Kim Day | Senior Immigration Adviser

What UK Immigration Routes Will There Be After Brexit?

06/08/2020

On July 13th 2020 the UK Home Office released a further detailed statement regarding the future of UK immigration after Brexit.

As previously announced, free movement will end from 31st December 2020, with the need for anyone, be they from the EU or otherwise, to apply for a visa if they wish to live and work in the UK for an extended period.

White Rose Visas has reviewed the full report detailing this new points-based immigration system, and we’ve written this post to outline the proposed changes to UK immigration routes from 2021.

Working Visa Immigration Routes After Brexit

Working visas have received the most attention in terms of proposed visa changes from 2021. EU citizens will no longer be able to enter the UK to live and work freely and must apply for one of the following visas to be allowed to work in the country.

Skilled Worker Visa

The Skilled Worker route is planned to be the primary route in which workers are able to travel to the UK for the purposes of employment.

It would appear as if this route will fully replace the Tier 2 General visa at some stage in the future, as this guidance notes that Tier 2 General migrants will need to apply through the Skilled Worker route when changing jobs or employer after the Tier 2 route has been closed.

The requirements for a Skilled Worker visa are similar to the current Tier 2 General visa.

Applicants must have received a job offer from a licensed sponsor, at a certain job skill level, and will need to evidence their English Language ability as well as maintenance funds unless their sponsor provides this.

These are the mandatory requirements of the visa and represent 50 points within the new system.

70 points are required to be eligible for the visa. The Home Office will introduce a tradeable points system for Skilled Worker applicants, from which a minimum 20 points must be received to be accepted.

Tradeable points will be awarded for a PhD, a job offer on the shortage occupation list or the agreed salary amount.

This tradeable points system will make salary calculations both more complicated and more important for both sponsors and applicants to meet the criteria.

There will also be a ‘new entrant’ exemption for certain applicants ensuring they benefit from a reduced salary threshold, which includes those switching from a Student or the new Graduate visa.

Skilled Worker applications will cost £610 for up to 3 years and £1,220 for over 3 years for out of country applicants, with the cost being slightly more expensive for in-country applications.

This cost will be lower for those applying for jobs on the shortage occupation list, currently reported to be £464 for up to 3 years and £928 for over 3 years for both in-country and out of country applicants.

This route has been designed so that only individuals employed in ‘skilled’ positions will be able to work in the UK. There are no plans to implement any immigration routes for positions classified as ‘unskilled’ from 2021.

Skilled Worker: Health and Care Visa

Many within the UK were concerned that the new immigration rules would not appropriately support migrants within the NHS and the wider healthcare sector.

The Home Office has in response designed the Health and Care visa as a part of the Skilled Worker route.

Applicants will not have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (explained later in this post) and will be provided with fast-track entry and reduced application fees.

You are eligible for a Health and Care visa if you’ve been offered currently listed in the ‘Annex D’ section of the report, including positions such as Nurses, Midwives and Physiotherapists among other healthcare professions.

There are continued concerns the visa in its current state will not properly support social care workers as well as certain NHS roles such as cleaners, porters and support staff. It is unclear whether separate immigration routes or exemptions will be provided for these positions in the future.

Seasonal Workers

This statement does not include any information regarding the future of Seasonal Work visa options to enter the UK.

The Home Office will be reviewing the performance of the Seasonal Workers pilot, which concludes in 2020, with a decision made on the future of Seasonal Worker routes to be decided later this year.

Global Talent Visa

The Global Talent visa was launched in February 2020 and has been designed to allow recognised global leaders who are highly skilled individuals with specialist skills to enter and live in the UK.

To be eligible for the route applicants must be endorsed by a relevant endorsing body depending on their expertise. There are different bodies for science, engineering, humanities, digital technology and arts and culture applicants.

Successful applicants will be allowed highly flexible permission to live and work in the UK, but obtaining endorsement on the visa will require extensive evidence of world-leading innovation and expertise in a particular field.

Start-up and Innovator Visa

The Start-up and Innovator visas will remain the primary routes in which applicants can apply to establish a business in the UK.

For further details on these routes please see our Start-up Visa resources page, our Innovator Visa resources page, our recent post on business visa support packages and our list of registered endorsing bodies for these visas.

Student Visa Immigration Routes After Brexit

The UK’s Student visa, currently known as the Tier 4 route, will remain the same in terms of criteria, the key difference being that students from the EU must apply for a Student visa as well as applicants from the rest of the world. EU applicants and those from certain countries considered “low-risk”, will however have reduced documentary requirements.

The Home Office will be extending the period of time for which a student can apply to enter the UK before their studies commence, from 3 months to 6 months.

Student visas will cost £348 for out of country applicants and £475 for in-country applicants.

Graduate Route

The Home Office has announced an additional Student route, the Graduate route, which will launch in the summer of 2021.

This route has been designed for recent international student graduates who’ve been in the UK on a Student visa and will allow them to remain in the UK whilst searching for future employment or other opportunities.

This route will allow recent graduates to remain in the UK for a period of 2 years and will allow them to switch into other visa routes in-country, typically with access to the “new entrant” criteria for the Skilled Worker visa. This period will last for 3 years for those graduating from a PhD.

The route will be accessible to any Tier 4 Student or Student visa holders who’ve successfully completed an undergraduate degree or higher in the country, with a track record of compliance.

There will be no maintenance or English Language requirement, but applicants will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Other Immigration Routes After Brexit

Visit Visas After Brexit

Visitors will be able to, in most cases, visit the UK for a period of up to 6 months, allowing for multiple entries during this period.

The Government intends to allow EU citizens as well as citizens of Switzerland entry to visit the UK without applying for a visa.

Further details of this will be announced before the UK officially leaves the EU at the end of December 2020.

Youth Mobility Scheme

As of now, the Youth Mobility Scheme will only be accessible to young people from Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea and Taiwan.

The Home Office has noted that they are open to negotiations with other countries and territories should they be interested in being included in the scheme, but presently this scheme won’t be open to young people from the EU.

Other Visas and Immigration Routes

Other visas, such as Creative Visas, Sporting Visas, Ministers of Religion, Intra-Company Transfers and others will be open to EU applicants from 2021. If you require further information on one of these or any other specific visa routes, please contact us directly.

Immigration Health Surcharge

The vast majority of visa applicants will be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge during their application. The Immigration Health Surcharge is currently £400 per year, but in October 2020 it will rise to £624 per year, per applicant.

Dependents accompanying you on any UK visa must also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge at the same rate.

The Home Office’s full published guidance report concerning these changes can be found here. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of the changes detailed above, please make sure to contact our office directly. We offer a free initial consultation to anyone in search of immigration advice, where one of our qualified immigration advisers will be on hand to advise on what you need to do either now or in the future.