On 4 July 2024, the Labour Party was elected to power by the UK’s people, with Sir Keir Starmer becoming the new prime minister. After 11 years away from the executive branch of the government, the Labour Party and the prime...more
The UK government is in the process of fully digitalising the UK immigration system. Immigration documents in the UK are gradually being converted from hard copies to online records. These are known as eVisas, and they have...more
On 14 March 2024, the UK government released its Statement of Changes amending the Immigration Rules. Key changes relevant to many of our clients are summarised below....more
UK Changes -
In December 2023, the UK Home Office announced changes for those traveling to the United Kingdom as visitors. The changes were prompted in an effort to relax the rules for individuals being granted entry to...more
On 4 December 2023, the Home Secretary announced several upcoming changes to the UK’s Immigration Rules, which are intended to cut migration levels. The government recently released official figures which showed net migration...more
In recent years, several countries have been slowly moving away from physical forms of confirming the immigration status of foreign nationals (e.g., vignettes or visa stickers in passports and residence permits) and towards...more
On 4 December 2023, the Home Secretary announced several upcoming changes to the UK’s Immigration Rules, which are intended to cut migration levels. The government recently released official figures which showed net migration...more
On 19 July 2023, the UK government released the second Statement of Changes of the calendar year. Below is a summary of some of the most important changes....more
On 13 June 2023, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) provisionally agreed on rules to digitalise the Schengen visa procedure. These rules will introduce two important changes: (1) digitalisation...more
On 13 April 2023, the Home Office launched the Innovator Founder visa route. This visa route is designed for entrepreneurs who intend to establish a business in the UK and replaces the Innovator visa and Start-Up visa routes....more
The Home Office has released the first Statement of Changes for 2023. Here are some of the most important changes announced on this occasion...more
The Global Talent visa scheme launched in February 2020 as a bespoke immigration route designed to attract talent to the United Kingdom (U.K.).
Foreign nationals can apply for a Global Talent visa to work in the U.K. if...more
The Home Office has now released details relating to its new visa scheme, the India Young Professionals Scheme visa. In November 2022, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the planned introduction of the scheme during the G20...more
As part of its new universal “Permission to Travel” scheme, the United Kingdom (U.K.) government is introducing an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme for visa-exempt individuals visiting the U.K. By requiring...more
On the 22nd of August 2022, the U.K. government launched a new immigration route, the Scale-Up Worker visa. This route has been designed to provide growing businesses and organisations a cheaper, streamlined process to...more
What is a Scale-Up visa?
The Scale-Up visa is a route which enables businesses in the U.K. to recruit talented foreign nationals who have the skills needed to allow the Scale-Up business to continue growing. One of the...more
The U.K. Government released a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules on 15 March, 2022. The government believes these changes to be an important part of the post-covid ‘Plan for Growth’ The changes are also being...more
The Russia/Ukraine conflict has resulted in an exodus of refugees from Ukraine on a level which has not been experienced in Europe since World War II. Currently, close to three million refugees have fled Ukraine and some...more
On October 27, 2021 Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP, confirmed as part of the U.K. autumn 2021 Budget that a new Scale-Up visa route will launch in the United Kingdom in the spring of 2022.
This new visa...more
Following an adjustment to immigration rules announced by the Home Office on 5 May 2021, if you’re the recipient of an elite award, you may now be eligible to bypass part of the existing immigration process and access a...more
There are various types of visas for the U.K. They are designed for different purposes and lengths of stay. U.K. visas are available under many diverse categories. This article gives a high-level overview of some of the key...more
14-Day Quarantine Rules for International Travellers Entering the U.K.
International travellers arriving in the U.K. on or after 8 June 2020 will be asked to go into quarantine for two weeks. The Home Office has announced...more
The entertainment and media industries strive to hire only the best and most talented individuals, irrespective of country of origin, and talent determination of those individuals can be subjective. This primer provides...more
Visa issuance fees and validity periods are set based on reciprocity. If a country charges U.S. citizens $50 to receive a visa, then the U.S. will charge citizens of that country a similar amount for a U.S. visa. In 2017,...more
On 27 January 2020, the British government announced a new route for researchers to live and work in the U.K. The new visa will be launched officially on 20 February 2020....more