The brand new points-based system created by the UK government aims to attract the brightest and best minds into the country post-Brexit and has been modelled on the immigration system implemented and utilised by Australia, where individuals must meet a certain amount criteria to gain entry clearance into the country to live and work.
The new system will take effect from the 1st January 2021, the date the country officially departs from the EU, and it will require all future applicants whether they are from the EU or not who want to come and live and work in the UK to make up 70 points from its criteria.
Top immigration lawyers London have been staying up to date with the most recent developments in the lead up to Brexit, and many are already advising foreign nationals and EU nationals how to navigate the new points-based system and make up the 70 required points.
As stated above, the new system will treat EU nationals and foreign nationals from outside of the EU equally putting all foreigners on an equal footing to apply for and gain opportunities to enter to live and work in the UK. All nationals will now have to make up the 70 points to gain entry clearance and a brand new visa path has also been created for employment purposes named The Skilled Worker Visa which has officially replaced the Tier 2 work visa. Those who apply through the new Skilled Worker Visa will have to initially have a job offer from a UK company that will give them an initial start of 20 points.
Under the new Skilled Worker visa path, the individual will not only have to make up the set number of 70 points for their application to be successful, but the employer/company in question will have to also make sure that they have the correct sponsorship license required to hire foreign national which they can obtain from the UK Home Office.
If you are an individual who has their heart and mindset on working in the UK in a highly skilled job and already have a job offer, that is great news. You already have made almost a third of the required points that you need for your application to be successful. To gain more of an idea of what a highly skilled job is and for more information on the distribution of points and to understand which points criteria are mandatory alongside which can be exchanged, please see the table on the official UK Home Office website here.
Before you make your application remember to check if the company in that has offered you a job also has a Home Office sponsorship license as this is of great importance for the success of your application. Additionally, be ready to prove that you meet the English Language requirement which is a B1 level and to have a job offer with an acceptable skill level as this new visa route has been created for highly skilled job opportunities and does not apply to lower-skilled jobs related to hospitality for example. Currently, the UK government does not have a visa policy for the low skilled job market. However, there is a chance such a policy or visa route is developed after Brexit has actually taken place and employment demand in the UK has compared with demographics and reassessed.
If you are individual who is seeking a high-skilled job and have a proposal from a UK based company to sponsor your application, please note that once you apply under the new Skilled Worker Visa from outside of the country, it could take anywhere from 3-8 weeks to get a response from the Home Office. This is due to the fact that the COViD-19 pandemic is still effecting the working hours and capacity of UK visa centres worldwide. Besides this, the new path is ready and has already been rolled out in the lead up to Brexit, which will take place in a matter of weeks.
If you are a company based in the UK, you may be asking yourself what do I need to do to prepare myself for Brexit? Well if you would like to start employing foreign a nationals from the EU and also from outside, there is no better time to get organised and apply for your sponsorship license from the Home Office. This will give you the freedom to utilise this new visa path and help you find the right people for your business.
Immigration law firms in the UK such as Gulbenkian Andonian Solicitors can advise and guide you on any questions and queries you may have with regards to this new visa route whether you are an applicant who has a job offer or a company who is seeking to obtain a sponsorship license.
