United Kingdom - Newland Chase Global Immigration Services for Corporations & Individuals

With offices in London, Newland Chase UK provides corporations and individuals operating in the United Kingdom with complete support for all their immigration and visa needs – inbound to the UK and outbound to more than 190 countries around the world. Our full spectrum of services allows us to manage all of your business visa and employee immigration needs.

The UK’s migration laws are complex and constantly changing. Newland Chase’s team of highly qualified consultants, regulated and accredited by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), provides unparalleled expertise in the complexities of UK visa rules and regulations. Our team of UK immigration specialists provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive advice and expertise to clients across all sectors, delivering tailored solutions customized to our clients’ business needs.

UK Immigration Management

We provide support in all areas of United Kingdom immigration for corporations and individuals – including applications under the various tiers of the points-based system, as well as family, settlement and citizenship applications, including both company employees and accompanying family members. Our approach covers you from comprehensive guidance and pre-planning of new assignments and immigration options to completion of all in-country requirements to ongoing compliance monitoring.

For up-to-date information on the most common work authorization routes in the UK, see our Immigration Summary tab.
Comprehensive Global Immigration Management

For corporations and individuals located in the United Kingdom, we also provide support in all areas of immigration to more than 190 countries around the world. Our UK team is part of the larger Newland Chase global team of 1,700+ expert immigration and visa professionals – specializing in everything from short-term work assignments and temporary residency to long-term work assignments, permanent residency, and citizenship throughout the world.
Business Traveler Management

Business visas are a key component of a globally mobile workforce – allowing individuals to enter the United Kingdom and other countries for non-work business activities. Business visas typically apply to business meetings, seminars, conferences, trade shows, limited sales activities, contract negotiations, and some supervisory activities. Newland Chase UK offers comprehensive services for business travelers both inbound to the UK and outbound to more than 190 countries.

Our services include everything from personalized assessment of the activities and destination for visa compliance, to obtaining the proper visas, to tracking of the number and length of stays of your business travelers for legal compliance.
Immigration Policy and Compliance

Our UK immigration experts offer an extensive suite of advisory services and immigration compliance strategies to ensure that your organization and employees remain compliant with all UK immigration and visa requirements. Our services include strategic guidance on immigration plans, development and implementation of immigration policies, sponsor compliance, education and training, audit support (including mock audits), and immigration compliance technology solutions.
Consulting and Advisory Services
Our UK immigration experts act as trusted business advisors – supporting you in virtually any unique or complex immigration-related matter. Our UK team is able to manage the scope of immigration in large-scale projects and employee moves, as well as guide you through the immigration complexities involved in corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions.
- Audit and Right to Work Services
  We will support you in ensuring that you remain informed and compliant with UK immigration best practice. A Compliance Audit by our OISC registered immigration consultants will evaluate your existing HR systems and migrant worker arrangements, make recommendations for improvements and changes, indicate a rating against Home Office standards and provide a comprehensive written report.
  
  Our Right to Work Audit Service works to mitigate the risk of hefty civil penalties resulting from illegal employment and ensures that you continue to meet your obligations under the UK immigration points-based system. We will check the veracity of an employee’s documents indicating their right to work in the UK and provide an Audit Certificate to confirm the individual’s entitlement to take employment.
- Bespoke Training and Workshops
  With the legislative burden on UK employers constantly increasing, we offer bespoke training and workshops to improve efficiency in immigration processes and increase overall control and compliance. We cover a wide variety of topics, such as:
  - Sponsorship requirements – what employers should know about sponsoring migrant workers
  - Developing internal documentation and processes – keeping on top of legislative requirements
  - Forgery detection techniques – how to spot falsified documents and what to do next
  - EU Settlement Scheme – how to navigate the changing immigration landscape for EU nationals in the UK
Glossary of UK Terms
- Biometric Residence Permit
  The Biometric Residence Permit, or BRP, is credit card-sized card which holds details of a migrant’s name, date and place of birth plus a facial image and fingerprints. The BRP is proof of the holder’s right to stay, work or study in the UK, and shows their immigration status and entitlements whilst they are in the UK.
- Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)
  To be eligible to apply for a visa under Tier 2 of the points-based system, a migrant must have a Certificate of Sponsorship, or CoS. The CoS is not a physical certificate but a virtual document with a unique reference number which holds information about the job and the migrant.
- Entry Clearance
  Entry clearance is the procedure of obtaining a visa to travel to the UK. All non-EEA nationals must obtain a visa before they travel to the UK if they want to stay for longer than 6 months or undertake employment activities. Sometimes, nationals of certain countries are permitted to visit the UK for 6 months or less without a visa; they are known as ‘non-visa nationals’.
- Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)
  All non-EEA migrants applying for visas to come to the UK for longer than 6 months are required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). The payment goes directly to the National Health Service (NHS), entitling applicants to receive the same NHS treatment as a permanent UK resident (with some exceptions).
- Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)
  All employers looking to sponsor a Tier 2 migrant for a period of 6 months or more will be subject to the Immigration Skills Charge. This payment was introduced to assist with tackling UK skill shortages and sponsors will need to settle this charge when a Certificate of Sponsorship is issued.
- Leave to Remain
  This is the name for permission to stay in the UK, granted from within the UK, to enable an overseas national to remain for a further period additional to their original permission.
- Points-based System
  The points-based system, or PBS, is the main immigration route for non-EEA migrants to come to the UK to work or train, study, or invest. The system is divided into five ‘tiers’, although Tier 3 is unused.
  Tier 1 – aimed at highly skilled individuals, this tier caters for Investors and those with Exceptional Talent
  Tier 2 – taking in two sub-categories, General and Intra-Company Transfer, this tier covers skilled workers with a job offer from a UK-based employer
  Tier 4 – students
  Tier 5 – caters for the Youth Mobility Scheme and five sub-categories of temporary worker
- Sponsor Licence
  All UK businesses must apply for a sponsor licence to enable them to employ overseas workers under Tier 2 of the points-based system. Similarly, education providers that offer full-time study in the UK must have a Tier 4 sponsor licence in order to enrol students from outside the EEA.
- UK Visas and Immigration
  A department of the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration, or UKVI, deals with immigration applications from migrants looking to visit or work in the UK. The department considers applications from businesses and educational institutions applying to sponsor overseas nationals, and deals with applications for UK citizenship.

Immigration Summary

The Skilled Worker Visa process is for applicants who have been offered a skilled job to fill a gap in the workforce that cannot be filled by a settled worker. After five lawful and continuous years of residence this category may lead to settlement. Salary should be paid according to the relevant Code of Practice for the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code or a minimum of GBP 26,200 per annum - whichever is higher.

The Senior or Specialist Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility) process is for employees transferring between commonly owned entities. It allows a maximum duration of stay in the UK of five years in any six year period or nine years in any 10 year period for employees earning GBP £73,900 annually, but does not lead to settlement. This visa has replaced the Intra-company Transfer visa, previously the Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa.

The applicant must have been employed by the sending company for a minimum of 12 months. Note that this requirement is not applicable to applicants paid GBP £73,900 and above. Salary should be paid according to the relevant Code of Practice for the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code or minimum salary of GBP £45,800, whichever is higher.

The Graduate Trainee Visa (Global Business Mobility) process is for graduate trainees transferring between commonly owned entities and coming to the UK temporarily as part of a structured graduate training programme with progression towards a managerial or specialist role within the organisation. This route allows a maximum duration of stay in the UK of 12 months and must not be used to fill long-term posts. The applicant must have been employed by the sending company for a minimum of three months. Salary should be paid according to the new entrant rate in the relevant Code of Practice for the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code or minimum salary of GBP £24,200, whichever is higher.

The Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange scheme is designed specifically to allow undergraduates and graduates to gain experience working in UK industry as an intern in a skilled temporary role. Note that the work that the intern will do should be additional to the UK entity's normal staffing requirements and that the sponsorship of this category will go through a government approved sponsor, rather than the host entity. This category may also be used for academics and researchers with some slight variations. This visa has replaced the Temporary Worker - Government Authorised Exchange visa (T5). Applicants will be granted a maximum period of 12 months on this status and may not renew beyond this point.

Applicants travelling to the United Kingdom to undertake certain limited activities for a maximum of six months may, in some circumstances, do so on Standard Visitor Visa status. Applicants should remain on home contract and payroll throughout the assignment and are recommended to seek expert advice if in any doubt about whether their activities qualify as "visitor" activities or not.

The applicant must not have a local contract in the United Kingdom and must not receive payment from a UK source for any activities undertaken in the UK, except for reasonable expenses to cover the cost of their travel and subsistence.

Due to the Common Travel Area, Nationals of Ireland do not need a visa or residency permit to live, work, or study in the United Kingdom. Irish and British citizens can travel freely between each other’s countries without any immigration process. Note that Irish citizens are able to apply for a Frontier Worker Permit (either digital or physical card); however, this is not required and is optional only. Note that no posted worker notification is required. Note that no posted worker notification is required.

From 1 January 2021, companies must be a Home Office licensed sponsor to recruit foreign nationals (including EU citizens). Schedule a consultation now.

Currently and until the upcoming changes on 1 January 2021, employers must register with the Home Office for a sponsor licence before they are permitted to employ skilled non-EEA nationals under Tier 2 of the points-based system. Once obtained, the licence is an endorsement by the Home Office that an organization has the necessary systems, policies and processes in place to effectively manage and monitor its UK-based, non-EEA national workforce. With an increasingly mobile workforce, a sponsor licence is a key tool to attracting and retaining top global talent.

Once the Home Office has deemed an organization suitable for a sponsor licence, access to the Sponsor Management System (SMS) – and the ability to sponsor skilled workers – will be granted for a period of four years. During this four-year life cycle, an employer can utilize the various routes within the Tier 2 scheme, but must continuously meet strict compliance obligations imposed by UKVI for any existing overseas workers, as well as new hires.

In return for access to the SMS and ability to sponsor foreign talent, the sponsoring company must continuously comply with comprehensive and ongoing duties and responsibilities in respect to those foreign employees. Any failure to comply with these requirements and responsibilities risks the revocation of the licence and with it, the work permission of all sponsored non-EEA workers.

Your Business and Newland Chase

Given the complexities of obtaining and maintaining a sponsor licence, it is vital that employers approach the sponsor process with as much knowledge and support as possible to acquire and retain the licence, and unlock its full potential as a critical business tool.

Newland Chase has an unrivalled understanding of the sponsor licence process. We offer a full range of services to prepare you for the application process, including full system audits and recommendations tailored to your business. Our team of experts will support you through the entire application process and, once the licence is in place, provide tailored assistance with visa applications and immigration management of your employees, ensuring a fully compliant program.

Newland Chase appreciates how important it is to have the right people and partners in place to maximize your company’s potential. Like your organization, our strength is built on the skills, experience, and expertise our of team members – we welcome you to contact our experts today to learn how having Newland Chase as your trusted business adviser can help your business succeed in the United Kingdom.

Our UK team members are highly qualified and dedicated professionals with extensive experience in all aspects of UK immigration. They come from the best of legal, consulting, in-house corporate and government backgrounds and bring a breadth of experience and insight both in immigration and a multitude of industry sectors. With a dedication to service and a consultative approach, our people act as your trusted advisors and partners in achieving your business goals in the United Kingdom.

Our United Kingdom leadership team directs over 100 immigration experts working for you in the UK. Meet our United Kingdom leadership team:

Ray Rackham

Senior Vice President for Thought Leadership, Advocacy and Public Policy

[email protected]

London, United Kingdom

Dhanjaye Damhar

Director, Client Services

[email protected]

London, United Kingdom

Rowen Edy

Director, Operations & Advisory

[email protected]