Do you know that:

 

 

Home Office application fees for visas increased on 04 October 2023?

See article by Daniaal Afzaal. The Immigration Health Surcharge is also due to rise to £1,035 from 16 January 2024.

 

The Youth Mobility Scheme is expanding?

More nationalities are being added to the eligible list. This will include nationals of Andorra and Uruguay from 31 January 2024. From this date nationals of Australia and Canada will also be eligible to apply for 1 year extension on this visa; at present, only New Zealand nationals can.

 

ETA visas are being introduced?

An Electronic Authorisation visa is a new requirement impacting people who do not need a visa to visit the UK. The ETA will be electronically linked to the holder’s passport and will give them permission to travel to the UK.

You will require an ETA if you are:

1. Coming to the UK for up to 6 months for the purposes of tourism, business or study;
2. Coming to the UK for up to 3 months on the creative worker concession; or
3. Transit through the UK.

ETA’s are being rolled out gradually and will be required if:

1. You are a National of Qatar – Travelling on/after 15 November 2023; or
2. You are a national of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, or the UAE – Travelling on/after 22 February 2024.

 

How to conduct a Right to Work check correctly to establish a statutory excuse against illegal working?

If you have questions about conducting Right to Work checks in the correct manner, get in touch. On request, we can provide training sessions about how to make checks in the correct manner.

 

Is your sponsor licence up-to-date?

Check out this health-check prompt sheet for tips on what to consider - download here.

Do we know:

 

 

About the challenges of Right to Work check?

As you should be aware, holding a valid right to work check is essential to establish a statutory excuse against illegal working.

When conducting an online right to work check consider checking:

• The immigration status of the applicant. If they are a British or Irish citizen, manual checks of their physical documents can be carried out
• If the individual has any pending visa applications with the Home Office or is aware that their online status is subject to a Home Office IT glitch
• If the share-code provided is within date
• Check they are obtaining the share-code from Tell us about your immigration status – GOV.UK (right-to-work.service.gov.uk)
• Ensure you are using this portal to conduct the check: Check a job applicant's right to work: use their share code - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you need further assistance, do get in touch.

 

Anything about ‘entangled status’?

Entangled status refers to the situation where an individual’s online right to work check does not display accurately. This could be the length or type of leave displayed inaccurately, or the online check displays someone else’s photograph.

The Home Office is aware that some individuals are affected by this and it is most likely due to an IT glitch.

Where this situation occurs, it is possible to ask the Home Office to check an employee’s or potential employee’s immigration status. Checking their decision letter or BRP will not be sufficient to establish a statutory excuse against illegal working.

 

What options are there for hiring recent international graduates?

For more information about hiring non-settled graduate talent see Stacey Lambert's recent article.