How will the latest changes to immigration rules affect my business?

Changes have been made to immigration rules, some of which with the potential to affect you and your business.

On 12 March, the government released a statement of changes to immigration rules. We have put together a brief summary of the key changes.

They include:

• from 9 April, employers seeking to recruit care/senior care workers will need to demonstrate that they have tried to recruit from the existing pool of sponsored workers from within the UK before setting sights on new workers overseas
• the government will increase surveillance and monitor abuse of the system, specifically, to prevent sponsors from recouping sponsorship costs from the workers they have sponsored
• the minimum salary for applicants of a skilled worker visa will increase to £25,000 per year
• from 2 April, introduction of the electronic travel authorisations will take place for all visitors coming to the UK who currently do not require a short stay visa/those who do not have immigration status in the UK.

Please note that this list is non-exhaustive.

Fee increases

Further to the changes outlined above, on 19 March, the government published an array of increases to the costs associated with personal and business visas.

We have put together a table of the key business visa increases that will take place from 9 April:

Please note that this table contains a non-exhaustive list.

If you require further information on any of the above, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our business immigration experts.

Our Legal 500-rated employment law & business immigration team are experts in guiding businesses of all sizes and backgrounds through a range of issues that may arise.