Immigration solicitors are warning UK business owners applying for their first sponsor licence, and companies who hold sponsor licences to employ skilled migrant workers on Tier 2 or Tier 5 visas, that Home Office inspection visits have resumed following their temporary curtailment du

The immigration rules on minimum salary thresholds for skilled worker visa applicants are already complicated and, in the view of immigration solicitors, confusing for business owners looking to recruit skilled migrant workers from the EU or non-EEA countries. The rules on pay for those employed on skilled worker visas changed on the 6 April  2021, even though the original rules were only brought into force in December 2020, just four months ago.

Just when employers thought that they were beginning to understand the new points-based immigration system work visa routes for both EU and non-EEA skilled and lower skilled workers, the government has announced the new graduate visa route. Bizarrely, despite being called the ‘graduate visa’, graduates can fill jobs at any skill level.

Until the first signs of spring and announcements over the easing of the UK COVID-19 lockdown, many UK businesses hadn’t turned their thoughts to recruitment and the immigration issues arising after the end of free movement for EU nationals. Everything had seemed too uncertain and speculative.

If you want to come to the UK to work then the likelihood is that you will need a work visa. Back in 2020, the immigration rules were different and the rules distinguished between non-EEA nationals and EEA and EU nationals. With Brexit and the end of free movement for EU citizens, the immigration rules and the requirement for a work visa are now the same, whether you are an EEA or non-EEA national.

Coming to the UK on a spouse visa is the start of your journey to settlement in the UK though lots of people are so relieved to secure their initial spouse visa that they don’t look forward to when they will have to make an application to the Home Office to extend their spouse visa. UK immigration solicitors say it is best to plan ahead and to understand what you will need to extend your spouse visa.

On the 4 March 2021, the UK government published a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules. For those business owners still adapting to Brexit and the introduction of the new points-based immigration system in January  2021, further changes may seem oddly timed. In this blog we look at the over one-hundred-page document of immigration rules changes and highlight the key points.

UK Immigration solicitors 

You may have assumed that the March 2021 budget would all be about whether the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, would extend the furlough scheme or the stamp duty holiday for property purchases under £500,000. Not only was there good news there but for immigration solicitors there were some positive signs that the January 2021 new points-based immigration system will be changed to further reform the UK immigration system.

Securing your settled status is a milestone to celebrate so UK immigration solicitors are urging those thinking about applying for settled status and those with pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to understand the rules on absences and the EU Settlement Scheme to avoid you losing your right to settled status.

There is a lot of information available if you are an EEA national considering applying for pre-settled status or settled statusunder the EU Settlement Scheme but UK immigration solicitors are receiving enquiries from non-EEA and EEA partners of EU nationals asking about their right to stay in the UK after Brexit and the end of the transition period on the 31 December 2020.

Whilst all business owners are heartedly sick of hearing and reading about Brexit the reality is that with the end of free movement many small and medium UK businesses are having to take business immigration law advice for the first time. In this article head of business immigration, Hans Sok Appadu, looks at business immigration for SMEs and those wanting to come to the UK to set up a business.

The British prime minister, Boris Johnston, may have given a warm welcome to those with British national (overseas) status looking to apply for entry clearance to the UK on the new Hong Kong visa but the Chinese government response to the Hong Kong visa has heightened the concerns of those with British national (overseas) status. In this blog our immigration solicitors look at the Hong Kong visa introduced on the 31 January 2021.  

Immigration solicitors are some of the first to say that the eligibility criteria for the skilled worker visa are confusing for employers, particularly the minimum salary threshold. That’s because the minimum salary threshold to qualify for the skilled worker visa is based on a published minimum annual income or a percentage figure for the going rate for the job, whichever is the higher. In this blog we look at the concept of the ‘going rate’ for the job.

If your business has had its sponsor licence revoked or knows that it is at risk of getting its sponsor licence revoked it is time to take specialist legal advice from sponsor licence and immigration solicitors on your best course of action.

Does your business need to hire workers? With the UK skills shortage would you normally hire from overseas? If your workers, whether they are joining a UK construction, tech or digital firm or other industry sector, are from the EU then the immigration rules have changed. If your business is still getting to grips with the immigration rule changes it isn’t surprising as this year has been very tough with the global pandemic and the financial fall-out of lockdowns and the COVID-19 tier system.

With the elderly concerned about going into residential care accommodation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic the immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors are receiving enquiries about whether family members can get a visa to come to the UK to look after their relatives. In this blog we look at your options if you would like a family member to apply for a visa to come to the UK to look after you.

UK Immigration solicitors 

It is often said that when one door closes another door opens. In the case of Donald Trump, as he says goodbye to the presidency of the USA and to the White House, could something novel happen? In this blog we look at whether Donald Trump could become a British citizen. After all, we know that the UK has some excellent golf courses and that Donald Trump is known for doing the unexpected.

The third national lockdown in the UK and devastating COVID-19 statistics has really emphasised the need for migrants to come to the UK to fill health care vacancies. In this article our immigration solicitors look at work visas and the health and care worker visa and eligibility criteria.