Wednesday 3 June 2015

Immigration News: June 2015


Working in the UK


The Queen's Speech | Immigration Bill (Working in the UK)

The new British government has outlined its plans to further control immigration in the Immigration Bill announced as part of The Queen's Speech.

The key parts of the new Immigration Bill in relation to working in the UK were as follows:
  • Introduction of an offence of illegal working - police will be given the power to seize the wages paid to illegal workers as the "proceeds of crime".
  • A new enforcement agency will be introduced to tackle the worst cases of exploitation of low-skilled workers.
  • It will be an offence for businesses and recruitment agencies to hire abroad without first advertising the jobs in Britain and in English.
  • A consultation will be undertaken on funding apprenticeship schemes for British and EU workers by implementing a new visa levy on businesses that use foreign labour.
  • They will make it easier to evict illegal migrants, as an additional measure, alongside the national rollout of the landlord scheme established in the Immigration Act 2014.
You can read about the new Immigration Bill in The Queen's Speech (pages 36-37) here.

 The Prime Minister, David Cameron, also delivered a speech on 21st May 2015, in advance of The Queen's Speech, in which he announced the new government's plans to control immigration. In this, he discussed their plans to reform the immigration and labour market rules, reducing the demand for skilled migrant labour and cracking down on the exploitation of low-skilled workers. The Prime Minister's speech on Immigration can be read here.



Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2015 (Working in the UK)

The Office for National Statistics has published their Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2015.

 Net long-term migration to the UK (immigration less emigration) was estimated to be 318,000 in the calendar year 2014. This was less than the previous peak in 2005 (320,000) but a significant increase from 2013 (209,000)

The key points in relation to working in the UK were as follows:
  • 284,000 people immigrated to the UK for work in 2014, a statistically significant increase of 70,000, compared with 2013.
  • Latest employment statistics show estimated employment of EU nationals (excluding British) living in the UK was 283,000 higher in January to March 2015, compared with a year earlier and non-EU nationals in employment increased by 11,000.
  • In 2014, there was a 10% (+11,007 to 119,883) increase in work-related visas granted (main applicants), including a 6,842 (15%) increase for skilled work.
  • National Insurance Number (NINo) registrations to adult overseas nationals increased by 221,000 (37%) to 824,000 in the year ending March 2015, compared with the previous year.
  • In the year ending March 2015, there was 9% more work-related visas granted (+14,720 to 171,043) compared to the previous year, largely accounted for by a 13% increase in Tier 2 skilled work grants (+10,648) and 26% higher grants of Tier 5 Youth Mobility visas (+5,268).
  • In this same period, the largest proportion of applications was for the Information and Communication sector (23,541); Professional, Scientific and Technical activities (10,768); and Financial and Insurance activities (6,608) sectors.
  • 56% of the sponsored skilled workers in the year ending March 2015 were from Indian nationals and a further 12% were from USA nationals.
  • 46,000 Romanian and Bulgarian (EU2) citizens immigrated to the UK in 2014, a statistically significant increase from 23,000 in the previous 12 months. 35,000 of these came to the UK for work, a statistically significant increase of 19,000 compared with 2013.
You can download the full Quarterly Migration Statistics report here.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/migration-statistics-quarterly-report/may-2015/stb-msqr-may-2015.html



Right to Work checks - updated guidance

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have updated their guidance for employers on how to carry out right to work checks. The updated guidance on right to work checks can be viewed here.

UKVI have also published revisions to their FAQs about the illegal working civil penalty scheme. The updated FAQs can be viewed here.



Landlords: right to rent checks

In a recent speech about the government's plans on immigration, the Prime Minister called for a national rollout of proposals to make landlords legally responsible for checking the immigration status of their tenants. The National Landlord Association (NLA) has welcomed the initiative. Further information can be viewed here.

http://www.landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/nla-welcomes-announcement-new-immigration-bill



Skilled Labour Immigration - report by The Migration Observatory

The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford has published a report on the effects of the re-election of the Conservative Party on the cap for skilled labour.

 It reports that the limit on UK Tier 2 visas for skilled migrants was almost exceeded in the period ending April 2015. The number of applications for Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for skilled migrants outside the EU has increased as the UK's economic recovery took hold. However, if this trend continues, the number of applications for skilled migrants who are subject to the cap is likely to exceed the cap level of 20,700. It is unlikely that the cap on skilled migrant workers will be increased, as the Conservative manifesto for the 2015 election made a commitment to "maintain [the] cap at 20,700 during the next parliament".

 The first jobs that are likely to become ineligible for visas when the cap is oversubscribed would be ones that are not on the shortage or PhD lists. Employers in industries that tend to pay lower wages will be affected sooner, e.g. nurses.

The full commentary can be read here.

http://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/commentary/skilled-migrants-and-tight-cap



Visa application process - flow charts

UK Visas and Immigration have published flow diagrams showing the application process for the various visa categories, including those under Tiers 1,2 and 5 of the points-based system.

You can download the flow charts here.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-application-processes


Restricted certificate allocations (May 2015)

The restricted certificates allocation for April 2015 published by UKVI can be viewed here. The figures show that all valid applications for restricted CoS which score the minimum 32 points continue to be granted with carry-overs from the previous month(s).



Education


Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2015 (Studying in the UK)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published their Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2015.

Net long-term migration to the UK (immigration less emigration) was estimated to be 318,000 in the calendar year 2014. This was less than the previous peak in 2005 (320,000) but a significant increase from 2013 (209,000).

The key points in relation to studying in the UK were as follows:
  • Immigration for study increased from 177,000 to 193,000 in 2014, although this was not statistically significant.
  • There were 216,466 visas granted for study (excluding student visitors) in the year ending March 2015, a fall of 1%.
  • In the year ending March 2015, there were higher numbers of study visas granted for Chinese (+2,156; +3%) and Malaysian (+688; +7%) nationals, and falls for Bangladeshi (-1,163; -38%), Indian (-1,068; -8%) and Pakistani (-945; -20%) nationals.
  • The total number of study-related sponsored visa applications (main applicants) fell 2% in the year ending March 2015 (205,129) compared to the previous 12 months (209,003). There was a slight decrease in sponsored visa applications for the university sector (to 166,481, -1%) and falls in the further education sector (to 18,297, -11%) and English Language schools (to 3,335, -2%) along with a rise in the independent schools sector (to 13,985, +4%).
  • There were a total of 68,794 student visitor visas granted in the year ending March 2015, which was 13% lower than in the previous year.
The Quarterly Migration Statistics, May 2015 report can be downloaded here.




Tier 4 Visa application process - flow chart

UK Visas and Immigration have published flow diagrams showing the application process for the various visa categories. Those in relation to studying in the UK can be viewed below:

General Immigration Matters


The Queen's Speech | Immigration Bill (Other)

The new British government has outlined its plans to further control immigration in the Immigration Bill announced as part of The Queen's Speech.

Other key parts of the new Immigration Bill were as follows:

  • Ensure the banks take action against existing current accounts held by illegal immigrants.
  • Extend the principle of "deport first, appeal later" from just criminal cases to all immigration cases, except where it would cause serious harm.
  • All foreign criminals awaiting deportation will be fitted with tracking tags.
You can read about the new Immigration Bill in The Queen's Speech (pages 36-37) here.

 The Prime Minister, David Cameron, also delivered a speech on 21st May 2015, in advance of The Queen's Speech, in which he announced the new government's plans to control immigration. In this, he discussed their plans to address the spike in EU migration by renegotiating in Europe. He also announced the introduction of a new Immigration Taskforce, to be chaired by the Prime Minister.  The Prime Minister's speech on Immigration can be read here.



Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2015 (Other)

The Office for National Statistics has published their Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2015.

 Net long-term migration to the UK (immigration less emigration) was estimated to be 318,000 in the calendar year 2014. This was less than the previous peak in 2005 (320,000) but a significant increase from 2013 (209,000)

Other key points were as follows:
  • 641,000 people immigrated to the UK in 2014, a statistically significant increase from 526,000 in 2013.
  • There were statistically significant increases for immigration of EU (non-British) citizens (+67,000 to 268,000) and non-EU citizens (+42,000 to 290,000).
  • An estimated 323,000 people emigrated from the UK in 2014. Overall emigration levels have been relatively stable since 2010.
  • There was a significant increase in the number of immigrants coming to the UK to accompany or join others, from 71,000 in 2013 to 91,000 in 2014.
  • 46,000 Romanian and Bulgarian (EU2) citizens immigrated to the UK in 2014, a statistically significant increase from 23,000 in the previous 12 months.
  • There were 25,020 asylum applications (main applicants) in the year ending March 2015, an increase of 5% compared with the previous 12 months (23,803). The largest number of asylum applications was from nationals of Eritrea (3,552), Pakistan (2,421) and Syria (2,222).
The Quarterly Migration Statistics report can be downloaded here.



HR Immigration Services



Audits and Inspections


We have been providing audits/inspections of compliance for Tier 2/5 and Tier 4 for the past 6 years. In the education sector, we have worked with schools, colleges and over 20 universities; we have also worked with numerous employers, including well-known brands, on Tier 2/5 and "right to work" requirements. We are now also operating in association with John Vine, formerly the first Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

Our audit/inspection service is fully flexible and can be tailored to individual requirements. And our approach is based on sound practical experience of the reality of the UKVI system.

- For education providers our service ranges from a "lite" health-check to a comprehensive review of Tier 4 activities, identifying compliance - or otherwise - with UKVI requirements, as well as any omissions or areas which can be improved. Alternatively, it can comprise inspection of a specific issue, such as visa refusals, or relationships with partner institutions.
- For employers, we offer inspections of Tier 2 compliance in whatever level of detail is required, as well as on-site inspections (which can be announced or unannounced to simulate a UKVI visit) of compliance with "right to work" checks and requirements.

Our audit/inspection service is fully flexible and can be tailored to individual requirements. And our approach is based on sound practical experience of the reality of the UKVI system.

On completion, we provide a comprehensive, evidence-based report together with an assessment of how well the institution or business is prepared to withstand scrutiny by UK Visas and Immigration. We will support the introduction of change if required and offer a 'spot check' follow up service at a later date to reassure management that recommendations have been implemented.

Contact us today to talk over any issues or concerns you have, confidentially and without obligation.
T: 0844 335 1619
E: enquiries@hrimmigration.co.uk
W: www.hrimmigration.co.uk


Training for employers


We are increasingly being asked to provide training on Right to Work and/or Tier 2 sponsor duties. These are normally half day courses conducted on your premises for a standard charge of under £600 regardless of the number of people attending so that the charge per person will generally be less than £100 without them having to spend the day away from the office.

We also offer an online review of employer right to work checks with a self-assessment.

If you think your organisation would benefit from training in any of these areas, please contact us for a no commitment discussion of your requirements at enquiries@hrimmigration.co.uk


LinkedIn 'HR Immigration' Group


We have set up a 'HR Immigration' group on LinkedIn, which aims to provide a networking space for UK employers and HR/recruitment professionals to share and discuss news and best practice about current UK immigration issues.

To join this group please go to http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=6537658

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