Immigration blog and updates

Major announcement for EU Settlement Scheme pre-settled status holders On 17 July 2023 Home Office announced important policy changes for holders of pre-settled status under EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). The policy change has been introduced following the recent High Court judgement. The High Court ruling confirmed that it is unlawful for Home Office to require that pre-settled status holders make another EUSS application before the initial 5-year permission expires. In December 2022 we…

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Huge increase to UK visa fees and NHS Surcharge fee On Thursday 13th July 2023 the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced increase of pay for public sector employees. At the same time, he explained that this increase in wages should not be funded from people taxes or from borrowing. Rishi Sunak announced that the money will come from the increase of UK visa application fees and NHS Surcharge fees.…

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Is UK-EU Youth Mobility visa on the cards? UK Youth Mobility visa Scheme is a form of working holiday visa for young people who wish to come to the UK and experience UK life. This is a reciprocal visa scheme under which people up to a certain age limit are able to apply for fixed-term visas to travel and work in the other country, without meeting eligibility requirements for other…

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Those individuals who have claimed asylum in the UK can apply for permission to work if they have been waiting 12 months for a decision, and they are not considered responsible for the delay. We write about this in more detail in our other blog here. If permission is granted, the asylum seeker will be allowed to take up jobs on the shortage occupation list only. Although, the courts have…

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Illegal Migration Bill – review by the Human Rights Committee On 7 March 2023, the Government introduced the Illegal Migration Bill (the Bill) to the House of Commons. The Government’s rationale is that the Bill will deter ‘illegal’ entry and prevent people smuggling and further deaths in the Channel. The Bill would make significant changes to the law on immigration detention and bail, modern slavery, citizenship and settlement, and legal…

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What next for pre-settled status holders Holders of pre-settled status under EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) are currently waiting for important announcement. Home Office is expected to amend its policy for pre-settled status holders during this summer. The policy change is required due to the recent High Court judgement. The High Court decision confirmed that it is unlawful for Home Office to require that pre-settled status holders make another EUSS application…

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What are immigration re-entry bans to the UK Re-entry bans are important matter and they occur more often then employer’s and HR teams may expect. The Immigration Rules (Part 9 – Grounds for Refusal) contain a power which allows the Home Office to refuse an application for entry clearance or permission to enter where an individual has previously breached the UK’s immigration laws. This is commonly known as the re-entry…

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Shortage Occupation List 2023 – fishing jobs added to the list Recent Home Office press release confirms that fishing jobs are added to the UK Shortage Occupation List. This is important news for the UK fishing industry. There is a reason why those amendments are announced at this time. Namely, changes to the immigration rules published in April 2023 mean that Skilled Worker visas are required for fishing jobs in…

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Important changes to student visa and student dependant visa from January 2024 The anticipated changes to Student visa and their dependant family member visas are announced. In our most recent blog published a few days ago, we spoke about upcoming changes to the UK student visa route. The changes have now been announced by the Home Office on 23rd May 2023 in a short press release. The new rules are…

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