Rules for family members joining EU, EEA and Swiss citizens in the UK from 1 January 2021

From 1 January 2021, we will see the new rules for family members joining EU, EEA and Swiss citizens in the UK. Close family members and unmarried partners will continue applying for a EUSS family permit. They will need it to join their eligible family members in the United Kingdom. Other extended family members will not be able to apply for it. Also, the Home Office will not accept new applications for family permits after 30 June 2021.

How long you can stay from 1 January 2021

Both family permits and EU Settlement Scheme family permits are usually valid for six months. Family permits end on 30 June 2021. So holders of these permits will not be able to use them after this date even if there is time left on the permit. You may plan to arrive in the UK on or after 1 April 2021. You may even have the application approved more than three months before that. Then, your EU Settlement Scheme family permit will be valid for four months under new rules for family members.

Staying in the UK after your family permit expires

The Home Office will not change the residence rights and status of EU citizens living in the UK until 30 June 2021. If they wish to continue living in the United Kingdom with their family members, they will have to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme after their family permit expires.

Family permits for family members under the EU Settlement Scheme from 1 January 2021

Fees from 1 January 2021

Both family permits are free of charge.

What they do under new rules for family members

Unfortunately, under new rules for family members, you might not get a boarding ticket without a valid permit. A border control officer will refuse you to enter the UK. Therefore, it is essential to apply for a permit in advance.

New rules for family members at the UK airport

A border control officer should check your permit before allowing you to enter the UK. So, do not use the automatic ePassport gates at the airport.

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

Irish citizens will continue entering the UK to live as well as work here as they do now.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can also continue travelling to the United Kingdom for short visits and holidays without needing a visa. Besides, they can cross the border using a passport which should be valid for the whole period of stay in the United Kingdom.

A frontier worker permit is a new visa for EEA Nationals

New visa for EEA Nationals from 1st January 2021 – a frontier worker permit.

Frontier workers are people who live primarily in one country but work in another. EU laws allowed million of EEA Nationals to develop and flourish within the EU. Therefore, most frontier workers who travel into the United Kingdom to work will be left in a precarious position from 1st January 2021.

Many frontier workers who wish to stay in the UK will be able to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme to secure long term status. Some of them will get an intra-company transfer visa. Workers who are not eligible for these schemes will be able to apply for the frontier worker permit.

Eligibility rules

To get a permit, a frontier worker is someone who can meet the following requirements before 31st December 2020 and has continued to meet them since they are an EEA or Swiss national, not primarily resident in the United Kingdom and they are one of the following:

1. a worker in the United Kingdom
2. a self-employed person in the United Kingdom
3. a person who has retained the status of being self-employed/a worker under new regulations

The frontier worker permit will be available to the applicants who started working in the UK before 31st December 2020 and continue in this working pattern until they make an application. There is no deadline for applying.

“Not primarily resident”

The applicant will be considered as “not primarily resident” in the UK if at a “particular point in time” they can satisfy one of the following criteria:

• They have been present in the United Kingdom for less than 180 days in the 12 months immediately before the relevant day
• They have travelled to their country of residence at least once in the last six months or twice in the previous 12 months before the relevant day unless there are exceptional reasons for not having done so.

Most employers will want to prioritise employees with immigration statuses which can lead to UK settlement in the longer term. However, the frontier worker permit will be a useful option for those employees who frequently travel. It may allow employers to retain skilled, mobile talent in and out of the UK.

The frontier worker permit will be a great option to retain a UK immigration status for migrants who could not meet the requirements of the application for settled status under the EU Settlement scheme.

Irish citizens do not need to do anything to continue working in the United Kingdom from 1st January 2021.

Retaining the status of a frontier worker

In case if an employee has previously been a frontier worker, he or she will be able to retain their status by applying for a permit if one of the following criteria applies to their situation:

• applicants are temporarily unable to work because of an illness or an accident;
• they were working in the United Kingdom but are now involuntary unemployed and are currently seeking employment in the United Kingdom;
• applicants are in vocational training whilst unemployed, and the training is related to previous employment;
• they are temporarily unable to work as a result of pregnancy or childbirth; or
• applicants are on maternity or paternity leave, and they will return to their previous employment or find another job after the end of the leave

The application process for frontier worker permit

The application will be free of charge. The successful applicants will receive an electronic status rather than a physical card.

The Home Office will open the application process after the end of the implementation period. The prospective frontier workers will not need a permit to enter the United Kingdom until after 30th June 2021. They will have the six months’ grace period between January and June 2021 in which to apply.

Successful applications

If the Home Office approves the application, the frontier worker permit will be valid for five years. However, the permits of the self-employed and workers who have retained frontier worker status will be valid for two years.

The permit will not lead to indefinite leave to remain (settlement) in the UK.

Some migrants will not be able to start work in the United Kingdom until on or after 1st January 2021. They will not be able to apply for the frontier worker permits. The work permits under one of the routes in the new immigration system will be available to them.

New health and care visa for overseas medical workers

New Health and Care Visa for overseas medical workers opened for new applications from 4 August 2020. According to the new scheme, qualified doctors, nurses as well as allied health professionals will be able to use fast-track entry, reduced visa fees, and dedicated support to come to the UK with their families. The prospective medical migrants also had to have passed training to a recognised standard.

Skilled worker’s sponsors

To clarify, the new entry clearance visa will operate within the existing skilled worker (General) immigration category. Besides, the applicants will need a Certificate of Sponsorship from an employer who must hold a Skilled worker’s sponsorship licence.

Moreover, skilled worker’s sponsors will be required to provide a brief explanation in the Certificate of Sponsorship about how the prospective employee can meet the requirements of the new health and care visa.

Eligible professions

Furthermore, a new scheme will be available only for the applicants who are coming to do in the UK one of the roles from the list of 18 eligible occupations. However, this type of visa is not for care home workers.

The full list of eligible professions is:

• 2112 – Biological scientists as well as biochemists
• 2113 – Physical Scientists
• 2211 – Medical Practitioners
• 2212 – Psychologists
• 2213 – Pharmacists
• 2214 – Ophthalmic Opticians
• 2215 – Dental practitioners
• 2217 – Medical Radiographers
• 2218 – Podiatrists
• 2219 – Health Professionals not elsewhere classified
• 2221 – Physiotherapists
• 2222 – Occupational Therapists
• 2223 – Speech as well as Language Therapists
• 2229 – Therapy professionals not elsewhere classified
• 2231 – Nurses
• 2232 – Midwives
• 2442 – Social Workers
• 3213 – Paramedics

In short, to be eligible for a Health and Care Visa, the worker must be offered one of the above jobs with an NHS Trust, Health Board, NHS commissioned service providers. The prospective worker can also get an offer for a place in eligible occupations in the social care sector.

Requirements for new health and care visa

To sum up, applicants will have to meet the requirements of the usual Skilled worker’s (General) visa. Besides, it includes the English language requirement. Applicants for this particular visa and their dependents will also be exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge.

The Home Office aims to process the majority of the applications within three weeks.

The Home Office extends visas to 31 July 2020

The UK Home Office extends visas to 31 July 2020. The nationals who cannot leave the UK because of the coronavirus, the HO will not regard as overstayers.

Your visa may expire between 24 January and 31 July 2020. Then, you will be able to renew it until 31 July. Apply for an extension and submit the form to the UK Visas & Immigration. The rules are only valid during the pandemic period. You might have already applied for this service and extended your visa until 31 May. Еhereby, you will spread it until 31 July automatically.

One of the conditions for the extension is an explanation of the reason for remaining in the UK.

Home Office extends Long-term visas

The nationals can also switch to a long-term UK visa until 31 July 2020. They can only do that if their visas expire between 24 January 2020 and 31 July 2020. It includes applications where nationals would usually need to apply for entry clearance from their home country.

The applicants have to meet the immigration requirements of the type of visa they are applying for. Besides, they have to pay the correct application fee.

It includes those applicants, who have already extended their leave to remain to 31 July 2020.

It is possible to apply online. The terms of the applicant’s leave will remain the same until the end of the decision-making process on their application.

The recent changes due to the coronavirus public health crisis

The Home Office introduced the following changes due to the coronavirus public health crisis to immigration process and asylum.

Extension of the leave to remain and visas

Some migrants in the UK on visas are unable to return home at the end of their visa. This is due to coronavirus. They can ask the Home office to extend their leave to stay to 31 May.

Asylum screening interviews

The Home Office cancelled some screening interviews.

The new system for asylum claims will be introduced soon by the Home Office to limit the contact and travel of the registrants.

Substantive asylum interviews

The Home Office currently paused the substantive asylum interviews.

The Home Office informs:

“Many of our applicants travel a long way to have a substantive asylum interview, which can be a lengthy interaction taking several hours. On that basis, we have decided to pause face to face substantive asylum interviews for now. That means we will be cancelling any that are scheduled from tomorrow 19 March and will not be scheduling any new face to face interviews for now. “

The Home Office is considering alternative ways of carrying out the interviews due to the coronavirus public health policy. For example, they already carry out some substantive interviews by video link/Skype).

Asylum support due to the coronavirus Health Crisis

Currently, there are not many changes in ending people’s asylum support.

Due to the coronavirus public health crisis, the Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP) has issued a new fact sheet about asylum support and COVID-19. There are some people, whose “appeal rights exhausted”. Some of them do not currently have a fresh claim under consideration by the Home Office. They all may receive some support. They cannot now leave the UK due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions and the grounding of flights.

Further submissions (Fresh Claims)

The previous requirement to submit further evidence in person in Liverpool for consideration by the Home Office as a fresh claim is not available. Now the applicants can submit their further evidence by post or email. The applicant has to explain who he/she is, why he/she submits the evidence, why the submitted evidence amounts to a fresh claim. The evidence must be sent to the following postal address: Further Submissions Unit, The Capital Building, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9PP, or by email: [email protected]

Appeals and Judicial Reviews

From 25 March, the First-tier Tribunal does not list the face-to-face appeal hearings. Until at least 30 April, judges will carry out Case Management Review Hearings by telephone and decide whether the Home Office and appellant are ready to proceed with the full hearing a few weeks later.

Due to coronavirus, the First-tier tribunals will hold the new full hearings by video.

The Upper Tribunal has cancelled almost all listed hearings, even most of the Judicial Reviews.

Reporting to the Home Office

The Home Office temporarily closed reporting centres due to the coronavirus public health policy. All migrants who must report to the Home Office to satisfy the immigration bail condition will receive an SMS text message soon with details of their next reporting date.

Detention rules in coronavirus Public Health Crisis

The Home Office closed detention centres to visitors and released 350 people from detention.

The immigration departments made some changes to the case reviewing process due to the Coronavirus public health crisis. The Home Office started urgently reviewing the cases of the most vulnerable detainees and stopped the new detentions of people who would in normal circumstances be facing removal to one of the 49 countries.

Because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, removals to the following countries are not taking place: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Austria, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, India, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lichenstein, Lebanon, Libya, Luxembourg, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Zimbabwe.

The Home Office opened the coronavirus Immigration Help Centre

All people can send their immigration queries related to coronavirus to [email protected]

Source: www.gov.uk

The UK is introducing a points-based immigration system from 2021.

The UK is introducing a points-based immigration system from 2021. The new arrangements will take effect commencing on 1 January 2021. It will occur, once freedom of movement with the European Union (EU) has ended. The Home Office will treat all EU as well as non-EU citizens equally. Moreover, people from other countries will be able to come to the United Kingdom to contribute to the UK’s economy. Besides, Irish citizens will continue to be able to enter and live in the UK as they do now.

Skilled workers

The UK government designed a new points-based system for skilled workers. However, they must have a job offer from an approved employer sponsor.

From January 2021, we should expect the removal of the current annual cap under the Tier 2 (General) visa route. So, it will lower the skills’ threshold from RQF 6 to RQF 3. It will also eliminate the resident labour market test. Moreover, the minimum general salary threshold will be as low as £25,600. If the worker may earn less than this, but not less than £20,480. Then, he or she may still be able to apply by ‘trading’ points on specific characteristics against your salary. For example, if you have a job offer in a from the list of shortage occupations or have a PhD relevant to the job.

The employers without a sponsor licence will need to apply for one. They will need it to employ EU nationals from outside of the UK from 1 January 2021.

Global talent scheme for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

The UK will open a new global talent scheme to EU, EEA and Swiss. It will allow highly-skilled scientists and researchers to come to the UK without a job offer.

Low-skilled workers

There will not be an immigration route specifically for low-skilled workers. However, we should expect an expansion of the seasonal agricultural visa pilot scheme. 

International students and graduates under the points-based immigration system

The UK will open up student visa routes to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. They will be able to apply for a visa to study in the UK if they:

• have a place on a course
• can speak, read, write and understand English
• have enough money to support themselves and pay for their course

A new graduate immigration route will be available to international students who have completed a degree in the UK from summer 2021. They’ll be able to work or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to 2 years under the new points-based immigration system.

Other visa routes

EU citizens will be able to apply for short-term work visas in specific sectors (the current ‘Tier 5’) and investor, business development and talent visas (the current ‘Tier 1’) from 2021.

Visiting the UK

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and other non-visa nationals will not require a visa to enter the UK when visiting the UK for up to 6 months. All migrants looking to enter the UK for other reasons (such as work or study) will need to apply for a visa in advance.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK by 31 December 2020

All EU, EEA or Swiss citizens living in the UK before 31 December 2020 can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021.

Crossing the UK border

Citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United States of America, Singapore and South Korea will continue to be able to use ePassport gates to pass through the border on arrival. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens will also be able to use ePassport gates.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens will continue to be able to cross the UK border using a valid passport.

The Home Office may not accept the EU, EEA and Swiss national ID cards for entry to the UK after 2020. However, if the EU, EEA and Swiss national begin living in the UK before 31 December 2020 and have status under the EU Settlement Scheme, he or she will be able to use their national identity card to enter the UK until at least 31 December 2025.

Proving immigration status in the UK

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens will use an online service to view their immigration status and to show their status to others.

Employers, landlords and public service providers will continue to accept EU citizens’ passports and identity cards as evidence of their immigration status until 30 June 2021.

Employers will be able to carry out right to work checks on EU citizens and their family members in the UK.

Non-EU citizens

Non-EU citizens will continue to use a physical document to prove their immigration status.

Source of information: https://www.gov.uk/

Coming changes in the UK immigration system after Brexit: expert views

Boris Johnson confirmed his plans to make changes in the UK immigration and visa system after Brexit. The system will be separate from the Home Office. Currently the ministerial department responsible for immigration and security in the UK. This process will likely change how the Home Office functions.

Expert views

The majority of lawyers and campaigners suppose the primary goal of these changes is to increase border control. They also believe that the implementation of these changes must complete within an adequate time and resource frame. The failure to do so may adversely affect the immigration and visa system.

Migration specialists speculate that the Conservative party focuses on decreasing the amount of immigration. Therefore, the new system will be comparable to the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agency in the US. Both organisations are currently responsible for security and immigration enforcement.

Some lawyers believe that the new system would make less justifiable decisions. Further, it will focus on controlling and restricting migration. Moreover, the system will prioritise, reducing the number of migrants to peoples’ interests and wishes. Consequently, past mistakes, such as the Windrush scandal, are likely to repeat.

Some experts are concerned that the coming changes in the UK immigration system could disrupt immigration services. The Home Office’s past mistakes, such as the EU Settlement Scheme and the Windrush scandal, weakened the public’s confidence and trust in the immigration system. It would take time for the newly created department, responsible for the immigration decision-making process, to build its trust with the public and start functioning efficiently.

Other legal specialists believe that any negative experience could help the government to create a new department with a well-structured and planned system in the future.

For now, we can only reflect on these speculations and hope for the best.