The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has issued revised guidance documents for employers and education providers holding sponsor licenses under the country’s points-based immigration system. The revised guidance documents provide information for sponsors under Tiers 2, 4 and 5, and may be downloaded from the UKBA website.
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As this blog previously noted, as of January 6, 2010, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has started issuing identity cards to skilled foreign workers and their dependents. The identity card confirms the holder's identity, nationality, and immigration status in the UK, and also indicates whether the holder is authorized to work or study under the country’s points-based immigration system.
In November 2008, the UKBA started issuing identity cards to various non-European foreign nationals living in the UK, and in December 2009 it introduced voluntary identification cards for British, European Economic Area and Swiss nationals.
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By 2011, Malaysians might be required to obtain a visa in order to enter the United Kingdom, according to The Star Online. Presently, Malaysians may visit the U.K. for up to six months without a visa. However, the U.K. is considering rescinding Malaysia’s visa-free status due to the high number (an estimated 20,000) of Malaysian nationals overstaying and working illegally. If this occurs, Malaysian visa applicants will need to pay a nonrefundable processing fee of 1,200 Ringgits (approximately 350 USD; 220 GBP).
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The United Kingdom’s Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has introduced two new voluntary identification cards:
The national identification card will only be issued to British citizens. Job applicants may present the card to employers for identification and work authorization verification purposes, in lieu of presenting either: (1) a passport, or (2) a birth certificate and a document containing a National Insurance number. Similarly, an identification card issued to EEA and Swiss nationals (and, in extraordinary cases, to British nationals) can be presented in lieu of a job applicant’s national passport or identity card.
However, some EEA nationals from the European Union’s 10 “accession states” have no automatic right to work in the UK and employers must also check whether those applicants:
The two IPS-issued cards are not the same as the compulsory identity card for foreign nationals (ICFN), which the UK Border Agency is introducing for a range of categories of migrants from outside the EEA. The ICFN can also be used as evidence of the holder's right (or lack of a right) to work in the UK.
Image credit: Zscout370
The UK Border Agency has issued new advice to employers regarding the impact of company takeovers and restructurings on sponsor licenses and migrant workers.
Scenarios discussed in the advice include:
The BBC reports that the number of immigrants to Australia from China has surpassed those from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, thereby making China the country’s main source of immigrants. In the four months prior to October 2009, 6,350 Chinese nationals came to Australia. While emigration from China to Australia rose by 15% over the same period last year, it decreased from the UK and New Zealand by 28% and 47%, respectively. Emigration from the UK and New Zealand is largely employment-driven, whereas Chinese emigration is primarily to reunite families.
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The Daily Telegraph reports a significant increase in the number of foreign workers employed in the UK via intra company transfers under Tier 2 of the country’s points-based immigration system. In 2008, more than 48,000 intra-company transfer applications were filed; approximately 30,000 concerned foreign IT workers. In total, over 35,000 foreign IT workers entered the UK that year – three times the amount that entered during the height of the dot com boom in 2000.
The intra-company transfer scheme allows an employer to transfer to the UK its foreign-based staff who have at least six months’ knowledge-specific company experience. Unlike the points-based system’s other schemes, the employer is not required to first advertise the position to British workers. Transferred workers are permitted to work full-time in the UK for up to three years and may work up to 20 hours in supplementary employment in the same profession. After three years, these employees may apply for a two-year extension and, after five years in the UK, they may apply for permanent residency.
Critics warn that these intra-company transfers damage the UK’s economy and worsen the plight of British workers. Some contend that IT companies pay their foreign workers less than market wages.
Responding to these criticisms, the UK Border Agency stated that:
A master’s degree will no longer be required for highly skilled workers seeking employment in the UK under Tier 1 of its points-based immigration system, according to the Financial Times. The move came in response to strong lobbying by business interests, who argued that the restrictions blocked access to the best talent as the UK tries to emerge from the global recession.
However, to counter allegations that the change will make migration too easy, salary requirements will be increased and applicants must demonstrate that they previously earned:
There is no degree requirement for individuals who have earned more than £150,000 (approximately $240,000 USD) per year.
Image credit: wagner51
The UK Border Agency announced that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has completed its review of Tier 1 of the UK’s points-based immigration system. The MAC report recommends that:
The MAC continues to favor permitting migrants to work in the country after completing a UK course of study, but recommends reconsidering whether all courses and institutions should continue to be treated equally.
A decision whether to implement the recommendations is expected in early 2010. MAC’s previous recommendations concerning Tier 2’s advertising requirements were recently instituted.
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Starting November 30, 2009, the UK Border Agency will fingerprint all foreign nationals entering the country with biometric UK visas, entry clearances and identity cards. This initiative is aimed at improving security and securing UK ports-of-entry and borders. On arrival in the UK, border control will perform regular immigration checks on all foreign nationals seeking admission to the UK and then capture their fingerprints to verify that they match the fingerprints given when the foreign national started the process abroad. This added security measure by UK authorities will stop individuals from cheating the system by having someone else complete biometrics abroad so that possible bars to admission, such as a criminal conviction, are not picked up during the biometrics process.
Employers should also be aware of another UK immigration law development. As reported earlier on this blog, starting December 14, 2009, the resident labor market test for Tier 2 of the points-based system will be extended to four weeks for all jobs. This will replace the current requirement to advertise jobs for two weeks, or one week for jobs where the salary is £40,000 or more. Employers should understand that the increased recruitment period will delay Tier 2 applications by at least 2-3 weeks, and that any transfers to the UK under this program should be adjusted accordingly.
This entry was written by Ian Macdonald.
Responding to proposals by the Migration Advisory Committee, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced that before employers may hire migrant workers for a job under Tier 2 of the points-based system, they must advertise the position for four weeks. Previously, the test required two weeks of advertising, or one week’s advertising for jobs with salaries of £40,000 or more. The change is intended to better support British nationals looking for skilled jobs as the country comes out of the economic downturn.
The change will take effect December 14, 2009. To provide flexibility to employers, the four weeks of advertising will not need to run continuously. Employers that have already advertised positions need not re-advertise to meet the requirement.
Updated guidance for Tier 2 sponsors will be provided on UKBA’s website on December 14.
The UK Border Agency unveiled updated guidance notes for Tiers 1, 2 and 5 of its points-based immigration system. Significant changes include:
Additionally, new versions of the following application forms took effect on October 1:
The UK Border Agency announced it is three months ahead of schedule in issuing identity cards to skilled migrants renewing their visas. Issuance of identity cards to Tier 2 skilled workers will begin January 2010, which will add 30,000 foreign nationals per year to the list of individuals assigned identity cards. Ninety thousand cards have been issued to date, mainly to students under Tier 4 and to individuals renewing marriage visas.
To provide foreign nationals with alternate and more accessible venues for submitting fingerprints, these services will be made available, on a trial basis, at 17 Crown post offices, beginning October 2009. Applicants must pay a fee of £8 if they choose this option (by contrast, no fee is required when submitting fingerprints at a UK Border Agency or Identity & Passport Service Office).
Identity cards for skilled migrants and temporary workers under Tiers 1 and 5, originally scheduled to commence in 2011, will begin in 2010.
The UK Border Agency has announced that immigration applicants may now book appointments online under the following circumstances:
Family groups of 11 or more applying collectively must use the telephone booking service to schedule appointments. The telephone booking service will remain operative for individuals without internet access and for those who prefer to call.
The UK Border Agency confirmed that, beginning October 5, 2009, Tier 4 education sponsors can enter phase 3, a voluntary trial period under the UK’s points-based immigration system. During the trial period, sponsors are permitted to issue potential students visa letters while transitioning to using the sponsorship system to issue confirmations of acceptance for studies.
From October 5, 2009, to February 2010, sponsors can issue confirmations, visa letters, or both to potential students applying from within the United Kingdom. Applicants from outside the United Kingdom will still have to apply with a visa letter until February 2010.
Confirmations of acceptance for studies will become mandatory in February 2010.
Financial Times reports that lobbying efforts by lawyers and businesses led to a relaxation of the UK’s points-based immigration system posting requirement. British companies seeking to fill senior-level positions with salaries over £130,000 no longer are required to advertise the positions in local Jobcentres. However, companies must continue to advertise via other UK media.
In addition, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which oversees the points-based system, declined to ban intra-company transfers in which businesses bring in overseas staff. Unions had pushed for a ban, but officials believed that preventing foreign companies from relocating staff to the UK would negatively impact investment in Britain.
Rules for the points-based system are being tightened in other respects. The MAC recently recommended that the required posting period for jobs with salaries above £40,000 be increased fourfold, from one week to four weeks. Also, starting salaries of skilled non-EU workers without formal qualifications must be at least £32,000, up from £24,000; for qualified workers the starting salary increased from £17,000 to £20,000. Although the number of skilled non-EU workers coming to the UK has decreased recently, the new changes are expected to produce a further 10% cut.
The Financial Times reports that United Kingdom-based companies fear the points-based immigration system is negatively impacting their ability to compete. They complain that the rules have made it increasingly difficult to recruit, hire and train applicants and employees from outside Britain and that the system is flawed.
Problems have persisted since the system was introduced last year. Although designed to provide “British jobs for British workers,” the policy has frustrated companies in Britain. The requirement that businesses looking to fill high-level executive roles must post positions at local job centers, coupled with the inflexibility of visa examiners concerning application mistakes, has hampered recruitment efforts. Moreover, companies have found compliance difficult because the rules are constantly changing.
Government officials counter that 90% of applications from outside the UK are processed within three weeks. The Home Office is advising its visa case workers to be more flexible when examining applications. Most recently, the UK granted an exemption to candidates from colleges such as Harvard and Stanford, allowing them to participate in annual graduate recruitment drives until August.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced several changes to its points-based system. Changes include (PDF):
In addition, the UKBA has updated information it provides to employers wishing to sponsor foreign employees for a Tier 2, 4 or 5 visa. The 191-page packet (PDF) can be downloaded at UK Border Agency’s website.
The BBC reports mixed reviews on England’s recently revised immigration system. Some contend that individuals with long and distinguished professional careers are slighted under the system and that preference is given to younger, more educated individuals with less experience. Others believe the system, although tough, is fair and that it promotes employment of domestic workers while allowing employers to look outside Britain and the European Union (EU) to fill specialist vacancies.
Many dismiss the system’s effectiveness and have called for a cap on migration of non-EU nationals. However, supporters contend that the system’s clear and objective criteria, without quotas, allows for admission of the most beneficial immigrant workforce regardless of the economic climate.
Issues remain, however, concerning the UK Border Agency’s inefficiency processing biometric visas and responding to specific cases. Moreover, some are troubled by the system’s lack of an independent appeals process.
Current global migration patterns indicate that, due to rising unemployment rates and contracting economies in developed countries, fewer workers are migrating from poor to wealthier nations, and the flow of migrant workers returning to their home countries is increasing. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, this is potentially the biggest reversal in migration flows since the Great Depression.
Statistics illustrating the reversal include:
The UK Border Agency has announced changes to the way in which it processes applications by European nationals and their families for registration certificates, residence cards, family member residence stamps or confirmation of permanent residence in the UK. From June 1, 2009, the agency will check all applications upon receipt and will reject them unless the applicant has completed the application form correctly and provided the necessary supporting evidence. Family applications will be rejected in their entirety unless the necessary supporting evidence has been provided for all of the named applicants.
Further information about the application requirements is available at the agency’s “Applying under European Law” webpage.
The UK Border Agency has announced that, in order to assist the increasing number of foreign nationals who must enroll their biometric information (fingerprints and photograph) when they apply to extend their stay in the United Kingdom, in June it will open four additional biometric enrollment facilities. The latest information on the new sites is available on the agency’s webpage on biometric enrollment.
The agency’s announcement notes: “By recording and checking fingerprints and digital photographs against existing records before deciding whether to grant permission to stay, we can strengthen our border and reduce abuse of the system.” The agency has been issuing, since November 2008, compulsory identity cards to foreign nationals from outside the European Economic Area who extend their stay in the UK as partners or students. In March 2009, the agency expanded the scheme to additional applicant categories.
The UK Border Agency has announced that passport holders from South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Bolivia and Venezuela who are registered on the Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS) will need to re-enroll in order to continue using the IRIS facility. IRIS is a means of border control allowing registered travelers to enter the United Kingdom through automated barriers at certain airports, where a registered person’s identity is confirmed by simply looking into a special camera.
Additional information about the re-enrollment requirement, and about IRIS generally, is available on the IRIS section of the Border Agency’s website.
The United Kingdom's government has announced the start dates for new short stay visitor visa requirements for nationals of Bolivia, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Venezuela. Under the new requirements, nationals of these countries wishing to visit the UK for up to six months, will need to obtain a visit visa, and provide their fingerprints before they travel. Travelers from these countries who transit through the UK en route to other countries also will need a transit visa.
Start dates for the new visa requirements are:
As reported at KableNET.com, the UK Border Agency plans to work with the United States, Canada and Australia to “introduce a system of appropriate data protection arrangements for fingerprint checks and data sharing.” This system, which is intended to help identify and bar foreign criminals from entering the UK, is one of the programs discussed in the agency’s business plan issued on April 1.
Other highlights of the business plan include:
Effective March 31, 2009, the United Kingdom’s immigration rules covering highly skilled migrant workers have changed, raising the requirements of two categories in Tier 1 of the points-based system. Following the change, anyone applying for permission to enter the UK in the Tier 1 (General) category for the first time, or who applies to switch into the Tier 1 (General) category from another category, will need to have a Master's degree and a minimum salary of £20,000 to score points for qualifications and earnings respectively. Migrants applying to extend their permission to stay under Tier 1 (General) will not be affected by the changes.
The Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) category has also changed. Anyone applying in this category will not be awarded points for Postgraduate Diplomas or Postgraduate Certificates other than Postgraduate Certificates in Education (or PGDEs in Scotland only).
New versions of the Tier 1 (General) and Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) application forms, as well as revised guidance for applicants in these categories, are available on the UK Border Agency website.
The UK Border Agency has announced changes to the immigration rules for the following categories of business visitors:
Details of these changes are outlined in the immigration rules and the immigration directorate instructions.
As of April 6, the UK Border Agency is extending the range of applications that can be made in person at their public enquiry offices. Applicants will be able to use the “premium service” at the public enquiry offices if they are applying under specified categories of Tiers 1, 2 and 5 of the points-based system. The Agency began setting appointments for the affected categories on March 2.
The United Kingdom’s Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has announced three significant changes intended to support domestic workers and raise the bar for foreign workers wishing to enter the country. As of April 1, the UK government will:
Home Secretary Smith said:
“Just as in a growth period we needed migrants to support growth, it is right in a downturn to be more selective about the skill levels of those migrants, and to do more to put British workers first.”
The UK Border Agency has temporarily reinstated the skilled worker category for representatives of overseas newspapers, news agencies and broadcasting organizations. The skilled worker category is one of several being deleted as part of the changes to the United Kingdom's immigration system. The reason for the temporary reinstatement is that, although most representatives of overseas newspapers, news agencies and broadcasting organizations will be eligible to apply under tier two of the new points-based system, a small number of individuals may not be eligible because they do not have a sponsor based in the United Kingdom. The Border Agency will introduce a more permanent solution later in 2009 so that representatives whose employers are not established in the United Kingdom can apply under tier two.
The UK government has announced its proposed fee levels for all visa, immigration and nationality applications and services in 2009/10. The press release issued by the UK Border Agency states:
In setting the fees for 2009/10, the Government has continued to take into account the United Kingdom's international competitiveness at a challenging time for the global economy.
A schedule of proposed fees is included in the government’s Written Ministerial Statement.
The United Kingdom’s Home Office announced the introduction of new visa checks for Bolivia, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Venezuela after they failed to pass Britain’s strict new visa waiver test. This measure is just one of many the government has enacted to further tighten border security. The visa waiver test reviewed all non-European countries and regions to evaluate the risk their citizens might pose, in terms of illegal immigration, crime and security, by not having to apply for a visa before entering the UK.
UK Immigration Minister Phil Woolas may tighten the immigration points system in order to limit the number of skilled foreign workers entering the UK before the summer, when 400,000 students will be graduating from university. As reported in the Daily Mail, Woolas stated: “The points-based system that has been introduced allows us to toughen the criteria, and clearly in the economic situation that is something it is beholden on us to do.” The plan, dubbed “British jobs for British graduates,” has been under debate for several weeks, and it now goes to Cabinet for discussion.
KableNET reports that the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is planning to establish web-based embassies for parts of the world where it does not have a physical presence. This trial project is not yet live, but the FCO plans to make Maldives the site for first virtual embassy. Other possible locations are Honduras, Kyrgyzstan and Madagascar.
The “virtual embassy” websites will be interactive, including an external page for the public providing basic information on the country (or region) and links to consular and visa services. The virtual embassies also will provide support tools for existing “laptop diplomats”--FCO staff who work away from embassies using mobile communications and laptop computers.
A record 151,635 work permits were issued in the United Kingdom in 2008. The Telegraph further reports that:
These figures emerged on the day that Britain officially entered a recession.
As reported at Personneltoday.com, Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) chief economist John Philpott has recommended further restrictions on migration into the UK during the economic downturn. Philpott suggested that the points-based system should be tightened up to slow the arrival of non-EU workers. Under the points-based system, foreign workers wishing to work in the UK accrue points according to their qualifications, previous earnings, age and UK experience. The government can adjust the number of points required for entry to the UK.
The Telegraph (UK) reports that The Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill, expected to take effect in April 2009, will levy an “immigration tax” of approximately US$30 upon entry into the UK on a visa, to go into a “transitional fund” to help deal with the impact of immigration. The bill also will introduce the concept of “probationary citizens” for migrants who want to settle in the UK: after five years’ residency, an applicant enters a probationary period, the length of which will depend on contributions the applicant has made to society, such as volunteer or community work.
Under the United Kingdom’s new Employer Sponsorship system (in place since November 27, 2008), employers must register for a license in order to employ non-European Economic Area migrants. The UK Border Agency announced that 4,875 employers in the UK have registered as sponsors as of January 5, 2009.
According to the Border Agency, the new system:
A study by Migrationwatch UK found that, although the number of people working in the UK rose by 1.34 million from 2001 to 2008, the number of British-born workers in employment fell by 62,000 over that same period. The number of migrant workers from Eastern Europe increased by half a million. These figures are being used to argue that Prime Minister Gordon Brown's policy of "British jobs for British workers" is failing to meet its goals.
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