EU was terminated in the UK on January 1, 2021. As a direct consequence of this, newly arrived EU individuals are required to get authorization in order to enter, reside, or work in the UK.

Those individuals who were already residing in the UK before to the 1st of January 2021 are need to submit an application for settled status no later than the 30th of June 2021. This will allow them to continue living and working in the UK. This time limit has already gone for the vast majority of individuals.

Employers in the United Kingdom who wish to hire people from non-EU or EU nations who do not already have authorisation to work in the UK are need to get a sponsor license.

Learn more about employer sponsorship by reading the related articles.

Workers who have experience and an offer of employment

Those who want to find employment in the UK after January 2021 are need to:

possess a work offer from a sponsor who is authorized to hire you.

attain a specific level of expertise and financial stability

Talk to me in English.

As of the first of December in 2021, the skilled worker visa route took the place of the tier 2 (general) visa category. This resulted in a number of substantial adjustments:

The minimum wage requirement for general eligibility was brought down to £25,600 (from £30,000).

The level of expertise needed was lowered from degree level down to A-level or its equivalent.

It was decided to suspend the yearly limit on certificates of sponsorship.

It was decided to do away with the resident labor market test.

The cooling-off time has been done away with.

The regulations governing the transition from one kind of visa to another were loosened.

The restriction that prevented visa applicants from holding more than 10 percent of the shares in the firm that sponsored them from doing so has been lifted.

Applications for visas designated for skilled workers are scored using a point system. To pass, you'll need a total of 70 points.

It is possible to swap the points earned for certain features, such as pay or certification. Therefore, if an individual makes less than £25,600 per year, they may still be permitted to attend provided they can demonstrate that they have a:

employment offer in a certain profession that is experiencing a shortage, or

PhD in a field related to the work

Other work visas

The global talent visa took the role of the tier 1 (exceptional talent) visa on March 29, 2020. This visa was intended for immigrants who did not have a work offer.

Migrants who do not meet the requirements for the Global Talent Visa but who are interested in establishing or operating a company in the UK may be eligible to apply for one of the following visas:

innovator visa

start-up visa

These pathways, together with other pre-existing pathways for temporary visas (formerly known as Tier 5), such as the Youth Mobility Scheme or for specialized jobs, are now open to non-EU nationals in addition to EU citizens. They include a temporary worker visa for those who work on farms seasonally.

The United Kingdom's Home Office has stated that on July 1, 2021, a graduate route would become available to overseas students who have graduated from a university in the UK.

Find out more information about the graduate program for students from other countries.

Sponsorship for businesses and organizations

Employers in the UK who wish to hire employees from outside the UK will be required to apply for a sponsor license, unless the UK employers solely employ people who already have the right to work in the UK in one of the following categories:

EU nationals who have been granted the status of either settled or pre-settled under the EU settlement process

non-EU nationals who have been granted the right to reside in the UK indefinitely

Employers have a responsibility to ensure that they are in compliance with inspections for the right to work as well as other requirements – particularly between the 1st of January and the 30th of June 2021, during which time certain EU residents may still be applying to the EU settlement program.

Included in a submission for a sponsor license are the following:

submitting an application using the online form

provide proof that the company is actively doing business in the UK

There is a cost that must be paid, and the processing time for the application is normally eight weeks.

At the moment, there are two primary methods available in the UK for sponsoring persons on a long-term basis:

skillful worker

intra-company transfer

When it was implemented on December 1, 2020, the skilled worker route resulted in a significant number of adjustments (see above). The intra-company transfer route is, for the most part, equivalent to the previous intra-company transfer category, which was known as tier 2.

What we are doing now

We offered webinar sessions for members on the new immigration system in October 2020 and January 2021.

Our view

We are in favor of a visa path that does not need the applicant to have a definite employment offer in place before applying, since this would attract highly qualified people to relocate to the UK.

Regarding employees who are sponsored, we welcome the following:

a lifting of quotas on visas in the tier 2 category

elimination of the test for the resident labor market

lowering of the general salary criterion for tier 2 applicants to £25,600

Nevertheless, we are of the opinion that a wage barrier should be reasonable for all enterprises in the UK, irrespective of their size, industry, or location.

If employees who make less than the benchmark income are prevented from migrating to the United Kingdom, we are afraid that this would cause severe disruption to the economy.

We have suggested the following to the government:

interacts thoughtfully with many stakeholders

takes precautions to prevent the possibility of exploitation in any point-based system

adjusts income levels taking into consideration several criteria, such as location in the country

helps firms, particularly small and medium-sized ones, become involved with the system for granting sponsorship licenses by, for instance, relaxing some of the requirements placed on sponsors.

decreases the number of regulations and procedures that must be followed by those who possess sponsor licenses

We believe that any future immigration system should be just and fair to all those who apply for it, irrespective of their country of origin.