Tuesday 6 June 2017

Immigration News: June 2017

 

Working in the UK


Points-based system: sponsor compliance visits (Tier 2/5)

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have updated their guidance on how they carry out sponsor compliance visits before or after licenses have been issued.

The revised guidance can be viewed here.

 

 

Tier 2 or 5 sponsor guidance

A correction has been made to paragraph 28.21 of the Tier 2/5 Sponsor Guidance to reflect a change made to the Immigration Rules in April.
Paragraph 28.21 of the guidance refers to the exceptions for advertising online to settled workers through the Jobcentre Plus Universal Jobmatch service.

 

 

Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2017 (Working in the UK)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published their Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2017.

The key points in relation to working in the UK were as follows:
  • Work remains the most common reason for international migration with 275,000 people immigrating to work in 2016 (decrease of 33,000 from 2015).
  • IPS data showed that EU citizens drove the decrease in the number of people arriving looking for work. Estimates showed a statistically significant decrease from 77,000 in 2015 to 55,000 in 2016. Half of this decrease was due to the numbers of EU8 citizens falling from 27,000 to 16,000 in 2016 (a statistically significant decrease).
  • IPS estimates show around 61% of immigrants arriving for work were EU citizens, 25% were non-EU citizens and 14% were British citizens.
  • Of the 66,000 non-EU immigrants arriving for work-related reasons, 18,000 (27%) arrived looking for work and these are likely to be accounted fro by people granted visas for the Youth Mobility Scheme.
  • In the year ending March 2017, the number of sponsored work (Tier 2) visas, including dependents, rose by 2% to 94,000, whereas Tier 5 youth mobility and temporary visas decreased by 4% at 42,000.
  • Indian nationals accounted for 58% of total skilled work visas granted (53,863 of 93,566), with USA nationals the next largest nationality (9,255 or 10% of the total).
  • Of the total in employment in January to March 2017, 88.9% were British nationals, 7.3% were EU nationals and 3.9% were non-EU nationals.
  • The growth in overall employment over the last year was 385,000. 46% of this growth was for British nationals, 45% for EU nationals and 9% accounted for by non-EU nationals.
The full report can be viewed here.







Studying in the UK

Points-Based system: sponsor compliance visits (Tier 4)

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have updated their guidance on how they carry out sponsor visits before or after licenses have been issued.

The revised guidance can be viewed here.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/points-based-system-sponsor-management


Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2017 (Studying in the UK)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published their Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2017.

The key points in relation to studying in the UK are as follows:
  • Long-term immigration to study (136,000 in 2016) has significantly decreased by 32,000 from 2015, which largely reflects a decrease reported in the last quarter.
  • In year ending December 2016, there was an increase of 3% to 141,248 of visas issued to non-EU students for 12 months or more.
  • IPS data shows that, of those whose main reason for long-term migration was study-related, the majority (70%) were non-EU citizens, 24% were EU citizens and the remaining 5% were British citizens.
  • In 2016, the estimate of non-British citizens immigrating to the UK to study for 12 months or more was 124,000, which was a statistically significant decrease of 24,000 from 148,000 the previous year.
  • IPS data shows that 52% (64,000) of non-British citizens immigrating to study in 2016 were citizens of Asian countries, which was a statistically significant decrease of 16,000 from 80,000 in 2015.
  • In the year ending March 2017, total sponsored visa applications to study from non-EU nationals (main applicants only) increased by 2% to 202,042.
  • There was an increase in visa applications to study for higher education (to 168,591, up 3%). Applications from Russell Group universities rose by 7%. There was also a rise for English language schools (to 2,955, up 11%).
  • There were decreases in visa applications to study for the further education sector and other educational institutions (to 14,534, 6% decrease), as well as for independent schools (to 13,379, 1% decrease).
  • One-third of non-EU study visas were granted to Chinese students (up by 7,000 or 10% compared to a year earlier), and the 3 largest nationalities combined made up around a half of the non-EU foreign students granted visas in the year ending March 2017.
  • The top 5 nationalities for study in year ending March 2017 (main applicants) were China (77,290), United States (14,268), India (11,642), Hong Kong (9,041) and Saudi Arabia (8,494).
The full report can be viewed here.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatisticsquarterlyreport/may2017


General Immigration Matters

Premium visa upgrade requests

If you have submitted a settlement application by post, you may be able to request to transfer the application from the standard (postal) route to the premium service.

At present, if you have submitted a postal application using any of the following forms, you may be able to use this service:
  • SET(M)
  • SET(O)
  • SET(LR)
  • SET(AF)
  • SET(F)
  • NTL (No Time Limit)
Further information and the forms can be downloaded here.




Customer enquiry service for those applying outside the UK

From 1st June 2017, a new commercial partner, Sitel UK, will handle all UKVI customer enquiries for those applying from outside the UK.

The main changes are as follows:
  • All phone numbers and opening hours will change.
  • The number of languages offered is being reduced to 8, including English.
  • Customers who contact UKVI by email will be charged £5.48.
Further information can be viewed here.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/customer-enquiry-service-changes




Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2017 (Other)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published their Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, May 2017.

Other key points are as follows:
  • Net long-term international migration was estimated to be +248,000 in 2016, down 84,000 from 2015 (statistically significant).
  • Immigration was estimated to be 588,000 and emigration 339,000.
  • The net migration change was driven by a statistically significant increase in emigration up 40,000 from 2015, mainly EU citizens (117,000, up 31,000 from 2015) and a decrease of 43,000 in immigration (not statistically significant).
  • EU8 citizens have partly driven the changes with a fall in immigration (decrease of 25,000) to 48,000 and a rise in emigration (up 16,000) to 43,000 in 2016 (both statistically significant changes).
  • A total of 9,634 people were granted asylum or an alternative form of protection in year ending March 2017, a grant rate of 32%. In addition to this, 5,453 people were granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme in year ending March 2017.
The full report can be viewed here.






HR Immigration Services



 

Training for employers and education providers


We provide bespoke training on all aspects of immigration matters, including Right to Work, Tier 2 sponsorship, Tier 4 sponsorship, and identification of fraudulent documents.

These workshops are conducted on the client's premises for a standard charge of £680 for up to a maximum of 12 persons attending, so that the charge per person will generally be less than £50 without them having to spend the day away from the office. We can also provide bespoke online training on request.

*All prices are subject to VAT.

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
 

 

 

Workshops for European nationals (Brexit)


We provide workshops targeted at European nationals currently living and working in the UK. We can come to your premises and speak directly to your EU/EEA staff, outlining their position now, and the likely situation they may find themselves in following Brexit. These are practical sessions designed to clarify the situation and more importantly their options moving forwards.

If you're interested in booking a workshop for the European nationals working for you, please email us at

enquiries@hrimmigration.co.uk





Audits and Inspections


HR Immigration is hugely experienced at providing compliance audits across all tiers. We have worked with hundreds of employers ranging from small, family businesses to multi-nationals, high street retailers and professional sports clubs. In the education sector, we have worked with over 30 universities and a significant number of colleges and schools.

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's approach.

- 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.

- For education providers our services range 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.
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.



File Inspection Days

If you're unsure whether you require a full compliance audit or specific training, but would like an independent check of your files to ensure they are fully compliant with Home Office requirements, we can provide a UKVI file compliance inspection of either your staff or student files.

Depending on the number of employees/students you have, we would either check all the files, or an agreed sample. After the inspection has taken place, we would provide a written report outlining any risks, feedback and recommendations. For further information or a quote for our file inspection days, please email

enquiries@hrimmigration.co.uk





Contact us today for further information about any of our services or to talk over any issues or concerns you have, confidentially and without obligation.

T: +44 (0)1344 624016
E:enquiries@hrimmigration.co.uk


W: www.hrimmigration.co.uk