The UK new Immigration system – What you need to know

Within this statement are several broad stroke projections of UK immigration, as well as some more specific measures planned for 2021 and 2022, outlined below:

1. Electronic Travel Authorisation

The Home Office has restated their intention of introducing electronic pre-clearance for those travelling to the UK without a visa. Such a system would closely mirror the current ETIAS scheme planned by the EU, and the ESTA system currently used in the USA. This system, referred to as an Electronic Travel Authorisation (“ETA”) would reportedly cost £9 and apply to all those who do not hold a physical visa, and who are not British or Irish citizens, coming to the UK for a short stay or transiting through the UK. This system is currently projected to come into force by the end of 2024.

2. Digitisation of the Border

The Home Office is determined to replace all physical vignettes and visas with electronic counterparts, thus eventually fully digitizing border immigration and allowing border force to verify your status via their computers as opposed to one presenting their documentation for inspection.

3. Business visas

The intention to continue to ‘simplify’ the Immigration Rules remains strong, and to this end the Home Office intends to alter and combine the current Sportsperson and Temporary Sporting Routes into a new route, to be known as the International Sportsperson route, due to be announced later in 2021.

In a similarly streamlined approach, the Home Office also intends to combine several aspects of the various work visa categories, such as the intra-company transfer visa route and the representative of an overseas business route, into a yet to be fully announced “Global Business Mobility” route which is intended to cater to ‘import and export related secondments’.

There has previously been discussion around a non-sponsored work route, but details have yet to emerge. The Home Office has promised that this route will open in Spring of 2022, however, further details are still awaited.

4. Family routes

While no specific alterations or advancements have yet been posited, the Home Office has acknowledged that there are multiple family routes and many ways to attain settlement within these paths.Therefore, simplification of family visa routes has been promised, however, specifics as to how this simplification may take place have yet to be provided.

In the more immediate term, the Home Office strategy statement did lay out the measures planned for 2021 and 2022 somewhat more specifically. A synopsis of these is provided below:

1. The Graduate Route will launch on 1 July 2021, aimed at recent graduates from higher education institutions and offering them the opportunity to remain in the UK for a further fixed two-year period, during which they work, look for work, and use the time to their advantage. Those who have graduated with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree may apply for a two-year period of further stay, whilst those graduating with a PhD will be able to apply for a three-year fixed period.
2. The Global Talent visa is being amended to allow pathways within the visa for those unique individuals who have won ‘highly prestigious awards or prizes’ (read Oscar or Emmy). Holding such an award may remove the requirement for such individuals to gain the endorsement of a Home Office endorsing body.
3. The Home Office will be ending ID cards for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who were not residing in the UK prior to the end of the Brexit transition period (31 December 2020), or who are not covered under the terms of the Citizens’ Rights Agreements. Those individuals will now require a passport when travelling to the UK, no longer being able to simply produce their ID cards for entry at the border.
4. Mandatory ground for refusal on the basis of criminality will be imposed for those serious and persistent criminals whose presence in the UK the Home Office deems to not be conducive to the public good. This also means the refusal of entry to those seeking to enter the UK as a visitor or for a period of less than 6 months, if said person has received an out of court disposal, a non-custodial sentence, or a custodial sentence of less than 6 months. This will apply unless a period of 12 months has passed between the incident and the date of proposed entry to the UK.
5. An Online immigration status service is to be implemented, to build upon the standard of the EU Settlement scheme, designed to allow other Government departments and public bodies to verify immigration statuses directly with the Home Office, instead of the individual proving said rights to the body in question. There are also further plans to allow individuals to view their immigration status and prove this status to others, such as employers or landlords, via an online portal in the same vein as those who hold status under the EU Settlement Scheme or BNO routes.

There is a positive undercurrent of progress relayed through the strategy statement, and one hopes that the timelines presented are met. It will prove interesting to see how the Home Office progresses their proposed plans, and one hopes this is done smoothly and effectively.

Gherson has extensive experience in all aspects of UK immigration law. If you have any queries relating to the blogs published or are interested in talking to us about your specific circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter to stay informed in relation to UK immigration.

The information in these blogs is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in these blogs. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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