Immigration policy in the UK is adapting to both social and economic needs. Over the last few years, we have seen the immigration system shaped by a need to restrict the rising numbers of net migration. This led to the implementation of measures such as rising skill levels and salary thresholds and making it more expensive for UK employers to sponsor foreign nationals in the UK.

However, the system has also had to adapt to help bridge the skills gap following Brexit and ensuring the UK is still an attractive country for retaining the best talent. Over the last two years, the government has pledged to increase investment into the UK by creating new visa routes enabling fast-growing and innovative start-ups to attract and retain highly-skilled talent in the UK (Scale-up Worker visa). Routes such as the High Potential Individual visa, for recent graduates, has also helped bolster the government’s manifesto.

In the wake of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, the UK rapidly introduced new visa routes to ensure that Ukrainians could safely and legally enter the UK. This also led to the passing of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which provides the UK authorities with the power to impose visa penalties on countries deemed to pose a risk to international peace and security. This has yet to be put into practice and it remains to be seen how this will be implemented, including any reciprocity of these measures by other countries.

We are seeing an increased focus on illegal migration into the UK and there is a particular attention on creating an immigration system that is compassionate but also fair. As a direct consequence, the Illegal Migration Bill has been introduced, which is currently being debated in Parliament.

The UK has seen a substantial change in its immigration system following Brexit. Since 1 January 2021, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals moving to the UK require immigration permission, ending the free movement of labour. There have also been significant changes to Skilled Worker visa requirements:

• The certificate of sponsorship (CoS) cap has been suspended, meaning there is no cap on the number of eligible skilled workers that can enter the UK.
• The required skill level has been reduced from RQF 6 (graduate-level role) to RQF 3 (A level or equivalent).
• Salary thresholds have been reduced.
• The resident labour market test has been abolished.

However, with a general election expected in 2024, there remains a continuous focus on immigration into the UK. In an attempt to reduce net migration figures, it remains to be seen whether the government will re-introduce measures such as the resident labour market test, higher skills thresholds and increased government fees in an attempt to limit economic migration.

UK immigration has also invested heavily in digitisation. An increasing number of UK immigration applicants are now issued with digital immigration status, meaning no physical documents are issued. Access is granted to an online portal allowing the applicant to generate “share codes” to demonstrate their right to work to employers, right to rent to landlords and access to other services in the UK. The digital status also allows travel through e-gates at the UK border.

The advantages of the digital status are clear: biometrics can be submitted using a mobile app as opposed to attending a physical appointment, speeding up processing times; digital statuses cannot be lost or stolen; and they are accessible remotely. With remote and hybrid working becoming increasingly common, digitisation of the immigration process is a welcome change to support a more fluid workforce.

The digital status process scope has now broadened to include non-EU nationals applying for a Skilled Worker visa from within the UK who already hold a valid Biometric residence permit (BRP) and are aged 18 and over. Applicants from the rest of the world are still required to attend in-person biometrics appointments and are issued with a physical BRP card as the immigration document for their time in the UK.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is currently planning to phase out BRP cards by December 2024, after which digital status is expected to be the norm for all UK visa holders.

By the end of 2024, “non-visa nationals”, including EU and US citizens, will need to have an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), before they visit. These non-visa nationals can currently travel to the UK without a visa if visiting for less than six months. The new ETA system will require visitors to apply and pay for the ETA before travel. As a result either an ETA or a visa will be mandatory for all travellers to the UK, except British and Irish citizens.

The main sponsor-based employment categories in the UK are the Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility) visas.

The Skilled Worker visa is for migrant workers with a job offer in the UK. Under the points-based system, applicants require a minimum of 70 points. The job must be at an appropriate skill level, meet the minimum salary requirements, and the applicant must speak and understand English to at least level B1. An initial visa can be issued for up to five years and can be extended. After five years in the UK, the applicant may be eligible to apply for “settlement” (permanent residence) in the UK.

The Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility) visa is typically for employees who currently work for an overseas “linked entity” of the UK company. Similar to the Skilled Worker visa, it requires meeting a minimum points criterion based on salary and skill level, which are generally higher than for a Skilled Worker visa. However, there is no English language requirement. A Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility) visa does not lead to Settlement in the UK. The visa can only be held for maximum of five years in any six-year period, or nine years in any ten-year period for high earners (salary of GBP73,900 or above).

The UK offers a range of unsponsored work and investment immigration routes, depending on the circumstances of the applicant.

Unsponsored work routes include:

• Youth Mobility Scheme: two-year visa for those aged 18-30 from certain countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand;
• British National (Overseas): five-year visa for applicants and their family members from Hong Kong with British (overseas) nationality;
• Ancestry: five-year visa for Commonwealth citizens with a UK born grandparent;
• Global Talent: for leaders/potential leaders in academia, arts/culture, digital technology (requires a recognised endorsing body);
• Start Up/Innovator Visa: for those wishing to set up and run an innovative business in the UK (requires a recognised endorsing body); and
• High Potential Individual Visa: for those who have graduated from an eligible university in the last five years.

The Immigration Rules set out a list of permitted activities that visitors can undertake in the UK. Typical permitted activities include:

• tourism and leisure;
• general business activities;
• work-related training;
• medical treatment;
• permitted paid engagements;
• visits for marriage or civil partnership; and
• transit.

The maximum permitted period of a visit to the UK is six months in any 12-month period. A visitor should not intend to live in the UK through frequent or successive visits, remain in the UK for extended periods or make the UK their main home.

Business visitors must not intend to work in the UK, which includes taking employment, establishing or running a business as a self-employed person, doing a work placement or internship, filling a role or providing short-term cover for a role within a UK-based organisation.

Working in the UK is tied to having the right to do so from an immigration perspective. Provided this exists, an individual can work remotely in the UK from their home/place of residence.

It is recognised that visitors to the UK can carry out activities related to their home country role (ie, checking emails or answering phone calls); however, these activities must be incidental to their main purpose of visiting the UK. No productive work should be carried out whilst visiting the UK. Where visitors intend on spending a large proportion of their time in the UK and will be doing some remote work activities, as above, they need to ensure that they remain genuinely employed overseas and do not intend to live or work in the UK through frequent or successive visits.

The requirement to meet a minimum level of English exists for a number of visa routes including study, work, family and settlement/citizenship applications. Evidence of meeting the requirement will need to be submitted with the UK visa application.

Applicants from non-majority English speaking countries can normally meet this requirement through one of two ways:

• taking a UKVI-approved English language test at a secure test centre. Most UK work and study visas will require a comprehensive English test covering reading, writing, speaking and listening proficiency; and
• verification of an academic qualification taught outside the UK and taught entirely in English, through a body called UK ENIC; UK ENIC will confirm whether the degree is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or above and whether it was taught at the appropriate level of English required for the specific UK visa type.

Exemptions may apply in certain situations. For instance, an exemption might apply if the applicant has previously demonstrated meeting this requirement in a previous successful UK application or if the applicant is a national of a majority English-speaking country, such as the US, Australia, or Canada.

Individuals who are coming to the UK for more than six months and are currently living in or have lived in a number of specified countries in the past six months, will be required to undergo a mandatory tuberculosis (TB) test at a UKVI secure test centre. This includes children aged 11 and over.

The test includes a chest x-ray to test for TB. If the test shows no active TB is present, a certificate will be provided which must be submitted with the UK visa application. The certificate will be valid for six months.

For a Skilled Worker visa, applicants would usually need to be paid GBP26,200 per year (or GBP10.75 per hour) or meet the “going rate” of the occupation code assigned to the job role, whichever is higher. For example, if an annual salary is GBP£27,000 per annum, but the “going rate” for the role is GBP30,000, the salary requirements would not be met.

There are different salary rules for those working in some healthcare or education jobs where the going rate is based on national pay scales.

In some cases, it is also possible to apply for a Skilled Worker visa in an eligible job with a salary of at least GBP20,960 or the going rate, and at least GBP10.75 per hour.

Applicants can be paid between 70% and 90% of the usual going rate, if the salary is at least GBP20,960 per year and the role is one of the following:

• a job in a shortage occupation;
• the applicant is under 26, studying or a recent graduate, or in professional training;
• the applicant has a science, technology, engineering, or maths (STEM) PhD level qualification relevant to the job (a relevant PhD qualification in any other subject requires the salary to be at least GBP23,580); and
• the applicant has a postdoctoral position in science or higher education.

If applying for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa the salary thresholds are at least GBP45,800 per annum, and GBP24,220 per annum for a Graduate Trainee visa. The minimum salary of the relevant occupation code would also need to be met, whichever is higher.

All Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker roles would need to be for a job that is on the list of eligible occupations, as set out in the “Appendix Skilled Occupations” of the Immigration Rules.

Whilst there are no minimum qualifications required to apply for a sponsored work visa, the application does require a minimum number of points, some of which are obtained by the sponsor issuing the applicant a CoS. In so doing, the sponsor is certifying that the role in question meets a minimum skill level of Level 3 per the National Qualifications Framework, and the applicant has the necessary skills and qualifications required for the role.

A sponsored visa under the Skilled Worker category or the Senior or Specialist Worker route, requires a sponsor to issue a CoS to an individual. The CoS is exclusive to the individual and is limited to the issuing sponsor. Should the individual wish to change employer in the UK, they will need to be issued with a new CoS from their new employer and be issued with a new UK visa.

Processing times for UK visas vary depending on the visa type and submission location.

Most “non settlement” immigration applications filed outside the UK are decided within 10-15 working days of biometric information being submitted. Standard settlement applications can take up to six months to be decided.

Applications filed from within the UK in non-settlement categories are typically decided within 8-12 weeks. Settlement applications can take up to six months to be decided.

It is generally advised that after submitting an application for a UK visa, entry to the UK should be limited or avoided until the application decision is reached. Similarly, once a visa application has been submitted from within the UK and biometric data has been provided, leaving the Common Travel Area may result in the application being considered as withdrawn. In such cases, a fresh application will need to be submitted.

Priority processing services are available for the majority of immigration applications,  although their availability may depend on the specific country of application.

In general, if applying from overseas, some countries may offer priority processing of around five working days, and this is available in a large number of overseas locations. Some locations also offer a “super priority” service, which aims to process most applications by the next working day. These services can be purchased online at the time of submitting the visa application online or, in limited locations, purchased in person at the time of the visa appointment.

If applying overseas for a partner/family visa of a British/settled person, priority services can reduce the standard processing time of four to six months to around 30 working days.

For those applying within the UK, priority services are available that aim to process applications within five working days, as well as the “super priority” service, which aims for a next working day turnaround. Family/partner visas submitted within the UK can be processed using the super priority service.

It is worth noting that priority processing of immigration applications can sometimes be temporarily suspended by the UKVI without notice.

Individuals coming to the UK for more than six months will be issued with an entry vignette in their passport, which will allow them to enter the UK within 90 days of its issuance. Upon arrival in the UK, a BRP will need to be collected from a specified location, which can be a Post Office. Failure to collect this BRP can result in compliance action from the UKVI, including a fine of GBP1,000. 

All individuals with a UK visa or BRP have an ongoing obligation to report certain changes to the UKVI.

If a visa holder changes their home address in the UK, they should report this to the UKVI via an online service. Similarly, changes such as a criminal conviction or separation from a partner will also need to be reported to the UKVI.

More significant changes such as a change of gender, name, or nationality will require a new visa to be applied for.

Once a new visa is applied for, the old BRP will need to be returned to the UKVI. Failure to do this can also result in compliance action, including a fine of GBP1,000.

The Skilled Worker visa is the UK’s main work visa route. A typical Skilled Worker visa typically includes the following government fees:

• Certificate of Sponsorship fee of GBP199. This is an online work permit issued by the sponsor. This document can then be used in support of a Skilled Worker application.
• Immigration Skills Charge of GBP1000 per year for a medium to large sponsor, or GBP364 per year for a small or charitable sponsor. This charge is essentially a tax imposed on businesses for employing workers outside of the local labour market. 
• Visa application fee of at least GBP479 for a shortage occupation role or GBP625 for all other eligible roles, where the CoS is issued for up to three years. The fee increases to GBP943 and GBP1,235 respectively, for a CoS issued for over three years. These fees are in relation to applications made from outside the UK. Where the application is made from inside the UK, the fee will vary.
• Immigration Health Surcharge of GBP624 per year per duration of the visa. This is an additional tax imposed on foreign workers to enable them to use the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Note this fee is reduced to GBP470 per year if the applicant is under the age of 18 when they apply.
• Optional service add-ons include expedited processing under the priority or super priority services and then additional perks during the biometric appointments such as a courier service, SMS service or “keep my passport” service allowing the applicant to hold onto their passport during the processing period. 

All visa costs, except for the Immigration Skills Charge, can be borne by the individual rather than the employer.

All sponsors in the UK and visa holders are subject to conditions attached to their status in the UK. The UKVI would typically take action where a sponsor, or an individual, is in breach of those visa conditions; ie, not meeting their specified compliance obligations, or overstaying a visa term. In broader terms, the Secretary of State can also take action where he/she believes the sponsor/individual may fall foul of one of the suitability, validity or eligibility requirements that apply to all visa routes in the UK. This can include, for example, where it is believed immigration permission can be conducive to the public good.

A UK employer must hold a Sponsor Licence to be able to sponsor migrant workers in the UK. As a result, the employer must adhere to various reporting duties and compliance obligations in respect of its migrant population, including:

• ensuring migrant workers have the necessary skills, qualifications, or professional accreditations to do their job, and ensuring genuine vacancies exist and only suitable roles are sponsored;
• ensuring the company has robust systems in place to monitor and track migrant workers and report any changes in circumstance; and
• reporting any changes to the sponsoring company’s business, for example, if the company stops trading, or is involved in a merger or takeover.

As a part of the application process for a Sponsor Licence, the UKVI will verify that the employer can meet these various obligations. Where the UKVI identifies non-compliance with these duties and responsibilities, it can take the following actions:

• downgrading, suspension or revocation of the current sponsor licence;
• civil penalties of up to GBP20,000 per worker where there is found to be employment of an illegal worker; and
• criminal sanctions of imprisonment and/or unlimited fines in respect of “knowingly” employing an illegal worker in the UK.

UK legislation requires all UK employers to undertake a Right to Work (RTW) check on all new hires on or before the first day of employment, to ensure they have the correct permission to work and undertake the role in question. This will ensure the employer retains a “statutory excuse” against any penalties should a migrant be found to be working illegally.

Previously, this entailed an in-person check, and handling of the individuals’ original documents including their visa and passport. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the implementation of the new digital visa status, the UKVI has introduced an online right to work check for eligible persons holding digital status or BRPs. Employers can also use a digital identity service provider (IDSP) to verify the identity and documentation of British and Irish nationals with valid passports.

The employer must retain a clear copy of the RTW check in a format that cannot be altered.

Some RTW checks will provide a “continuous statutory excuse”, meaning no future checks are required. This would be the case for an employee holding British nationality or someone holding settlement. Other RTW checks may present a “time-limited statutory excuse”, for instance a Skilled Worker visa valid for three years. Where there is a time-limited statutory excuse, a follow up check must be carried out.

The UKVI classes dependants as:

• a dependant partner (husband, wife, civil partner, or unmarried partner);
• children under 18; or
• children over 18 if they are already in the UK as a dependant.

Partners must be in a marriage or civil partnership that is recognised in the UK. Unmarried partners must have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years prior to making an application.

Children over 16 must live with their parents (unless in full-time education at boarding school or university) and must not be deemed to be leading an independent life.

Other dependent relationships such as elderly parents or de facto adoption may be recognised on a discretionary basis.

A Dependant visa would typically allow the visa holder to work in the UK on an unrestricted basis. This includes self-employment and voluntary work. There is a restriction on employment as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach), which is not permitted.