Recently, the government posted more details about their new immigration system which will apply from 1 January 2021. This helps clear up many questions that UK business owners have had for quite some time as their hiring and recruitment operations have been on hold since Brexit.
From 1 January 2021, there will be an end
to free movement for nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) and
Switzerland. Any non-British and Irish nationals which were not covered by the
withdrawal agreement, will require visas for any visits to the UK. Short-term
trips will not be affected, however. Another change is that National ID cards
will no longer be acceptable and all arrivals will require a passport. There is
a universal 'permission to travel' requirement in the works which should be
phased in by 2025, which will require anyone other than British or Irish
nationals looking to travel to the UK to seek permission to do so in advance.
How It
Will Affect UK Businesses
So, how does all of this affect your
business? It means that employers will need to review the new policies and plan
ahead to ensure little to no disruption in their hiring or recruitment
practices. Recruiting EEA and Swiss nationals will become more complex,
expensive and time consuming from January 2021, so employers need to understand
that EEA or Swiss nationals recruited to the UK ahead of 31 December will be able
to remain in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme rules. That means that they
can avoid the new system
Another important factor to understand is
that neither the current points-based system (PBS) nor the new system permits migrants to enter
the UK for
lower-skilled work below RQF3. This will significantly affect the construction,
care, hospitality, tourism, food processing, manufacturing, and retail sectors.
These sectors are already facing shortages on just about every level, including
the supply chain.
Sponsor
Licence
Businesses need to ensure that they have
the proper sponsor licence before 1 January 2021. This will ensure that you are
able to recruit the talent your business needs come 2021. Because of the
expected surge in licence applications, processing times could be much longer
than expected which means that employers should act now and apply for a sponsor
licence right away.
Contact
Aman Solicitors Advocates
To learn more about the future of
immigration in the UK, contact Aman Solicitors Advocates today.
If you
enjoyed this article, please feel free to share it on your favourite social
media sites.