Skilled Worker Immigration Route

Skilled Worker immigration route from 1st December 2020

Now that the UK has left the EU and the transition period ending on 31 December 2020, there will be new rules in place in relation to companies and their ability to sponsor skilled workers from abroad. Citizens and nationals from any European un ion state will no longer be able to exercise their freedom of movement rights for the purpose of coming to the UK to obtain employment. Instead, EEA nationals will be treated equally as any non- EEA nationals and they will be subject to the same rules in place once the transitional period ends.

The existing Government has announced that from 1st December 2020, the Tier 2 (General) route will be replaced with the Skilled Worker route, which means that EEA and non-EEA nationals (except of Irish citizens) who wish to come to the UK for work purposes must apply for the Skilled Worker visa and must also satisfy the eligibility criteria. This, so called Skilled Worker route has been established in order to allow employers to recruit workers from abroad for a variety of skilled vacancies that are available in the UK. In order to ease the recruitment process for employers who wish to employ skilled workers from abroad, the Government also announced that from 01 January 2020 employers will no longer need to post their available vacancy online or in a newspaper and the job must be skilled to level 3 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework, which is equivalent to A-Level standard as opposed to a degree level, which is currently required. The most exciting news for any future sponsored skilled worker (including their partner and children dependants) is that they will be able to apply to settle in the UK after 5 years continuous lawful residence in the UK. The route to settlement for current holders of Tier 2 (General) visa is not as straightforward and requires workers to switch to a different immigration route leading to settlement, which is of course, time consuming and not so cost-effective.

It is very important to take into account when applying for a Skilled Worker visa, one of the preliminary documents in support of the application is often the provision of criminal record certificate (from the relevant authority in any country in which they have been residing for 12 months or more), depending on the skilled role the worker is applying to undertake once the visa is granted. In any event, it is highly advisable for any skilled worker (and their partner if applying as dependant) to obtain a criminal record certificate and provide it in support of their entry clearance application, regardless of the role they are seeking to undertake.

Appendix SW to the Immigration Rules sets out the immigration requirements that the Skilled Worker must meet. Apart from the requirement for the skilled worker (and their partner dependant) to provide criminal record certificate, the skilled worker must also meet the points criteria and the financial requirement. To be eligible to apply under this route, it is mandatory for the applicant to score 70 points:

20 points for holding a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

20 points for applying for a job in an eligible occupation code

10 points for holding English Language certificate at level B1 or above

20 points for salary and other criteria

Individuals applying for the Skilled Worker visa must ensure they have enough funds to support themselves and any dependants in the UK. To prove that this requirement is met, the sponsor (if they are A-rated) can certify this requirement when assigning a CoS to the individual applying for the Skilled Worker visa.

If the skilled worker s application is successful, their visa will cover the entire period of their employment in the UK, plus 14 days. However, the maximum period of stay in the UK that the Entry Clearance officer can grant to a skilled worker is 5 years.

If an individual is currently in the UK on a Tier 2 (General) visa, they do not need to apply for a new licence. Once the Skilled Worker sponsor licence comes in place, their existing licence will automatically be converted to the new licence, but the expiry date will nevertheless remain the same.

Sponsor s role of a Skilled Worker

The employer, namely the Sponsor of the Skilled Worker must comply with all of the sponsorship requirements and his/her role is vital.

The Home Office will generally look into the employment role the Sponsor has offered to the skilled worker in order to establish whether this is a genuine employment offer skilled to level 3 or above on the Regulated Qualifications Framework. The sponsored skilled worker must also be paid equivalent to the salary rates set out in the Immigration Rules. Failure to comply with this obligation at a later date would mean that the Home Office could potentially revoke the Sponsor s licence and take further action against the sponsor .

The Home Office officers make regular visits and undertake regular checks in order to ensure that sponsors are fully complying with their duties. It is clear that the Home Office will not tolerate any sponsor who falls short of complying with any of the duties and obligations set out in the Immigration Rules, hence sponsorship duties must be taken seriously from day one. This includes continuous monitoring of the skilled worker s attendance at work and if they ever fail to turn up to work without providing adequate reason for their absence, it is the Sponsor s responsibility to notify the Home Office immediately.

There are two types of CoS that the sponsor could assign defined and undefined. Sponsor must assign defined CoS to individuals he/she wishes to sponsor applying from abroad. Undefined CoS is to be assigned by the Sponsor to individuals applying for permission to stay from within the UK. Again, failure to assign the correct type of CoS or providing false information on the application for a defined CoS could lead to revocation of the sponsorship licence.

Assigning a CoS to a Skilled Worker is not free of charge, unless the Skilled Worker is citizen of a country which has ratified the European Social Charter. The Sponsor is also required to pay for the Immigration Skills Charge for each sponsored worker.

Once the CoS has been assigned to the applicant, there is 3 months time limit during which the worker must apply for the relevant application.

For more information, please visit the Home Office s Guidance for sponsors on Workers and Temporary Workers at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment _data/file/936738/2020-11-18_Sponsor-guidance-Part-2-sponsor-a-worker-11- 20_v1.0.pdf

Please see Immigration Rules Appendix J for codes of practice for skilled work at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-j-codes- of-practice-for-skilled-work