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The High Potential Individual visa – will the new category live up to the excitement?

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12th May 2022 By Imogen Simpson

Following the UK government’s announcement of a new High Potential Individual visa category for graduates of top global universities in July 2021, there has been a great deal of speculation within the world of immigration law about who exactly will be eligible for the visa and what this could mean for people who were previously unable to apply under the Graduate visa category.  However, the new rules in the statement of changes released on 15 March 2022 have left some people wondering whether the category will live up to expectations.

Under the new rules those hoping to qualify under the High Potential Individual category must have graduated from one of the universities included on a list of the top 50 ranked global universities within the last five years. To the disappointment of many, the universities included are largely from countries which are arguably viewed as the most ‘developed’, with nearly half of the universities being in the USA and many countries not appearing on the list at all.

Another disadvantage is that, unlike the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme and the Tier 1 (General) category, the High Potential Individual category will not be a route to settlement.

It is not all bad news, as those who find their university on the list and successfully apply under the new category will be able to enjoy the freedom of being on an unsponsored route, meaning they will not be tied to any particular job.

As well as needing to have graduated from a top global university, applicants will need to meet an English language requirement and a financial requirement to be eligible as a High Potential Individual. Those who hold a PhD or another doctoral level qualification will be granted a period of leave of 3 years, whilst those who hold other degree qualifications will be granted a period of 2 years.

Applications under the new category can be made from 30 May 2022.

If you require immigration advice in relation to the above, we can help.  Please contact us on 020 7401 6887 or by email at contact@gryklaw.com.

Filed Under: News and Updates

UK Expansion Worker – a inadequate replacement for the sole representative route?

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28th April 2022 By Rachael Ockenden

The rules relating to business immigration changed once again in April 2022. In another alleged bid to simplify the immigration rules, the Home Office has introduced the Global Mobility visa which encompasses five categories, two of which replace existing routes. The feeling amongst many immigration practitioners is that this is simply yet another rebranding exercise which does not quite hit the mark.

One of the categories being replaced is the sole representative of an overseas business category.

Whilst the sole representative category may have been underused, it did facilitate UK expansion for overseas companies with no presence in the UK. The sole representative category was an unsponsored route and was relatively attractive in that it allowed dependent family members to join the main applicant and could lead to indefinite leave to remain in the UK (ILR) after five years.

The sole representative category has now been replaced by the UK Expansion Worker route. This is, quite inexplicably, a sponsored route. This means that the overseas business will need a ‘footprint’ in the UK in order to apply for a sponsor licence to bring an expansion worker to the UK. Applying at the right time, when a company has a footprint but no a trading presence, will be crucial.

An overseas business should be granted a provisional licence if there is no one in the UK able to run the licence, which presumably will quite often be the case where there is only a footprint. The proposed migrant themselves will then be responsible for maintaining the licence and assigning themself a Certificate of Sponsorship to support their visa application. Once the UK Expansion Worker is in the UK, they will need to request the licence to be upgraded from the provisional status. Following the success of this request, the overseas business will then be able to send a maximum of up to four further expansion workers to the UK.

Under the previous category, an overseas business was only ever permitted to have one sole representative in the UK. The Home Office therefore sees the increased number of permitted workers to be more generous. However, in practice, it is quite likely that the request to upgrade a licence will be subject to lengthy waiting times which may not support the business’ needs or the projections of a business plan.

There are stricter requirements in relation to the overseas business trading history and the proposed UK expansion, which must include establishing a UK trading presence within two years. If a trading presence is not established within two years, the business’ licence can be revoked. How the Home Office plans to keep track of a business’ progress is yet to be seen.

A significant disadvantage of the new route is that it is no longer a route to ILR. A UK Expansion Worker will only be granted immigration permission for a maximum of two years. If the business has established a trading presence, and applies for and is granted a Skilled Worker licence, the UK Expansion Worker could switch into this category if they met the relevant requirements. The Skilled Worker category is a five year route to ILR, though an individual switching could not rely on the time already spent in the UK under the UK Expansion Worker route.

It remains to be seen how attractive or effective the UK Expansion Worker route is for overseas businesses seeking to establish a branch in the UK.

Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: business immigration, sponsorship

SBS Partnership Extended for Women Fleeing Gender-based Violence

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31st March 2022 By Diana Baxter

We are pleased to announce the extension for another year of our partnership with Southall Black Sisters, a not-for-profit women’s rights organisation established to meet the needs of Black (Asian and African-Caribbean) women facing domestic and gender-related violence.

Under the partnership, SBS has funding to refer women who seek their assistance for legal advice and representation in immigration applications and appeals to experts in our team at Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP. The partnership has been a great success during its pilot year in 2021, enabling us to represent women in immigration matters who are unable to access legal aid due to the nature of their immigration problem, but who cannot afford legal fees and disbursements.

In its pilot year, Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP has advised and represented women fleeing violence from India, Pakistan, Jamaica and Zimbabwe. This has included: assisting victims of transnational spouse abandonment to return to the UK and obtain indefinite leave to remain as victims of domestic violence; assisting a woman with complex mental illnesses stemming from childhood sexual violence with a successful appeal under Article 3 ECHR based on her medical condition and risk of suicide on return overseas; and assisting a refugee fearing honour-based killing in Pakistan with a successful appeal to the Upper Tribunal following refusal at the First Tier Tribunal.

We look forward to another year working together with Southall Black Sisters to seek immigration solutions for women facing gender-related violence.

Filed Under: News and Updates, The Firm, Uncategorised

Concessions for Afghans on study and work routes in the UK

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17th February 2022 By Swabra Natabi

On 17 January 2022, the Home Office published guidance on concessions for Afghans who are in the UK on study and work routes. They relate to the provision of supporting documents and restrictions on switching immigration routes in the UK.

Switching 

The Immigration Rules have switching restrictions on some routes. For instance, you cannot switch to a Skilled Worker visa if you are in the UK on a visit visa. Under the rules, an individual must leave the UK and make an out of country entry clearance application.

In light of the volatile situation in Afghanistan, the Home Office recognises this may not be a possibility for Afghan nationals who would otherwise be eligible for other immigration routes. Therefore, this concession seeks to waive this requirement, provided the applicant meets the eligibility criteria.

To apply, the applicant must confirm in writing that they wish to apply under this concession, stating their reasons for making an in-country application.

Document evidence  

Applicants may not be able to provide all the documents required for their application under the relevant route. The applicant must provide a letter explaining why they cannot provide the required document.

There is no need to provide detailed evidence in support of the letter however the applicant must give a ‘sufficient and reasonable explanation’. The guidance sets out acceptable explanations such as the institution from which the document is required is no longer functioning or no one else can reasonably be expected to obtain the document on the applicant’s behalf because it is unsafe.

The requirement to provide the document may be waived if the Home Office is satisfied a document from Afghanistan cannot reasonably be obtained.

Eligibility 

The key requirements for both concessions are as follows:

1)  The applicant must be an Afghan national, or their dependent partner or child.

2)  They must be in the UK lawfully or have been granted an exceptional assurance or where they have overstayed it can only be for a very short time as allowed by the Immigration Rules.

3)  They must have lawfully entered the UK prior to 1 September 2021 or made an application for a visa by that date and arrived later, on a temporary route. The list of routes can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-nationals.

4)  They must be applying for permission to stay on one of these work or study routes:

      • Skilled Worker (including Health and Care Visa)
      • Global Talent
      • Student
      • Child Student
      • Parent of a Child Student
      • Intra-company Routes
      • Representative of an Overseas Business
      • T2 Minister of Religion
      • International Sportsperson
      • Temporary Work – Creative Worker/Charity Worker/Religious Worker/Government Authorised Exchange/International Agreement
      • UK Ancestry (main applicant must hold Commonwealth citizenship)
      • Investor
      • Start-up
      • Innovator

5)  They must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules for the route on which they are applying, subject to these concessions.

Under the guidance, dependants can also switch in line with the main applicant or become a main applicant provided they meet the criteria.

It should be noted that applicants must meet all the criteria above otherwise their application will not be considered under the concessions. Further to this, the guidance states that the decision maker will consider each application on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all circumstances.

These concessions will be applied to all decisions made from 14 January 2022 and will be reviewed in a year.

Although temporary, the introduction of these concessions is welcomed, and will no doubt have a positive impact on the lives of many Afghan nationals.

If you require immigration advice in relation to the above, we would be happy to help. Please contact us on 020 7401 6887 or by email at contact@gryklaw.com.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: News and Updates

Updates to the Youth Mobility Scheme – but Indian Citizens will need to be patient.

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20th January 2022 By Barry O’Leary

Updates to the Youth Mobility Scheme


This month, UK Visas & Immigration has updated its guidance to caseworkers on the Youth Mobility Scheme.

The guidance has been updated to reflect the addition of Iceland and India to the scheme from 1 January 2022.

The guidance now states that an applicant must be one of the following:

• a British Overseas Citizen, British Overseas Territories Citizen or British National (Overseas) as defined by the British Nationality Act 1981

• a national or citizen of a country or the holder of a passport issued by a territory, listed in Appendix Youth Mobility Scheme: eligible nationals. The countries and territories listed in Appendix Youth Mobility Scheme: eligible nationals of the Immigration Rules are:

• Australia
• Canada
• Hong Kong
• Iceland
• India
• Japan
• Monaco
• New Zealand
• Republic of Korea
• San Marino
• Taiwan Page

However, potential Indian citizen applicants are going to have to be a little patient, the first Indian ballot has not yet been announced and the general guidance to applicants states:

India Young Professionals Scheme

Do not use this page to enter the ballot for the India Young Professionals Scheme. The ballot for Indian nationals is not open yet.

No date for the ballot has yet been given.

When the scheme does open, Indian Citizens will need to be aware that there are 3000 visas available per year (relatively few given the size of population) and Indian Citizens need to meet an extra requirement based on qualifications or work experience.

Filed Under: Uncategorised

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wesleygrykllp Wesley Gryk LLP @wesleygrykllp ·
26 Jan

In December 2022, the High Court ruled that the way the government is implementing the EU Settlement Scheme is unlawful.

Our Beatrice Windsor (@bearosewindsor) explains the judgement: https://www.gryklaw.com/high-court-rules-that-potential-loss-of-rights-for-those-with-pre-settled-status-under-euss-is-unlawful/

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24 Jan

Our monthly partnership session went really well! Thank you so much to pro bono lawyers Karma Hickman
@BindmansLLP and Barry O'Leary @WesleyGrykLLP for their free advice to our #LGBTQ service users.🏳️‍🌈

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12 Jan

At the end of last year, the High Court ruled that the Home Office's plan to remove some asylum seekers to Rwanda was lawful. Our Elena Musa explains the judgment: https://www.gryklaw.com/high-court-rules-that-rwanda-plan-is-lawful/

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13 Dec

Tech Nation, one of the Global Talent endorsing bodies, has recently published a report about Global Talent visas.

Our Alison Hunter explains what this report says, assesses the likely impact on Global Talent applications and summarises the process: https://www.gryklaw.com/global-talent-in-the-uk/

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6 Dec

Moud Goba (@MsMGoba) has been named in the #BBC100Women 2022 list. Congratulations!
Thoroughly deserved recognition of her work with @MicroRainbow

BBC 100 Women @BBC100women

🚨 The #BBC100Women 2022 list is out 🚨

It features inspiring and influential women from all around the world.

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