E-Visas and the E-Visa Rollout
As part of the UK government’s plan to modernise the border and digitalise the immigration system e-visas have now been fully rolled out to visa applications and visa holders. No further physical documents for visa status will be issued beyond the initial entry clearance visa that will be provided to individuals.
You should ensure that all relevant personnel have created their UKVI digital account and have accessed their eVisa. While previous physical documents are still being accepted through to March 2025 (provided, of course, the individual’s visa remains valid), a further extension to this is not expected so individuals must have accessed their eVisa to be able to travel. Failure to access their eVisa may result in them being unable to board a flight to return to the UK.
The UK government has provided the following resources which you can share with employees: Get access to your online immigration status (eVisa) – GOV.UK
Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Scheme now live for most nationalities
The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Scheme is being rolled out now to the majority of non-visa nationals from 8 January 2025 (although note importantly that EU nationals do not need to obtain an ETA until March 2025).
What is it?
Essentially the UK’s version of the ESTA for those familiar with travel to the United States, individuals travelling to the UK for tourism or short-term business travel will need to apply beforehand for an ETA. It costs £16 to apply and everyone travelling who an ETA would apply to must apply e.g. it applies to babies and children.
Please note those who hold visas, EU Settlement Scheme status, or other relevant permission to live and work in the UK do not need to apply.
How to apply
The application is submitted using the UK ETA app or alternatively online. More details can be found here: Apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) – GOV.UK
Approval should come within hours assuming no issues or red flags.
What should you do and how we can help
You should make sure that any potentially impacted personnel are aware of the need to apply for an ETA. Those individuals who travel frequently to the UK for short term business trips will need to ensure that they have applied for an ETA prior to the next trip. Failure to apply for an ETA when applicable will likely result in the individual being denied entry to the UK.
We are happy to provide further specific information to your employees about the ETA rollout.
Sponsorship Guidance Update
Key changes were made to the sponsor licence guidance on 31 December 2024. The significant changes were as follows:
Prohibition on passing sponsor licence application fee and Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee to sponsored workers, along with associated administrative fees
Previously it was prohibited to pass the Immigration Skills Surcharge fee onto an employee, however it is now also prohibited to pass the CoS fee (£239 although soon to rise to £535) and the initial licence application fee. None of these fees can now be included in any clawback agreement or requested upfront from a prospective sponsored employee.
Interestingly it also mentions that any administrative fees and costs associated with the initial sponsor licence application cannot also be passed onto the worker, likely meaning that legal fees cannot be passed on for the licence application itself.
Restrictions on sponsoring workers in a personal capacity
This amendment essentially restricts or clarifies the rules for individuals applying for licences for self-sponsorship, stating that a licence will not be granted if:
While this largely affects prospective licence applications, if you hold a licence you must not use the licence to sponsor in the scenarios above otherwise the licence could be revoked.
Clarifications Regarding the Role of Key Personnel
As you may be aware for a sponsor licence there are nominated individuals, better known as “Key Personnel” carrying out the role of authorising officer, key contact and Level 1 user. A key part of being compliant as a sponsor is ensuring that the people nominated to these roles meet the respective eligibility criteria.
This section has been largely redrafted and restructured for clarity and includes the following requirements:
We would strongly advise that you review those individuals who hold Key Personnel roles on your sponsor licence, and continue to review these appointments to ensure they meet the requirements. We are happy to advise further.
Sponsor Licences – Increase in Compliance and Audit Activity
Initial sponsor licence applications are now coming under increasing scrutiny. We have noticed this both in the statistics and in real time case working. For example, in the year ending September 2023-2024, there were 47,897 sponsor licence applications, of which 13,132 were not granted. This is a refusal rate of 27.5%,significantly higher than the year before. It is therefore vital if you are thinking of applying for a sponsor licence to ensure it is correctly filed and you meet all the relevant requirements.
Similarly, if you hold a sponsor licence, there has been a significant increase in compliance action taken by UKVI. Recent statistics show for Q1 2024 there were 309 suspensions and 210 revocations of licences, for Q2 the numbers were 524 and 499 respectively, and for Q3 509 and 513 respectively. These numbers are significantly higher than in 2023 when for the entire year there were 421 suspensions and 232revocations i.e. Q3 2024 alone had higher numbers than 2023.
In light of the above it is therefore vital that sponsors are aware of their compliance duties, specifically in the areas of preventing illegally work, reporting duties i.e. what incidents trigger a reporting requirement to UKVI, and record-keeping duties i.e. what documents and information must you have on file in the event of a UKVI audit.
If you have any concerns with regards to your sponsor licence compliance audit please contact us and we can evaluate your current processes, as well as offering a mock audit.
Immigration White Papers
The Labour Government has announced that an immigration white paper will be published in 2025 which will set out further details of the government’s plan to reduce legal migration.
The last white paper commissioned by the Conservative government in 2018 essentially laid down the details for a comprehensive revamp of the UK immigration system. While we expect that the white paper in 2025 will not be as far reaching, we will keep you updated on the relevant policy changes and their impact. The government will rely heavily on the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations as before.
World Immigration Changes
We have highlighted some developments worldwide that may be of interest.
European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) rollout
The EU’s version of ETA/ESTA has experienced several delays to its rollout and is now expected to be introduced in mid-2025. The EU version will cost EUR 7 and will apply to visa-exempt nationals travelling to any of the selected 30 European countries. It will be valid for 3 years or until an individual obtains a new passport, whichever comes sooner.
It will allow for easier tracking of entry/exits to the EU, which will particularly be of significance to those looking to stay within the max 90 days in 180 days restrictions for time spent in the Schengen area. Furthermore expect potential delays at certain EU airports initially as the system will mandate that biometrics (fingerprints/photos) are taken (those familiar with travel to Europe will note this is not a requirement at the moment).
Worldwide ‘digital nomad’ visas continue to expand
Digital nomad visas, essentially visas that allow individuals to remote work in a country while being employed/remaining on payroll of their home country, are becoming more popular. Italy’s Digital Nomad visa went live in April 2024, Spain’s Digital Nomad visa was formally introduced in Q3 2024, and Taiwan’s version went live on 2 January 2025. We expect to see further countries introduce these visas to try attract talented individuals to take up residence. Please contact us should you need more information on these programs.
Geopolitical Uncertainty
With a change in government in the USA with the Trump administration, upcoming potential changes in governments in certain major countries such as Canada and Germany, there will be some political uncertainty in 2025 which may influence and shape immigration policy.
Need help beyond immigration?
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions. Tom Mayhew, Head of Immigration, can be reached at tom.mayhew@smb.london
Here at SMB we are leaders in a wide range of practice areas such as Employment law and corporate and commercial work so should you require any assistance in these areas please do contact us.
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