Immigration updates for employers | September 2024

Most employers should already be aware that physical documents, including BRPs, will be replaced by eVisas from 1 January 2025. The official cut-off date is 31 December 2024, and this date is becoming increasingly nearer.

It is vital that all individuals with a BRP within the workplace are reminded to create a UKVI account before 31 December 2024. Initially, individuals had to wait for an email invitation from the Home Office, however, it has since been confirmed that individuals no longer need to wait for this email and can act now. The eVisa online account will be an electronic record of an individual’s immigration status in the UK, showing the conditions attached to their stay and providing them with the required proof to re-enter the UK if they travel overseas. Individuals will hold an eVisa account instead of having a physical document. In essence, this is the new way for migrants to view and prove their immigration status from 1 January 2025. UKVI have published updated guidance and a factsheet providing some helpful practical tips which should be communicated to staff and consulted. In particular, the Home Office confirm that migrants should retain their expired BRP cards after 31 December 2024 and we would recommend they are carried for any overseas travel to prevent any issues or delays at the border.

Setting up a UKVI account requires an identity check for the individual using the “UK Immigration ID Check” app and individuals will need to have access to their BRP card or a valid passport with their BRP number or visa application number to proceed.

We recommend employers take the following action:

• Communicate a reminder to all staff that for those with a BRP, expiring on 31 December 2024, need to create a UKVI account. Circulate the Home Office guidance and factsheets to staff. Employers should make it clear in their communication that the eVisa account will allow them to continue to evidence their right to work in the UK and avoid any difficulties when they travel outside the UK and look to return from overseas. It does not extend their current visas which will expire in the normal way;
• Check your right to work records. If a manual right to work check was conducted on an individual’s BRP card, prior to 6 April 2022 (which was allowed at this time before the online check was required), then the expiry date may have shown 31 December 2024, when this is not the actual expiry date of that individual’s right to remain/work in the UK. As such, it may be prudent to conduct a further right to work check to understand the individual’s actual visa expiry date and retain your statutory excuse to a civil penalty; and
• Check your online right to work process and system is fully compliant because providing a share code to carry out online right to work checks will become the most popular method of checking a worker’s right to work.

For most individuals, setting up their UKVI account should be straightforward, but employers may wish to offer additional support and guidance on the process, especially staff with limited internet/computer skills. Further details on how to create a new eVisa account can be found here.

The ETA is a digital permission for visitors to travel to the UK. The ETA scheme is gradually being introduced in the UK to ensure better visibility for the Government/Home Office on who is entering the UK as a visitor and tighten the borders before arrival. By April 2025, all visitors to the UK who do not need a visa in advance of travel or who do not already hold UK immigration status, will need an ETA. British and Irish citizens will be exempt.

Currently, nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council countries are the only nationalities that need an ETA to travel to or transit through the UK. However, in a major step towards delivering digitisation of the UK borders, the Home Office have announced the next phase of nationalities that the ETA scheme will apply too:

• Eligible non-Europeans will be able to apply in advance from 27 November 2024 and an ETA will be a mandatory requirement to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025; and
• Eligible Europeans will be able to apply from 5 March 2025 and an ETA will be a mandatory requirement to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025.

The list of specific nationalities that must apply for an ETA during each phase can be accessed here.

An ETA costs £10 and permits multiple journeys to the UK of up to six months at a time over a two-year period or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner. Applications for an ETA must be made before the individual travels to the UK and a decision usually takes 3 working days.

We recommend that employers raise awareness of the ETA scheme by communicating this new requirement with any individuals travelling to the UK for up to 6 months. This could include visiting staff from other international group companies, customers, suppliers etc.

The introduction of the ETA scheme will be a significant change for many travellers prior to travelling to the UK but the aim is to try and prevent those who pose a threat from boarding planes, ferries or trains to the UK.

From November 2024, British nationals will be required to provide their biometrics (fingerprints and photo) at the port or airport on their first visit to the Schengen area. This is part of the EU’s new Entry/Exit system (the EES) which aims to strengthen its border security. The exact date the EES will be implemented is still to be confirmed. EES registration will replace the current system of manually stamping passports when visitors arrive in the EU.

The EU have confirmed that the process of recording biometrics on the first visit to the Schengen area may be quicker if travellers provide their data in advance and there may be self-service systems at the border cross point, or mobile apps available. However, no further details are currently available. We understand that some ports and international stations (Dover, Eurotunnel and St Pancras) may provide for EES registration before leaving the UK, so additional time will need to be factored into journeys.

Once British nationals have provided their biometrics, they will be recorded in the EES and valid for a three-year period. However, for every visit, a passport control officer will verify their fingerprints and photo and the EU have confirmed that there may be some circumstances where biometrics need to be recorded again.

If your business has employees who travel to the EU for business visits, we recommend getting in touch with them to make them aware of the new EES, particularly as they may experience delays in passport control which may impact any meetings they are attending on the company’s behalf.

Back in April 2024, the previous government made a number of changes to the UK immigration system, including to the general salary levels under the Skilled Worker route. For a recap of these changes, please see our article here.

As part of these changes, the general salary threshold for new applications under the Skilled Worker route, increased from £26,200 to £38,700. In addition, new “going rates” were published updating the Standard Occupational Classification (“SOC“) codes from the 2010 version to the 2020 version. If the “going rate” for the job is higher than £38,700, the going rate must apply. These new going rates represented significant rises, particularly for jobs outside of London and the Southeast and for early career positions.

However, earlier this month, the Home Office confirmed in its most recent Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 217) that there were a number of drafting errors with incorrect going rates for certain SOC codes. The Home Office also reported this to sponsors via the sponsorship management system and confirmed that the Skilled Worker guidance on the government website had been updated to reflect the correct, lower rates.

The corrections to the Immigration Rules will not be in place until 8 October 2024. Until that date, employers and sponsors must refer to the Skilled Worker guidance for the going rates which are applicable. If you have any concerns surrounding salary requirements, our immigration team can provide specialist advice.

The new Government is retaining the plan to reduce net migration figures and to ensure that immigration is not being used as an alternative to tackling skills shortages and labour market failures in the UK. In the days since the general election, Labour have been busy implementing some of its promises as summarised below:

Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) reviews

The Government has commissioned the MAC to complete several reviews:

Skills shortage sector review

The MAC has been commissioned to review the reliance of the IT and engineering sectors on international recruitment.

The review will consider the drivers of these shortages and policy levers that could be used to incentivise these sectors to focus on recruiting from the domestic workforce. This could include whether the Immigration Salary List should remain in its current form or whether a differentiated salary approach would be beneficial, such as based on region, occupation and/or other factors.

The MAC’s report is expected by May 2025.

Financial requirements for family visas review

The MAC has also been commissioned to review the financial requirements for family visas, including the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) and the adequate maintenance requirement.

The review will include consideration of the previous government’s intention to increase the MIR from £29,000 to £34,500 by early 2025 and then to £38,700.

The Government has frozen the MIR at £29,000 pending the outcome of the MAC’s report, which is expected by June 2025.

New body: Skills England

The Government has announced the launch of a new body, Skills England, to provide strategic oversight of the post-16 skills system aligned to the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The main aim of Skills England is to support the development of skilled workforces domestically, with a focus on sectors with skills shortages.

Skills England will be responsible for identifying the training that the new “Growth and Skills Levy” will be accessible for, with the intention to provide employers with more flexibility to spend levy funds on the training they need.  Employers should be aware that functions currently provided by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) will be transferred to Skills England.

Skills England is expected to be established in phases by July 2025.

On 23 September 2024, the government issued updates to the right to work guidance. The most recent version of the guidance can be found here.

The updates which are likely to be of particular note for employers are:

• Supplementary work: the guidance has finally caught up with the changes made to supplementary working in the Immigration Rules back in April 2024. The guidance now confirms that all migrants employed under the Skilled Worker route can undertake supplementary employment in any of the Standard Occupational Code (SOC) 2020 occupation codes, subject to certain conditions. In order to establish a statutory excuse to a civil penalty, employers should refer to this latest guidance and retain the additional evidence listed to ensure the prospective employee is not in breach of their conditions;
• Follow-up checks: where employers are unable to carry out a follow-up check because of technical issues which are not the employee’s fault, or because the employee has made an in-time application, the employer can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre. The UKVI Resolution Centre can help both employees and employers who need help accessing or using the Home Office’s online immigration status services; and
• Volunteer work: the guidance provides further details about the distinction between volunteers and voluntary work and who can undertake such work.