18 Mar Changes to the Immigration Rules – March 2022
On 15 March 2022, the Home Office issued a new Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, announcing the Global Business Mobility (GBM), which includes four schemes replacing some of the existing visa routes and also creating new ones. Changes will start to be implemented on 6 April 2022, but will run in different stages.
The Graduate Trainee
The Graduate Trainee route is for migrants, who are currently pursuing a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and who are required to carry out a work placement in the UK. This scheme will replace the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route or the Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) migrant in the Graduate Trainee sub-category.
The annual salary requirement will be set at £23,100 per year and 70% of the pro-rated going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. This route does not lead to settlement.
In addition, migrants must currently be working for the sponsor group and have worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for a continuous period of at least 3 months immediately prior to the application.
Permission will be granted for either 1 year from the start date of the job detailed in the Certificate of Sponsorship, the time given on the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days or the date at which the applicant will have had cumulative permission in the Global Business Mobility routes and Intra-Company routes totalling 5 years in any 6-year period, whichever is shorter.
The Senior or Specialist Worker route
The Senior or Specialist Worker route is for managers who are in a senior position or specialist employees and are being assigned to a UK organisation linked to their employer overseas. This route will allow employers to transfer staff from overseas to the UK. This category will replace the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) scheme.
Please note that the minimum gross annual salary threshold will be £42,400 instead of £41,500, and the category does not lead to settlement in the UK.
Migrants, who are applying as a high earner with a gross annual salary in the amount of £73,900 or more, can extend for a maximum period of 9 years in any 10-year period, while applicants with a lower salary can remain in the UK for no more than 5 years in any 6-year period.
The Service Supplier route
The Service Supplier category is for those contractual service suppliers employed by an overseas service provider and/or self-employed independent professionals based overseas, who need to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade commitments. This scheme will replace certain provisions under the Temporary Work – International Agreement route.
Please note that the Service Supplier route does not lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, and the maximum length of the leave is going to be 5 years in any 6-year period under the GBM.
The UK Expansion Worker route
The UK Expansion Worker scheme will replace the current Sole Representative route. It is meant for senior managers or specialist employees of overseas businesses intending to expand their presence in the UK. The Sole Representative route will be closed at 9 am on 11 April 2022.
When comparing to the Sole Representative scheme, the UK Expansion Worker route will not lead to settlement in the UK and prima facie is a lot more restrictive, although there is no mention of shareholding.
Migrants will need to receive a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the job they are planning to do, and the sponsor must be authorized by the Home Office to sponsor a UK Expansion Worker. The prospective UK Expansion Worker must:
- be currently working for the sponsor group; and
- have worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for a cumulative period of at least 12 months, unless the applicant is either:
(i) applying as a high earner with a salary in the amount of £73900; or
(ii) a Japanese national seeking to establish a UK branch or subsidiary of the sponsor group under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Please note that the general gross UK annual salary requirement is £42,400 and 100% of the pro-rated going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Applicants will not, however, need to satisfy an English language requirement.
The Secondment Worker route
The Secondment Worker route is for individuals who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, whereby the worker is being seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas. This is a new visa scheme in the Immigration Rules, and it does not lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Please note that the applicant must meet the overseas requirements below:
- is currently working for an overseas business that has a contract with the sponsor that has been registered with the Home Office by the sponsor; and
- has worked outside the UK for that overseas business for a cumulative period of at least 12 months.
- There is no English language requirement.
The High Potential Individual scheme
Individuals, who have graduated from a top global university wishing to work in the UK, might be able to apply for the High Potential Individual visa. Please note this is an unsponsored route, but it does not lead to settlement in the UK.
The applicant must, in the 5 years immediately prior to the date of the application, have been awarded an overseas degree level academic qualification, which Ecctis confirms it would meet or exceeds, the recognised standard of a UK bachelor’s or UK postgraduate degree.
The eligible awarding institutions will be compiled on an annual basis and consists of non-UK institutions that included in the list of the top 50 universities mentioned in at least two of the following ranking systems:
- Times Higher Education World University Rankings;
- Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings;
- The Academic Ranking of World Universities.
Individuals will be granted permission to enter and remain for 2 years if they rely on a qualification equivalent to a UK Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, and 3 years if they hold a qualification equivalent to a UK PhD.
This route will be open on 30 May 2022.
The Scale-up route
The Scale-Up visa is meant for businesses -with an annual growth of at least 20% in the previous 3-year period and a work force of 10 people- that intend to hire of skilled positions from overseas. This a new route under the Immigration Rules and this category does lead to ILR in the UK.
In order to meet the requirements of the Scale-up visa application, migrants will need to receive a job offer from a UK registered A-rated sponsor. In addition, the job must be skilled to graduate level (RQF 6 and equivalent), and the minimum gross annual salary will be £33,000 or that listed in the appropriate SOC, whichever is higher.
Permission will be granted for 2 years. To extend their permission to stay applicants must have PAYE earnings of at least £33,000 per year for at least 50% of their time in the route. Extensions will be granted for 3 years.
The route leads to settlement. Applicants will need to have PAYE earnings of at least £33,000 in 24 months of the 3-year period immediately prior to their application for settlement, as well as the standard settlement requirements relating to 5 years’ continuous residence and demonstrating knowledge of life in the UK.
This category will be opened on 22 August 2022.
Contact Our Immigration Team
For expert advice regarding any aspect of the UK visa application, please contact our immigration team on 0203 384 3075.
