Immigration Law New Rules April 2022

Lawyers will need to be keeping their legal knowledge up to date as the UK Government introduced new immigration laws on 6th April 2022 which may potentially catch lawyers out if they are not careful.

So What Changes Are BeIng Introduced?

The UK Government has changed the Immigration Rules and set these out in a Statement of Changes. The new rules came into force at the beginning of the new tax year. The Government appear to be:

• introducing new pathways for migration and
• overhaul pre-existing immigration routes.

The over-arching framework will be known as a Global Business Mobility classification and will be broken down into groups. A person will then be placed into the specific group depending upon whether their personal circumstances meet the respective qualifying criteria. The headline figure is that on 6th April 2022 the Intra-Company Transfer migration pathway will be repealed and replaced by the Specialist Worker or Senior migration pathway and it will apply if:

• a person meets the definition of an employee
• employed by an overseas located entity and
• the employer has made the decision to relocate qualifying employees to the United Kingdom.

The legislation makes it more challenging for certain employees to qualify for the Specialist or Senior Worker pathway. Changes have also been made to the qualifying gateway in terms of remuneration packages under this pathway and it assumably means that a smaller percentage of employed persons affected will meet the qualifying criterion. This route appears to be the only new route which provides a new and incidentally higher remuneration package threshold. By way of context under the previous Intra-Company Transfer pathway it was possible for a person to earn £41,500 and qualify. However, under the new rules affected employees will need to be earning £42,400 before qualifying for the Specialist or Senior Worker pathway.

The Government have also communicated that affected employees will not be allowed to utilise this route to settle in the United Kingdom and establish their residence here.. From a recruitment perspective the following new visa categories will be brought in:

• High Potential Individuals

The UK Government want to make the UK attractive to the best and brightest candidates and have designed this new visa to further this aim. To qualify for it, candidates will need to have enrolled at a university which meets the Home Office’s criteria for a ‘top global university’.

• Scale-up

To qualify for this visa pathway businesses should submit evidence that their turnover or staffing level has increased by twenty percent over the last three years.

• Graduate

This visa will apply to international students. Many graduates complete their respective courses then face delays in commencing full-time graduate roles. This new pathway seeks to resolve the frustration by removing the need for the respective application to proceed through a decision-making process. Graduates will be able to start their respective jobs on the condition that they have successfully finished their university course.

• Seasonal Workers

Under these new requirements workers classified as ‘Seasonal’ will be able to earn £10.10 per hour as part of new minimum wage rules.

Why Are the UK Government Bringing In These Reforms?

The UK are aiming to introduce less opaque and more straightforward rules under the new reforms. The new rules have been designed with those commercial business who employ people and those working in the economy in mind. On 6th April 2022 the reforms will have an impact upon ten key areas of immigration law. Affected lawyers should be keeping across the new developments and the key criteria to be applied to avoid providing clients with negligent advice.

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THE ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN USING THE FOLLOWING SOURCES

[1] Elliott, Carine – UK Business Immigration: Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules – What Employers Need to Know – 16 March 2022 – Squire Paton Boggs - UK Business Immigration: Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules – What Employers Need to Know | Employment Law Worldview

[2] Elliott, C – Spring 2022 – an influx of new immigration routes to the UK – 21 February 2022 – Squire Patton Boggs – 21 February 2022

[3] HM Government – The UK’s Point Based Immigration System – August 2021 - New Plan for Immigration: Legal Migration and Border Control (publishing.service.gov.uk)

[4] HM Government – Intra-company Transfer report: October 2021 - 4th November 2021 - Intra-company Transfer report: October 2021 (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[5] UK Government – Statement of changes to the Immigration Rues: HC 1118, 15 March 2022 - Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1118, 15 March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)