Immigration update – February 2024

Restrictions on care workers bringing dependents to the UK

Effective from 11 March 2024, the Home Office have confirmed that there will be a ban on senior care workers and care workers under the Health and Care visa bringing their dependants with them to the UK. This affects these workers sponsored under Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes 6145 and 6146 respectively. Other professionals under the Health and Care visa under other SOC codes (example: doctors and nurses) will still be able to bring dependent family members.

After this date only those sponsored under a Health and Care visa and undertaking any employment regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in eligible SOC codes other than those stated above will be eligible to bring their dependants with them. This will mean that CQC exempt activities such as day care provision will also be impacted.

All Health and Care visa holders will continue to remain exempt from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge.

The upcoming restriction is being seen to reduce net migration and with an expectation that it could cut immigration to the UK by 120,000 a year (based on 2023 data).

This significant change is going to impact employers as the Health and Care visa is such a crucial gateway for any healthcare professional contributing to the UK’s care sector. This upcoming ban on dependant’s will inevitably result in a depletion of available skilled workers to recruit, as less migrants will be willing to relocate if they are unable to have their dependants join them. It is however expected that new pathways will soon be announced for care workers and apprentices in light of this upcoming change. More information on this is expected to be announced in due course.

Increased fines for employing illegal workers now in force

With the fine for employing illegal workers recently having increased on 13 February 2024 to up to £60,000 per illegal worker (previously £20,000 per illegal worker), it is now more important than ever for employers to maintain compliance and a lawful workforce when it comes to Right to Work checks and document keeping obligations.

Employers who carry out a Right to Work check on their employees in the prescribed and correct manner in force at the time the check was undertaken will have established a continuous statutory excuse against a civil penalty.

In instances where employers have identified an EEA citizen or a non-EEA family member who has applied for a job but has not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme, they will not be able to pass a Right to Work check and establish a statutory excuse for the individual. Employers need to be vigilant when carrying out Right to Work checks before and after employment commences.

Employers carrying out respective checks following an audit or who have been made aware that certain employees do not have lawful status must take the relevant appropriate action, which may include notifying the Home Office or taking steps to terminate the individual’s employment.

Employing an illegal worker is a criminal offence and a non-compliance for the Right to Work Scheme. It is imperative for employers to ensure they have conducted the correct and appropriate Right to Work check for all of their employees in order to avoid receiving a fine as detailed above, reputational damage and/or in some instances having their sponsor licence revoked and jeopardising the visa status of all sponsored migrants.

BRP cards with 2024 expiry dates

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are in the process of updating all immigration statuses so that permissions are digitalised by the end of 2024. In the meantime, migrants are still being issued with Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) which display an expiry date of 31 December 2024, irrespective of their visa being valid beyond this date. Those with visa expiry dates prior to 31 December 2024 will not be impacted.

It is expected that the UKVI will contact all BRP card holders with visa expiry dates beyond 1January 2025 in the coming months to advise what steps they need to take in order to prove their immigration status online from 1 January 2025 onwards. It is expected that visa holders will be expected to register for an online account so they can access a digital proof of status.

Most visa holders can and should now update their personal information and view their immigration status digitally online via their UKVI account.

As this BRP expiry date is fast approaching, BRP visa holders should ensure their contact details are correct and up to date with the UKVI in order to eliminate missing any important updates regarding their BRP card and proving their visa status before the end of the year. 

It is the hope and expectation that this shift towards a digitised immigration system will massively help in streamlining the immigration system, however much of this will depend on the UKVI’s system and the effectiveness of it.

Ballot system opens for India Young Professionals Scheme visa

On 20 February 2024 at 2:30pm India Standard Time, the next ballot for the India Young Professional Scheme will open for two days only, closing at 2:30pm India Standard Time on 22 February 2024.

There will be 3,000 places available in 2024, with most places being made available in the February ballot and the remaining places being made available in the next upcoming July ballot. One entry can be submitted per person for each ballot.

It’s free to enter the ballot and successful entries will be picked at random. You will be sent the results by email within two weeks of the ballot closing.

Those who are successful in the ballot will have 90 days to apply from when they receive an email and pay the relevant visa application and Immigration Health Surcharge fees and provide biometrics.

If unsuccessful in the first ballot, there is no exemption from applying for future ballots however duplicate entries in one ballot, will not be counted and will be disregarded.

Those who successfully obtain a visa under this route will be able to work, live and study in the UK for up to two years.

To be eligible to apply applicants must be:

• Indian nationals
• Aged 18-30
• Have a qualification at bachelors degree level or above (RQF Level 6+)
• Have £2,530 in savings (and have held these funds for at least 28 consecutive days prior to application)

Definition of unmarried partners updated under Appendix FM of the immigration rules

As of  31 January we have seen a positive and practical update for unmarried partners under Appendix FM of the immigration rules resulting in (theoretically) a more generous and flexible visa route for both international couples and modern families.

For unmarried partners it has always been much harder to be successful in obtaining a Partner visa under Appendix FM of the immigration rules as opposed to married or civil partnered couples due to the requirement of having to prove through documentary evidence that you have resided with your unmarried partner at the same address(es) for a minimum period of two years prior to the date of the visa application.

The latest amendment to the immigration rules now replaces the requirement: ‘where the couple have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years’ with ‘unmarried partners to where the couple have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years’, thus seemingly favourably eliminating the two year cohabitation requirement for applications under Appendix FM of the immigration rules going forwards from 31 January 2024. In order to meet this new amended requirement, it is still expected that the applicant and their sponsor will provide documentary evidence to demonstrate their relationship being genuine and subsisting for at least two years. However, the amendment gives more freedom and evidential flexibility for genuine and subsiding couples who have not been able to live together due to personal circumstances.

Although these changes appear to be positive, it is unknown how the new requirements will be implemented in practice and caseworkers processing visa applications will retain broad discretion in how they manage and consider cases. Discrepancies as to what can be interpreted as a relationship similar to that of marriage or civil partnership having not lived together are expected to be very narrowly and conservatively interpreted in line with other changes announced by the Home Secretary in 2023 seeking to limit legal migration to the UK.  It is also possible for those who do not meet the two-year relationship requirement, to still qualify on a discretionary and exceptional basis.

This new amendment also fails to address whether, once a visa under Appendix FM of the immigration rules has been granted, there will be a retained need to live together in the UK or the need to prove this when applicants are extending or applying for indefinite leave to remain. Even though this is a welcome change, until further guidance is released by the UKVI, applicants should take the assumption that remaining in a traditional relationship is still key in order to avoid potential issues when extending their visa permission or applying for settlement under this visa category.

Ukrainian visa extension scheme announced and closure of Ukraine family scheme

As of 19 February 2024, at 15:00 GMT, the Ukraine family scheme, which was available to eligible Ukrainian nationals with an eligible UK based family member sponsors closed to new applicants. This route was closed with very short notice.

Corresponding with the closure for new applications under the family scheme however, it has now been announced by the Home Office that Ukrainian nationals, already in the UK and who had already applied under any of the Ukraine visa routes following the Russian invasion will now be able to extend their permission to reside in the UK under the new ‘Ukraine extension scheme’ for a further 18 months. Applications will be open online from “early 2025” and will ensure that they continue to have the same rights to access work, benefits, healthcare, and education throughout their stay. This will mean that those who came on the first visas under one of the Ukraine visa schemes could now stay in the UK until September 2026.

Of notable importance, children born in the UK to those who have permission under the Ukraine scheme are also eligible to apply under the new extension scheme.

This is a very welcomed update and will help provide affected Ukrainians with an extended certainty and assurance for their safety. It also means employers can be confident of retaining their Ukrainian workers for the time being.

The Government is also appealing further for more families to come forward to sponsor Ukrainians in their homes in order to provide a “safe haven” for those fleeing conflict as described by Tom Pursglove, minister for legal migration. There has been a significant number of Ukrainian’s in the UK facing homelessness due to the pressures on the council to help house them, with the pressures of multiple asylum and resettlement schemes being described by the Local Government Association as being ‘compounded by chronic housing shortages’.

Further updates are expected in due course on how eligible Ukrainian nationals can extend their visa permission further and how to apply.

Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) extension

YMS are visas typically provided as a result of UK trade deals with partner countries. The YMS is well established and has recently been extended so that from 31 January 2024, nationals of Australia, Canada and South Korea aged 18-35 can now apply for entry clearance which allows them to stay in the UK for up to two years under the scheme (previously this was limited to aged 18-30 years of age). In addition, Australian and Canadian nationals in the UK with an existing valid YMS permission can apply for a one year in-country extension, taking the total amount of time they can be in the UK under the YMS route to three consecutive years.

This route offers a great route for young people who may want to work in the UK on a freelance or self-employed basis. It is also a beneficial route for employers who are seeking to recruit international talent but don’t necessarily have an immigration sponsor licence for work visas or for example don’t have budget to meet the criteria to sponsor skilled work visas for their staff.

Continued roll out of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme for visitors to the UK

From 1 February 2024, applications for the ETA registration scheme opened for nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states (Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates).

Nationals of the GCC states and Jordan can use an ETA to travel to the UK from 22 February 2024. The ETA registration replaces the previous Electronic Visa Waiver/Visit visa requirements.