Brexit and Immigration

By Vanessa Ganguin - 30 September 2020

Brexit and Immigration – How do the rights of overseas workers change at the end of 2020?

From 1 January 2021 a new immigration system will apply to both EU and Non-EU Nationals in the same way.

The current immigration rules are relaxed for both groups as follows:

• The skills threshold for Tier 2 will be reduced from level 6 (equivalent to degree level) to include ‘medium skilled’ occupations known as Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) level 3 (broadly equivalent to A-level).
• Employers will no longer be required to first advertise their vacancies to settled workers before being able to recruit from outside the UK (i.e. abolishing the resident labour market test).
• The minimum salary threshold will be reduced to £25,600 (and may be below this in certain circumstances).
• The 20,700 per annum numerical cap on the number of Tier 2 (General) applications will be suspended.

This is an overview summary only of the usual business immigration routes and should not be solely relied upon to determine the rights of specific persons to work in the UK. The above assumes no other right to work in the UK. There will continue to be some other limited categories that do not require sponsorship by the employer. Specific legal advice should be taken. Please contact Vanessa Ganguin at [email protected].