5 March 2014
Immigration Update: Salary rates for Tier 2 to be updated on 6 April
On 4 March the Home Office announced that they intend to update the salary rates set out in the codes of practiced for skilled employees on 6 April 2014. At the same time they will replace the following Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes with multiple options to correspond with the various job levels within those occupations, as set out in the codes of practice
31 October 2013
Immigration Update: Changes to Guidance on Prevention of Illegal Working
As of 28 October the Home Office has published an updated version of its guide for employers on preventing illegal working in the UK. This version replaces the previous one published in May 2012.
24 January 2013
New UKBA backlog - symptomatic of systemic delays and damaging to the UK economy
The media has widely reported today that the UKBA has a backlog of around 16,000 cases, some of which date back a decade, as uncovered by John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. For those of us representing clients in this arena, this news is hardly surprising. The UKBA is racked with delays across many of its areas of operation and these are bound to increase as limited resources are spread ever thinner across the agency.
20 November 2012
Employing migrant workers: A checklist for compliance
Supermarket giant Tesco has recently been fined £115,000 for employing foreign students who were breaking the conditions of their visas. This follows shortly after the decision by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to suspend the Tier 4 sponsor licence of the London Metropolitan University, due to the non-compliance with its sponsor licence duties.
These high profile cases along with other recently reported cases on the UKBA website clearly show that the UKBA will not hesitate to take action against employers or academic institutions, whether big or small, who fail to comply with their licence obligations.
Ilda de Sousa provides a checklist for how employers can ensure that they are compliant.
25 September 2012
New UKBA backlog causing economic damage - employers held to ransom
British businesses wanting to sponsor key individuals to come to the UK to help grow or develop their businesses are being thwarted by the excessive length of time it takes the UKBA to process Tier 2 sponsor registration applications at present. Businesses with the potential to lead the UK's economic recovery are facing major delays with their sponsor licence applications, meaning they cannot bring in the people they need when they need them. Plans for expansion in the UK market are having to be put on hold while the administrative process of obtaining a sponsor licence runs its ever lengthier course.