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If you employ - or are planning to employ - migrants from outside of the European Union then you need to be aware of these changes to immigration rules.
You must apply for a licence if your business wants to employ migrants workers, and/or a licence to sponsor skilled workers, temporary workers or students under the new points-based system. These can be applied for online. These measures replace the current work permit scheme. There is a fee for registering and sponsors will be monitored and graded. The licence will be valid for four years.
The tiers and categories
Underpinning the new immigration system is a five tier framework. The tiers are:
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Tier |
Applications open |
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Tier 1 (General): highly skilled workers, such as scientists and entrepreneurs |
From 29 February 2008 |
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Tier 2: skilled workers with a job offer to fill gaps in United Kingdom labour force (as identified by the Migration Advisory Committee) and intra-company transfers |
From 27 November 2008 |
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Tier 3: limited numbers of low skilled workers needed to fill temporary labour shortages |
This tier is currently suspended |
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Tier 4: students |
In the spring of 2009 |
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Tier 5: temporary workers and youth mobility scheme: people allowed to work in the United Kingdom for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives |
From 27 November 2008 |
If you want to employ migrants in tiers 2 and 5 from November 2008, you need to apply for a licence now.
You should ensure that you have a good HR system in place and keep records of all the migrants you employ. The UK's Border Agency will give your system a ranking before they grant you a licence.
Sponsorship
Sponsors are fully responsible for the actions of any migrant they employ. You must ensure migrants comply with their immigration conditions, by keeping records on each migrant, and reporting any changes, such as if they do not turn up for work. If you do not comply with your duties, you can have your licence downgraded to a B rating or withdrawn.
Ratings
As a licensed employer, you will be given an A rating or a B rating and you will be added to our published register of sponsors. Sponsors that we think could be a risk to immigration control or those who do not have the correct systems in place will be given a B rating. B-rated sponsors must follow a sponsorship action plan designed to help them become A-rated or they risk losing their licence.
Certificates of sponsorship
Sponsors are responsible for issuing certificates of sponsorship to migrants. As well as having a certificate of sponsorship, migrants must also pass a points-based assessment to come to or stay in the United Kingdom.
It has recently been reported that many employers could miss the 27 November deadline to comply with the new rules as just 3,500 of an expected 20,000 employers had registered and only 700, so far, had successfully become official sponsors (Source: Financial Times, 29 October 2008).
Click here to visit the UK Border Agency's website to find out more about the point-based system.
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