Countdown to when the UK will leave the EU

No, read below regarding free movement

Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status

EEA national that includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway can freely enter the UK up until 30 June 2021.

If already in the UK, the EEA national must apply under the EU Settlement Scheme to be able to continue living and working in the UK after 30 June 2021.

You would normally get settled status if you were living in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 or by the date the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Settled status is given if you been living in the UK for 5 continuous years.

Pre-settled status if you not lived in the UK for 5 continuous years and you must have been living in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 or by the date the UK leaves the EU without a deal. LEARN MORE>>

The Home Office does not intend to require visitors who are citizens of current EU Member States to obtain a visit visa in advance of travel and they intend to allow them to continue to use e-gates to make entry quick and easy. The Home Offcie propose to make binding commitments to this effect in a future mobility partnership, if the EU reciprocates.

1. After the UK’s exit and following the Implementation Period, the Home Office will end the current free movement system imposed by the EU so that the UK Immigration Rules will apply to EU and non-EU migrants alike in a single skills-based system, as opposed to being based on where an individual comes from, where anyone who wants to come to the UK will need permission to do so, as opposed to being based on where an individual comes from.

2. The rules will nonetheless be flexible and provide for different treatment for certain migrants, in ways justified on objective grounds such as skill, immigration and security risk, and international or bilateral agreements. This principle already exists in the current non-EU system, where certain low-risk nationalities are non-visa nationals, or have different evidential requirements, and we give effect to existing bilateral agreements.

Youth Mobility Scheme

The Home Office are looking to expand the Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme (2 years non-extendable visa) for EEA for nationals. 

This visa route is currently for certain countries and these nationals must be aged 18-30 to apply under this visa scheme.

The Home Office are also considering a temporary visa scheme for EEA nationals to be able to apply under Government Authorised Exchange, Charity Workers, Religious Workers, Creative and Sporting Workers, International Agreement visa schemes. 

GATS Mode 4 

The Home Office is willing to expand, on a reciprocal basis, their current range of “GATS Mode 4” commitments which they have taken as part of EU trade deals^. These commitments may cover independent professionals, contractual service suppliers, intra company transfers and business visitors.

*The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a treaty of the World Trade Organisation. It covers four modes of cross-border supply of services. Mode 4 relates to the supply of a service by one Member, through presence of natural persons of a Member in the territory of another Member. The GATS does not apply to measures affecting access to the employment market of a Member, nor does it apply to measures regarding citizenship, residence or employment on a permanent basis.

Skilled Workers

At present, the Home Office has a dual system of admitting only highly skilled workers from outside the EU, and workers of all skill levels from the EU. The Home Office will replace this with a single route which gives access to highly skilled and skilled workers from all countries. Those coming to the UK on this route will need an employer to sponsor them. The Home Office propose to allow individuals who meet the requirements to bring dependants, extend their stay and switch to other routes, and in some cases, settle permanently.

The Tier 2 General monthly quota is being scrapped so the UK industries as a whole can employ unlimited EU and non-EU nationals without any cap, more great news.

The downside is the proposed salary. The overseas national must be earning at least £30,000 per annum to obtain entry clearance so naturally forcing employers to pay higher wages if UK settled workers under 30k cannot be sourced.

At present the job under tier 2 must be at RQF level 6 (different rules apply to Scotland) but the Home Office will permit RQF level 3-5 including graduate and post-graduate. The only downside is the minimum income threshold which is £30,000 and Glyn Williams (Director General, Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Systems Policy and Strategy Group) was told at the 30 April Westminster Forum where our MD attended, most RQL level jobs at 3 and many at RQF level 5 based on the national average income are below 30k so limiting the numbers at RQF level 3-5 that can apply.

At present to hire Tier 2 and some Tier 5 workers the UK sponsor must carry out a Resident Labour Market Test (unless the job role is exempt) to confirm they cannot employ a UK settled worker. 

This means before applying for a entry visa, a non-EEA national had to wait 28 days and the UK sponsor then had to request permission from the Home Office to engage a non-EEA national. What a chore.

The white paper reorts states the Resident Labour Market Test will be scrapped.

The Tier 2 General monthly quota is being scrapped so the UK industries as a whole can employ unlimited EU and non-EU nationals without any cap, more great news.

The downside is the proposed salary. The overseas national must be earning at least £30,000 per annum to obtain entry clearance so naturally forcing employers to pay higher wages if UK settled workers under 30k cannot be sourced.

At present the job under tier 2 must be at RQF level 6 (different rules apply to Scotland) but the Home Office will permit RQF level 3-5 including graduate and post-graduate. The only downside is the minimum income threshold which is £30,000 and Glyn Williams (Director General, Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Systems Policy and Strategy Group) was told at the 30 April Westminster Forum where our MD attended, most RQL level jobs at 3 and many at RQF level 5 based on the national average income are below 30k so limiting the numbers at RQF level 3-5 that can apply.

The Home Office do not currently permit non-EEA nationals to apply within the UK for a visa to work.

Under the new proposed rules, overseas nationals from low risked countries will not have to depart the UK, apply for a visa and then apply for UK entry. This will save the ones already in the UK a lot of money and inconvenience.

The Home Office will publish nearer the time the countries deemed to be low risk.

The Home Office has proposed a 12 month visa route for overseas nationals to enter the UK to work this new visa route will not require a UK sponsor.

This visa scheme has so many flaws, so we try and explain he key ones below:

1. Visa is issued to workers who cannot secure a UK salary of 30k and above.
2. Visa is only valid for 12 months.
3. After 12 months the worker must depart the UK.
4. That worker cannot apply for another work visa for 12 months.
5. If the EU national been working in the UK on a 6 month contract year on year, they cannot return every year.
6. Which employers will invest in these types of workers; it could lead to discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 as overseas nationals could accuse employers of unfair treatment.
7. This route will not permit bringing family to the UK, access public funds or able to switch into any other visa route.
8. Only certain nationalities will be permited to apply under this new visa route, we believe nationals from high risk countries will not be able to apply to basically the Home Office will discriminate a national based on their country of origin which is morally wrong.

This type of visa scheme is ideal if it was targeted for sectors such as agriculture, short term hospitality and catering contracts to name a few but to have it across the entire industry sector is totally madness in our professional opinion.

At the Westminster form where our MD attended on the 30 March 2019, Glyn Williams Director General, Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Systems Policy and Strategy Group accepted this visa route will need looking at to help with sectors such as education.

The Home Office had no plans to introduce any seasonal scheme but did decide to pilot in the Spring of 2019 for seasonal agricultural work.

It will be a pilot scheme to see how it goes and then the Home Office will decide whether to approve the scheme or not.

The Home Office has no plans to change the student migration rules so the same as they are now will apply when the UK leaves the EU.

Britain has a long history of welcoming those forced to flee persecution and the Home Office

remain committed to the Refugee Convention. 

The Home Officehas also subscribed to the principles of the EU Dublin Regulation to ensure those in need of protection claim asylum in the

first safe country they reach and to facilitate the reunion of family groups, so their asylum claim can be considered together. 

The Home Office intends to seek an agreement on this with the EU or with individual Member States.

The Home Office will continue to provide support and protection to refugees under their existing resettlement schemes, including the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme, the largest resettlement effort aimed specifically at children at risk from the Middle East and North Africa region. The Home Office will continue to consider future resettlement policies and intend to set out our future position shortly. 

The Home Office has no plans to change the family migration rules so the same as they are now will apply when the UK leaves the EU.