Global Talent

Gone are the days of computer gaming being viewed as a secluded activity; gaming is now a thoroughly social experience that attracts a global audience of millions and players can compete for large sums of money and celebrity. This burgeoning industry is largely in a virtual world and has developed in a blockchain, decentralised fashion. Often the UK government talks up the UK gaming industry and how keen the government is to support this sector, and there have been instances that show support, but when it comes to playing games competitively, law and regulations have not yet caught up.

The UK left the EU in January 2020, in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement there has been a grace period in place since 1 January 2021 which ends on 30 June 2021. The basis of the grace period is that those EU citizens (and EEA and Swiss citizens) who were residents in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 have until 30 June 2021 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. 

The furore around the announcement by a number of football clubs of their intention to create a European Super League has led to governments displaying their opposition to the idea and issuing threats on the legislative leverage that could be used to stop the breakaway league from getting going.

On 9 March 2021, the Care Quality Commission (“CQC”) and Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) published a new memorandum of understanding agreement (“the MoU”). The MoU seeks to increase the effectiveness of the two organisations’ work in safeguarding the wellbeing and rights of people receiving health and social care in England, through developing a supportive framework and strategic partnership.

Any sense of a post-Brexit slowdown in UK immigration changes was quickly swept away last week with a thorough spring clean and polish to a wide range of rules.  As is commonly the case at this time of year, a statement of changes in the Immigration Rules was released in advance of 6 April when many of the changes will come into force. We set out the main changes below and also include a quick summary of the headlines from the Budget on how new immigration categories aim to assist with the economic recovery.
 

COVID-19 has had a severely damaging affect on all organisations and no less so those in the charitable sector.  Be that on a dramatic hit to donation levels, resourcing issues through furloughing or redundancies and difficulties in delivering programmes and training.  In a battle to survive and deliver on core services, it is easier than ever to forget crucial internal risk and compliance processes. 

The COVID - 19 pandemic will certainly go down in history as one of the worse periods in modern times. Many of us will have stories to tell the future children about a time when the world was held to ransom by the pandemic and people were forced to stay home and could only leave if they had a legitimate reason, such as going out for medicine or food. So, what of those who are “home” but, don’t have the choices we do? 

The Tech Nation Visa (officially known as the Global Talent visa) enables the brightest and best tech talent from around the world to come and work in the UK’s digital technology sector, contributing their cutting-edge expertise, creativity and innovation to maintaining the UK’s position at the forefront of the global digital economy.

The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa has officially opened for applications on 31 January 2021. Given the circumstances surrounding the introduction of the BN(O) visa, it is quite understandable that applicants may still have questions about this visa route and personal considerations on applying. 

In this blog we answer some of your most frequently asked questions about the BN(O) visa to help you consider whether this is the right UK visa path for you and your family. Our earlier blog also details the key highlights of the visa.

EU free movement rules ended for the UK on December 31 2020. As a result, recruiting an EU citizen who is not already living in the UK now involves a visa application.

Citizens’ Rights were one of the first and most important components to be negotiated and protected in the November 2019 Withdrawal Agreement.  However, whilst the rights of British citizens resident in the EU and EU citizens resident in the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2020 are protected, free movement of people ended on that date.

As covered in our previous blog, the end of free movement will affect the ability of entertainers from the EU to work in the UK. But recent press has also surrounded the ability, or lack of it, of touring British citizen performers to work in the EU.

The UK’s Immigration Rules include general grounds for refusal which most immigration applications must not fall foul of – the general grounds are divided between mandatory and discretionary grounds, under which applications must or may be refused respectively. The general grounds now also apply to most EEA nationals wishing to enter the UK.

Dramatic changes to our immigration system are taking effect. A new points-based system kicked in on 1 December 2020 affecting businesses wishing to employ non-EU citizens which will also apply to EU citizens (including from the EEA and Switzerland) when freedom of movement ceases on 1 January 2021.  So, how can employers prepare for the new changes?

As the UK goes through the disappointing process of raising barriers on entry to EEA nationals coming to the UK, an immigration category soon to emerge, that is separate to the EU Settlement Scheme, is the frontier worker visa.

Many companies in the tech sector will be aware of the new immigration system and Skilled Worker category opening in a couple of weeks on 1 December. For those companies without a sponsor licence, they will need to apply for one in order to recruit both non-EU and EU citizens. EU citizens resident in the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2020 can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

On 22 October 2020, the UK Government finally released its Statement of Changes to the new Immigration Rules, which includes the legal framework for the new BN(O) visa route. 

Once the pandemic blows over, hopefully soon in 2021 the entertainment sector will bounce back into action, with concerts, performances and other events once again a part of our lives. Whilst it may at present be far from the minds of companies in the entertainment and creative sectors, post 31 December 2020, entertainers and artists who are EEA nationals and who have long-benefited from freedom of movement to the UK, may need to consider immigration issues that have to date been reserved for non-EEA nationals.  EEA nationals who are or have been resident in the UK before 31 December 2020 should apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before the deadline of 30 June 2021.  The EU Settlement Scheme provides a route for EEA nationals to continue to reside and work in the UK without having to apply for a visa under the UK’s new immigration system.

The resident labour market test will be abolished when the UK’s new immigration system starts on 1 January 2021.

For employers who rely on skilled foreign workers, this will mean greater freedom to employ who you want from anywhere in the world, but the visa costs will be high and the automatic rejection of any applicants who need a visa simply because of the cost could result in discrimination claims. 

This blog and our last blog on the right to work check grace period are part of our series on immigration and employment issues in the new UK immigration system.

So, we have three months to go before the transition period ends and we leave Europe for good. We know that EU citizens resident in the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2020 are eligible to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme before the 30 June 2021 deadline.  Are we also clear about what will happen with EU citizens who arrive from 1 January to work? To an increasing extent we are and if you review the government guidance on this topic it is helpful and confirms that employers who want to employ EU citizens from 1 January will require a sponsor licence in order to directly sponsor EU citizens, as they have been doing already for non-EU citizens.