UNITED KINGDOM – Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules – April 2017

The Home Office implemented changes to the Immigration Rules on 6 April 2017.

The changes reflect the second implementation of two phases of changes announced by the government following the 2015 review by the Migration Advisory Committee.

The Immigration Skills Charge of £1000 per Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) per year will be levied on Tier 2 employers (with some exemptions). Smaller businesses and charities will be charged £364 per year. A CoS will be considered invalid if any charge which applies is not paid in full.

In both the General and Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) sub-categories of the Tier 2 route, salary rates in the codes of practice for skilled workers will be updated annually using the latest available salary data for each occupation.

Changes to Tier 2 (General)

  • An increase to the salary threshold for experienced workers, which has been raised to £30,000 for most new applicants. The minimum salary for new entrants remains at £20,800.
  • On the Shortage Occupation List, secondary school teachers of chemistry have been removed and secondary school teachers of combined science, computer science and Mandarin have been added.
  • Migrants intending to work in the sectors of education, health and social care, and their adult dependents, must provide a criminal record certificate from each country in which they have been resident for 12 months or more in the past 10 years (while aged 18 years and over).
  • The high earner threshold for exemption from the Resident Labor Market Test (RLMT) has increased to £159,600 (or £155,300 if the recruitment took place before 6 April 2017). If an application for entry clearance or leave to remain has been made using a CoS assigned before 6 April 2017, the application will be decided in accordance with the rules in force on 5 April 2017.
  • Additional points will be awarded to nurses, medical radiographers, paramedics and secondary school teachers of math, physics, chemistry, computer science and Mandarin where they are not on the Shortage Occupation List.

Changes to Tier 2 (ICT)

  • Closure of the Short-Term Staff sub-category. The closure of this route means that accommodation allowances can form a maximum of 30%, rather than 40%, of the total salary package for all ICT workers (except Graduate Trainees).
  • Migrants applying under the Tier 2 (ICT) category are now required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) of £200 per person per year. The IHS is paid by non-EEA nationals who apply to come to the UK to work, study or join family for a period of more than six months. It is also paid by non-EEA nationals who are already in the UK and apply to extend their stay. The IHS is also payable by dependents.
  • The salary threshold for senior transferees able to extend their stay for up to nine years has been reduced from £155,300 to £120,000.
  • The requirement for intra-company transferees to have at least one year’s experience in the sponsor’s entity overseas has been removed for applicants paid £73,900 and above.
  • There are also minor technical changes to the routes of Tier 1, Tier 4, and Tier 5.

Action Items

Employers planning to send employees to the United Kingdom should contact their immigration advisor at McCown & Evans LLP as soon as possible to discuss these changes.

A new immigration law (Legislative Decree No.1350), effective 1 March 2017, reorganizes Peru’s immigration categories into temporary and resident categories, and allows family members of foreign national residents to work with dependent status, among other changes.

This follows changes to certain documentary requirements for resident worker and designated worker visas effective 23 December 2016.

Temporary Status

This new category includes:

  • Business Visa – for business, legal, contractual or specialized technical activities, with multiple entry for up to 183 days in a year;
  • Temporary Designated Worker Visa – with multiple entry for stays of up to 183 days in a year; and
  • Visas for tourism, journalism, temporary training/research, art or sports and visits under international agreements.

Resident Status

This new category includes:

  • Designated Worker Visa – for assignments that require specialized professional, commercial or technical knowledge with multiple entry for up to one year;
  • Worker Visa – for work under an employment contract, a contract for services or an intra-company transfer, with multiple entry for up to one year. Under this visa category, foreign nationals will for the first time be allowed to work in the public sector as well as the private sector.
  • Family Member of Resident Visa – for accompanying spouses or common-law partners, unmarried children up to 28 years of age and parents who will be allowed to work as a dependent of a foreign national resident without obtaining resident worker status, for up to two years;
  • Training Visa – for basic and higher education and exchange programs, with multiple entries for up to one year;
  • Permanent Residence Visa – The residency period required to qualify for indefinite residence has increased from two to three years; and
  • Visas for investment, research and residence under international agreements.

Immigration Registry

The new law also creates an electronic Migration Information Registry (RIM), which will store identification data of foreign national visitors and residents.

Sanctions

The law establishes a new system of sanctions including compulsory departure; deportation; fines for foreign nationals who overstay their visa, fail to update their Identification card information, fail to extend their visa within its validity period or to pay state visa fees, perform activities outside their immigration status or, in the case or those with more than one nationality, use the wrong passport for entry or exit.

Action Items

  • Note that, until the official government regulations and procedures are issued, certain details of the implementation of the new immigration law will remain unclear.
  • Contact an immigration advisor at McCown & Evans LLP for the latest information on procedural changes due to the new immigration law.