General Immigration

Rwanda Bill clears both Houses of Parliament and will become UK law very soon

The Private Life immigration route was introduced along with many other changes to the rules in July 2012 to implement the government’s view of its obligations under Article 8 ECHR. These rules have been amended several times since then, often in response to judicial findings and particularly in relation to children and young adults, by which we mean those under 18, and those aged between 18 and 24.

The UK's Global Talent visa route is for those who have exceptional talent, or who have the potential to thrive in the fields of science, engineering, humanities, social science, medicine, digital technology, architecture, fashion design, film & television, or arts & culture. Learn what is needed to apply for this Global Talent Visa.

The Home Secretary has announced a series of changes to UK Immigration Rules which will radically alter the landscape for sponsored skilled workers, and for British citizens and UK residents with partners from overseas. In news largely overshadowed by the announcements on sponsored workers, British citizens and those permanently resident in the UK will now have to meet a much higher salary requirement if they want to bring their foreign partners and children to the UK.

We are seeing an increasing number of companies applying for a Home Office sponsor licence to sponsor and employ migrant workers from both EU and non-EU countries. At the end of 2023’s first quarter, the number of organisations on the UK’s register of work sponsors reached 61,153 compared with 41,621 at the end of the Q1 2022, a staggering increase of over 20,000 organisations registered as sponsors for migrant workers in just 12 months.

Over the summer, Statement of Changes HC1493 introduced a wide range of updates to the UK’s Immigration Rules. Here we’ve created an A-Z guide to the changes and when they took effect.

UK government visa fees of between 15-20% coming into force from 4 October 2023 across almost all immigration categories, and for priority and super-priority services.

Applicants applying for entry clearance or leave to remain as a partner on the 5-year route under Appendix FM must be able to meet a financial requirement. The most common way of doing this is through the minimum income requirement, usually the partner's salary, which can be compromised by strike action.

2023 will see the introduction of the UK’s Electronic Authorisation (ETA) scheme. The scheme was announced in February 2022, when the UK government issued a policy paper confirming that:

‘As part of our transformation of the border and immigration system, we are introducing a universal ‘permission to travel’ requirement, which will require everyone wishing to travel to the UK (except British and Irish citizens) to seek permission in advance of travel.’

In order to request permission to travel, individuals will need to apply through the ETA scheme, which is similar to the systems already used by the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The government is hoping that the scheme will ‘give the UK more control of our borders’.

The UK’s first post-Brexit trade deal, the UK–Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (The Agreement), came into force on 31 May 2023. Whilst the key purpose of this agreement is to facilitate trade between the two Commonwealth nations, there are some implications for UK-inbound migration. The two areas of impact are:
1. The Youth Mobility Scheme
2. The Global Business Mobility Route

Whether it’s backlog from the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of staffing or priority services taking precedence, delays seem to be an inevitable fact for most applications to UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI).  

To provide some clarity on how long a visa applicant can realistically be expected to wait for a decision, we’ve laid out the wait times provided by the Home Office and compared those with our actual experience. We conducted our research in May 2023, and obviously things can change, so check in with our team if you need updated advice.

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Right to work checks from October 2022

UK scale-up visa route launched