A summary of the reforms which the Home Office plans to roll out in Q4 of 2021 is below:
1.) Proposal to reduce documentary evidence required for a Sponsor Licence application
In order to employ overseas nationals in the UK under a sponsored work route, such as the Skilled Worker visa (previously known as Tier 2 (General)), an employer needs to first obtain a Sponsor License.
The Home Office is looking to simplify the application process and reduce the amount of documentary evidence required for a sponsor licence application. At Gherson, we have seasoned expertise in helping businesses of all sizes obtain their Sponsor Licences and we will be closely monitoring the roll-out of these new changes. If you are a business looking to sponsor an overseas national in the UK, please do not hesitate to come to us.
2.) Skilled Worker Eligibility Checking Tool
Only certain jobs qualify for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route and other sponsored work routes in the UK. The Home Office is planning to introduce a new support service to make it easier for employers and migrants to check whether a certain job/role qualifies for sponsorship. The Immigration Rules are complex in this regard, and one would also need to take into account the genuine vacancy test in all cases. As such, we do not foresee such a support system replacing the need for qualified legal advice. If your business wants to know whether a role qualifies for sponsorship, please do not hesitate to contact us.
3.) Salary Check Mechanism
Under most sponsored work routes, the Immigration Rules require migrants to be paid a minimum salary and often that minimum salary is determined by the specific role in which the migrant is undertaking. As such, the Home Office is planning on introducing a mechanism which allows them to check with HMRC to see whether a sponsored migrant is actually being paid above the rate specified in the migrants’ visa applications. If your business wishes to obtain advice with respect to the rate payable for particular roles which you are hoping to fill with sponsored migrants, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice.
How Gherson can assist
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 for advice, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.
The information in this blog 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 this blog. 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.
©Gherson 2021