Employers, are you Ready for the New Immigration Rules?

The new Immigration Act received Royal Assent last Wednesday and will come into force at 11pm on the 31^st December when Freedom of Movement ends.  Are you ready for this?

For many of us, this will change the way we recruit.  Over the last 17 years I’ve seen the architectural and design industry enjoy talent coming from the other EU 27 countries to work in the UK.  In particular Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria have been large contributors, enhancing and complementing our UK born workforce.  Once the new rules come into place, you will not be able to simply hire someone from the EU unless they have settled status or if they are from the Republic of Ireland.  Instead, the new rules put the rest of the world on a level playing field with the EU and all will require sponsoring by their new employer.

Are you a Licenced Sponsor?

If you have never sponsored an employee before, the chances are you are not a licenced sponsor.  You will need to apply via this link https://www.gov.uk/apply-sponsor-licence and pay the fee of £536 if you are a small company or £1,476 if you are a medium or large company.  Without this licence, you will not be able to employ people from outside the UK and Ireland unless they already have settled status or a different right to work in the UK.

New Points System

In order for someone to qualify for sponsorship, an applicant must achieve 70 points based on the following criteria:

Putting this into simple terms with the architecture and design industry in mind.

• As a licensed sponsor making a job offer, the first 20 points are awarded
• The applicant will need to be qualified to RQF 3 or above (A Level or equivalent) providing an additional 20 points
• 10 further points will be achieved if the applicant speaks English at the required level

This leaves 20 points remaining.  This can be achieved by offering a salary of £25,600 as long as this falls under the guidelines of the “going rate” or the role is classed as a shortage occupation.  Architects fall into this category and the final 20 points can be achieved using the minimum salaries below.

• Part 1 graduate: £22,300
• Part 2 graduate: £24,600
• Part 3 graduate / newly-registered architect with less than 3 years’ experience since registration: £29,000
• Experienced worker: £33,200

There are also different salary rules for international students or “new entrants” who have studied in the UK on a Tier 4 visa.

Cost

Once you have become a licenced sponsor, you will need to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for each application.  Each certificate costs £199.  You may also have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge of £364 for a small business or £1000 for a medium or large business.  These two links will provide more information.

https://isc-fee-calc.visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/start

https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers/immigration-skills-charge

Timescale

A Tier 2 visa application will take around 8 weeks although this can be reduced to 10 days at an additional cost.

In Conclusion

With only 7 weeks until these new rules come into place, it’s vital that if you intend to recruit from the EU or the rest of the world, you apply now to become a licenced sponsor to avoid delays.  I believe the new rules will encourage a more open-minded approach to sourcing staff from further afield.  This will culturally enrich our already diverse workforce, bringing talent, ideas, design ethos and skills from around the globe.

E&OE – For full details on the new points based immigration system please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-points-based-immigration-system-employer-information/the-uks-points-based-immigration-system-an-introduction-for-employers

Stewart Howl

020 7993 6980

stewart.howl@tarranthowl.com