Hiring migrants to work in the UK

The Tier 2 Visa is a sponsored work visa whereby you need to have an employer sponsor you if you want to work in the UK under this immigration work category.

The Tier 2 work visa is a sought after and government supported visa tier as there is a massive shortage of skilled workers in the UK.

With Brexit looming, the need to hire migrant workers have further gone up.

However, getting hired from overseas is a complex process and requires you to meet the requirements with utmost precision.

If you’re applying from outside the UK, you need a very detailed CV.

For a company to sponsor you, you will essentially need to convince them that you have the skills and experience that few UK citizens will have or your level of skills and experience is not available in the U.K.

Another route is to find a job at a British or multinational company in your home country and try to transfer to the UK through them.

Again, you will need to make a good case for this.

If you’re a student in the UK and you want to switch to the Tier 2 category, you must keep in mind the time between your graduation and your visa expiry.

The advantage is that you do need to comply with the resident labour market test (RLMT).

Alternatively, if you have the funds you can try to continue studying, extend or renew your student visa to undertake more specialised qualifications or training.

This will make you more attractive to the kinds of organisations that can give sponsorship.

When applying for entry clearance or leave to remain, Home Office must be satisfied that you are being sponsored to undertake a genuine role and are appropriately qualified to undertake, the role for which the Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned.

In order to assess this, Home Office may request additional information and evidence from you or your sponsor, and refuse your application if the information or evidence is not provided.

Any requested documents must be received by the Home Office at the address within the specified date of the request.

The first place to look is the current occupation shortage list under the Immigration Rules, if a job type is in here that you qualify for, then the potential employer does not need to pass the resident labour market test (RLMT).

Otherwise, they must advertise the job with 2 separate adverts each for 28 days continuously. The employers must also be licensed to sponsor migrants.

There is a lot of responsibility on potential employers that make it difficult to find those who are willing to sponsor migrants.

In addition to the job being graduate level, and passing the RLMT or being on the shortage list, it must pay a minimum prescribed salary and the employer must also pay an immigration skills charge of up to £5,000 depending on the size of business and time they need the employee.

One thing to be aware of is the difference between General and ICT (Intra-company Transfer) of the Tier 2 visa.

ICT does not lead to settlement. General may lead to settlement if all eligibility criteria are met after 5 years.

This means if you work for a multinational company and can get a transfer, you want them to apply under a Tier 2 General visa and not an ICT if your long term plans include migration.

Immigration is difficult, the beginning is more difficult than the end.

The hard part is finding the employer and the position. The key is having the needed skills.

Acquiring a sponsor licence is not very complicated as long as the employer follows the criteria and the requisite compliances.

It is important to ensure that The employer does not need to be earning a million pounds a year to be eligible for a sponsor licence.

The Home Office will assess five individual areas of your human resource system: monitoring immigration status and preventing illegal employment;maintaining migrant contact details; recordkeeping;migrant tracking and monitoring; professional registrations and accreditations.

If you have a job from a company that do not have a sponsor licence. Contact info@ aschfordslaw.com to help you with your sponsor licence application.

Once the employer has the “A” rated sponsor licence, they will essentially need to have the following ready: 1. A good Job description, 2. Job title, 3. Salary

The Tier 2 visa is a great way to use your skills in global market and to live and work in the UK with possibility to settle in the UK.

If you need a U.K immigration lawyer and need assistance with any aspect of UK immigration law whether from inside the U.K or from overseas, contact Aschfords Law in Harrow, London. We also provide legal advice and assistance in respect of Family Law, Wills & Probate, Litigation, Landlord & Tenant.Please contact us today on +44 (0) 7582932830