Immigration law updates for university staff and visitors. Update on e-visas The Home Office intends to switch from physical immigration documents (known as BRPs) to an e-visa system by the end of 2024. This is why many BRPs have an expiry date of 31 December 2024 (albeit the permission extends beyond then). Create an online UKVI account The Home Office have recently announced that anyone with a BRP can now create an on-line UKVI account. Therefore if you don’t already have an account, please create one on the UKVI page on e-visas: Online immigration status (eVisa) Once you have a UKVI account, you can log on and check if your e-visa status is ‘live’. If it is, this means you no longer need to use your BRP (though you are entitled to do so while it’s still valid). You must use the ‘prove my status’ service instead to prove your right to live and work in the UK. Staff should be aware that the e-visa will be linked to your passport so it’s very important to update your account if you obtain a new passport. If, once you log onto the account, you discover that your e-visa is not yet available, the Home Office say they are working on it and they will contact you as/when your account has been updated.You don’t need to do anything else meantime to activate the e-visa. Keeping up to date For the most recent updates, please see UKVI’s page on e-visas: Online immigration status (eVisa) Where a BRP expires on 31 December, but the visa is valid beyond this you will have the right to work until your visa expires. However, the University may not have confirmation of this and where this is the case a share code will be requested through the repeat right to work check process. Seeking advice? If you have any queries in relation to this please raise a Service Request to the HR Helpline: HRHelpline@ed.ac.uk If you have any questions on your immigration status (other than right to work checks), please contact the Staff Immigration Service: Contact us | Global (ed.ac.uk) Changes to minimum income requirements for Skilled Workers On 14 March 2024, the Home Office published their intended changes to the minimum income requirement for the Skilled Worker visa route. The base line salary has increased from £26,200 to £38,700. However, there are additional thresholds for specific situations (such as those with PhDs and ‘new entrants’). Similarly, the minimum income for those applying to join their settled/British spouses will be raised from £18,600 to £29,000. Please note the new salary limits for Skilled Worker visas will not come into effect until 4 April 2024; the changes in income for partner visas will come into force on 11 April 2024. Who do the changes affect? Anyone who has a Certificate of Sponsorship issued before 4 April 2024 will be able to apply under the old i.e. existing rules and income requirements. If your Certificate of Sponsorship is issued on 4 April or after, the application will be covered by the new rules. In relation to partner visa applications under Appendix FM, those applying on or after 11 April will be covered by the new rules. The Staff Immigration Service is working together with the HR Global Mobility team to assess how staff are likely to be impacted. We hope to publish a more detailed legal briefing in the next few days. The HR Global Mobility team will be liaising with HR partners to work in collaboration with colleagues in schools and departments, to resolve any issues which may arise. Seeking advice? If you are concerned about the sponsorship of your Skilled Worker visa, please contact HR in your School/Department in the first instance. If you have any other concerns or queries on how the new rules may affect your immigration status, please contact the Staff Immigration Service. Contact the Staff Immigration Service This article was published on 2024-08-09
