UK Government announces wide-ranging changes to the UK Immigration Rules

At the end of 2021, we set out an overview of what Immigration changes employers should expect in in 2022. The recently published Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules lists the confirmed amendments that will be incorporated into the Immigration Rules on specified implementation dates. The Minister for Safe and Legal Migration, Kevin Foster MP, announced the following changes on 16 March 2022:

Global Business Mobility Visa

This route is a consolidation of the previous Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) route and opens for applications on 11 April 2022 – this is the new visa route for overseas business seeking to establish a presence in, or transfer staff to the UK. There are five categories in this visa route:

• Senior or Specialist Worker: For senior executives and specialists undertaking temporary assignments at a UK branch or subsidiary of the business they work for
• Graduate Trainee: For workers undertaking a placement in the UK as part of a structured training programme
• UK Expansion Worker: For teams of workers sent to establish a new branch or subsidiary of an overseas business
• Service Suppler: For workers providing a service covered by one of the UK’s trade agreements
• Secondment Worker: A brand-new provision for secondments to UK businesses in connection with high value contracts for goods or investment

To be eligible for the Global Business Mobility route, workers assigned to the UK must be:

• An existing employee who has worked for the sending business outside the UK for a minimum of 12 months
• Working in a job at the appropriate skill level
• Paid at the appropriate level for the job they are doing
• Sponsored by a business in the UK that has a sponsor licence from the Home Office

While assignments will be temporary, workers will be able to switch to permanent routes that lead to settlement in the UK.

Scale-up sponsor and Scale-up Worker overview

Businesses can be granted a Scale-up sponsor licence if they satisfy the eligibility of a ‘scale-up’, which will enable them to bring employees to the UK on a Scale-up Worker visa.

The Scale-up Worker visa will allow individuals to be sponsored by businesses on the aforementioned licence and is only required for the first six months. After this, they may be able to extend their stay and switch to a permanent route that can lead to settlement in the UK.

To be eligible for a Scale-up Worker visa, the applicant must demonstrate:

• They have a qualifying job offer from an approved Scale-up sponsor and been given a certificate of sponsorship
• They have a job which is at graduate level or above which they must work for a sponsor for at least six months
• They have a salary of £33,000 a year or more, or the going rate for the role (whichever is highest)
• They can read, write, speak and understand English at the intermediate level (B1)
• Anyone applying must have maintenance funds of at least £1,270.

This route will enter into force on 22 August 2022.

High Potential Individual Route

The High Potential Individual route is a new route for internationally mobile individuals who demonstrate high potential to come to the UK and will enter into force on 30 May 2022. It will be a highly selective route with a limited number of visas granted, with successful applications given a 2-year work visa (or 3 years for PhD graduates) and can switch to a permanent route that leads to settlement.

Reach out to Yusuf from our Workforce team for any questions about the CBI’s work on immigration.