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The UK standard Visitor Visa allows holders to visit the UK as a visitor for tourism, business, and study courses for up to 6 months, as well as other permitted activities.
The terms of the Visitor Visa have been revised as part of a broader review of the immigration system. This has resulted in a wider range of permitted activities that can be undertaken by the holder of a visitor visa.
From January 31st, 2024, several current restrictions will be lifted from the terms of UK Visitors Visas. The expansion of permitted activities falls into two categories:
Intra-Corporate Activities
Individuals who are employed overseas and who visit a group business in the UK will now be allowed to carry out a range of activities directly with clients during their stay. These include:
● Advising & Consulting
● Trouble Shooting
● Providing Training
● Sharing skills & Knowledge
All of these activities can only be carried out to deliver a project or service on behalf of the UK group business. They cannot be carried out for the overseas business for which the visa holder normally works. The activities must be incidental to the visa holder’s employment abroad.
This removes previous restrictions on carrying out work-related duties and intra-corporate activities. These restrictions were widely seen as unnecessarily restrictive and complex.
Remote Working
The rules around remote working are also being amended to confirm and clarify what is currently only contained in the guidance. The new rules allow visitors to work remotely on activities related to their overseas employment but these activities must not be the primary purpose of their visit.
The new rule provides clarity around the extent to which a visitor can engage in work activities for their overseas employer while they are visiting the UK on holiday or a business trip. Currently, the guidance permits activities that relate to the visa holder’s overseas employment, such as answering phone calls or responding to emails. The new rules contain no limitations on what work tasks the visa holder can carry out remotely on behalf of their overseas employer.
Why are the rules changing?
The rules are changing to bring extra clarity to the range of work-related permitted activities. It also makes it easier for people to work temporarily in the UK for an overseas employer and UK group business on a Visitor Visa.
Immigration advice & support from BS Consulting
At BS Consulting, our experienced team of immigration and settlement consultants can help you negotiate the complexities of the UK immigration system and answer your questions about Visitor Visas.
Contact us today to find out more about our services and how we can help.
Before 2024, anyone coming to the UK to study and in possession of a Student Visa was allowed to bring their dependents with them. Since the start of 2024, this general right has been withdrawn, and only Student Visa holders who are enrolled on a qualifying postgraduate course will be allowed to bring their dependents with them.
Who can apply for a dependents visa?
If your course is a full-time postgraduate level research degree of at least 9 months in length, then your partner and children will be able to apply for a dependent visa.
This means that dependents of people coming to the UK to study for an undergraduate degree, professional qualification or taught postgraduate course will no longer be able to apply for a Student Dependent Visa.
Alternatively, if you are a government-sponsored student on a full-time course of at least 6 months in duration, then your dependents will be able to apply for a visa. To be a government-sponsored student means to receive a funding award for your studies from the UK or overseas government.
There is no requirement for dependents to be in receipt of a government funding award, but they will need to meet the financial requirements for a Student Dependent Visa. Currently, this is set at £845 a month for up to 9 months for London-based courses, and £680 a month for up to 9 months for courses based outside London.
Switching to a Work Visa
International students in the UK with a Student Visa are no longer able to switch to a Work Visa during their studies. This means that individuals can only apply for a Work Visa after they have completed their studies. Their application will be subject to the same requirements and conditions as other applicants.
Why are the changes taking place?
The changes to dependent rules for Student Visa holders are part of a general overhaul of UK immigration laws. The UK government has expressed concern about the number of students bringing dependents with them. According to statistics from the Home Office, around 136,000 visas were granted to dependents of sponsored students in the year ending December 2022. This represents a more than eightfold increase from 16,000 in 2019.
These figures reflect the changed immigration rules for European Union students entering the UK, who before Brexit would not have appeared in the immigration numbers.
Comprehensive information about the new Student Visa regime can be found on the government website.
Immigration advice & support from BS Consulting
At BS Consulting, our experienced team of immigration and settlement consultants can help you negotiate the complexities of the UK immigration system and answer your questions about Student Visas.
Contact us today to find out more about our services and how we can help.
The UK has shortages of skilled workers across a number of sectors. Some of these shortages are expected to be filled by immigration into the country. The means by which this immigration is managed is through the Skilled Work Visa scheme. This replaced the Tier 2 (General Visa) as the principal UK work visa for skilled overseas nationals on December 1st, 2020, and formed a part of the government’s moves towards a points based immigration system.
The Skilled Work Visa has always had a qualifying salary component. Anyone looking to enter the UK via the scheme had to be guaranteed employment with a salary of at least £26,200 per year. This was always subject to change over time, reflecting the political priorities of governments and the UK employment market.
What is the minimum salary for a Skilled Work Visa from 2024?
In April 2024, the minimum salary required to obtain a Skilled Work Visa for an offer of employment in the UK will rise to £38,700.
This is a substantial increase and is twice the rate someone earning the UK minimum wage is likely to receive. The new salary requirement means that those likely to obtain the visa will be in high-skilled, high-demand and professional occupations.
Why is the minimum salary rising?
The UK government is looking to bring down overall levels of immigration into the country while ensuring that key talent from overseas can still access the UK job market. Raising the threshold is designed to ensure that the Skilled Worker Visa is retained for professional and high-skill immigration into the country. The government claims that had the threshold been set at the April 2024 level from the beginning this would have resulted in 300,000 fewer people entering the country.
Are there any exemptions?
Around half the people who enter the UK on work-based visas do so to fill health and social care vacancies. These occupations will be exempt from the scheme, meaning that overseas nationals coming to work in the UK in these sectors will not need to meet the minimum income requirements. Other occupations on the shortage occupations list will also be exempt, as too will applicants under 26 and some people with higher qualifications.
Comprehensive details about exemption rules can be found on the government website.
Immigration advice & support from BS Consulting
At BS Consulting, our experienced team of immigration and settlement consultants can help you negotiate the complexities of the UK immigration system and answer your questions about Skilled Worker Visas.
Contact us today to find out more about our services and how we can help.
Immigrants to the UK are required to pay a range of charges before they are granted a visa to enter or remain in the country. The Immigration Healthcare Surcharge (IHS) is one of the charges applicants are required to pay. If an applicant fails to pay the IHS on time, their application will be immediately rejected.
What is the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge?
The UK has a National Health Service (NHS) which is paid for through general taxation. Healthcare is then free to access as and when required. The Immigration Healthcare Surcharge acts as an upfront contribution from immigrants to the costs of providing healthcare in the UK. Payment of the IHS gives migrants full access to healthcare services from the NHS.
The IHS is charged per year and covers the duration of any visa application applied for.
How much is the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge?
In 2023, UK immigration applicants have been required to pay £624 per annum, or a £470 per year discounted rate for student visa holders, children under 18, and those on the Youth Mobility Scheme. The standard rate is increased to £1,085 per annum, and £776 for the discounted rate.
If your visa permits you to stay in the UK for less than 6 months you will only be required to pay half the annual fee. If your application includes part of the year that is more than 6 months, or a whole year, you will be required to pay the full amount.
It’s important to remember that this is an annual charge meaning that if you are applying for a 3-year visa you will be required to pay a £3105 Immigration Healthcare Surcharge.
Are there any exemptions?
Anyone who is entering the UK on a Health and Care Visa and their dependents are exempt from having to pay the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge. Dependents of the Health and Care Visa holders will not be able to enter the UK from Spring 2024.
Why is the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge increasing?
The IHS is being increased as part of a wide-ranging review of the UK immigration system. The government argues that this is required to make the system fairer and to better reflect the needs of the country.
Immigration advice & support from BS Consulting
At BS Consulting, our experienced team of immigration and settlement consultants can help you negotiate the complexities of the UK immigration system and answer your questions about the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge.
Contact us today to find out more about our services and how we can help.
The UK Home Office recently announced that there would be a phased increase in the minimum income requirement for Spouse or Family Visas. Currently, the minimum income requirement for anyone applying for a Spouse Visa is set at £18,600, but this is set to rise to £29,000 in Spring 2024, before eventually reaching £38,700 in 2025.
This is a significant increase, placing the new minimum income requirement at broadly the same level as that soon to be required for the Skilled Worker Visa.
What are Spouse & Family Visas?
The Spouse Visa, sometimes known as a Partner Visa, allows foreign nationals who meet certain eligibility criteria to move to the UK and live with a partner who is a British citizen or settled person. An Unmarried Partner Visa works similarly for long-term partners who are not married or in a civil partnership.
The right to live in the UK is not automatically conferred via marriage or civil partnership with a British citizen. Instead, the non-UK national will need to apply for a Spouse Visa and meet a set of eligibility criteria such as proof that you are in a genuine relationship. One of these criteria is a minimum income requirement.
If granted, a Spouse Visa will last for 2 years and 9 months. It may then be possible to extend your stay and ultimately acquire Indefinite Leave To Remain. After this has been acquired, it may then be possible to apply for British citizenship by marriage.
A Family Visa allows applicants to bring dependent children who do not have British citizenship into the country. The sponsor must earn an extra £3,800 a year for the first child and £2,400 a year for each child the visa applicant has after their first child.
Will the minimum income requirement apply to extensions to existing visas?
The UK government has confirmed that the increased minimum income requirement will not apply to people already in possession of a Spouse Visa who are applying for an extension.
This means that someone in possession of a Spouse or Unmarried Partner Visa before the increase will only need to meet the existing minimum income requirement of £18,600
Immigration advice & support from BS Consulting
At BS Consulting, our experienced team of immigration and settlement consultants can help you negotiate the complexities of the UK immigration system and answer your questions about Spouse and Family Visas.
Contact us today to find out more about our services and how we can help.
