Immigration law is seldom out of the headlines but for those of us who work in this challenging and fast-moving area of law, 2020 made it very difficult to keep up at times. The plethora of promises, changes, case-law and human rights issues has been headache inducing! Still, there are two main themes that emerge.
Post-Brexit Britain and the rise of the Skilled Workers
As the Brexit transition looms large, like a discombobulated seagull about to smack right into the cliffs at Dover, the Government finally let us know (in September) what immigration law would look like in a world without free movement for EU workers, with most of the changes coming into place on 1st December – even if we didn’t get half the explanatory guidance for weeks after and then a lot of it didn’t make much sense.
Broadly speaking, in order to accommodate for a smaller domestic labour market, we are reducing skill levels for new workers from Degree to A-Level and dropping the minimum salary requirements by around £5,000. Many small and medium businesses will now need to learn how to get a Sponsor Licence from the Home Office in order to employ international workers, as well as the additional responsibilities, costs and time this adds to offering anyone a job. The fact that these new processes have been in place for less than a month prior to transition, and that applications take longer than this to be processed, will not be a massive comfort. Inevitably, there will be teething problems, as there are with any visa route.
More surprising is the ongoing lack of a route for unskilled workers. Unskilled being a term to define the level of qualification needed to do the work and not the value of the labour. The UK needs agricultural workers, care assistants and construction workers as much as anyone else. The Home Office has some seasonal schemes for agricultural workers but doesn’t seem to have a clue how to fill the demand here. The Home Secretary has said these sectors should look towards automation and new ways of working. It is certainly hard to see how this would operate for care homes. Expect this to be an area of some contention in 2021.
Migrant crossings and Volcano Islands
Whilst numbers of people coming to the UK to seek protection remained steady, the method of transport did not. As fewer flights and lorries came to the UK, and access to them was more challenging due to Covid-19, more refugees used small boats and channel crossings to get to the UK. This route is both more visible and more deadly than others, although lorries often have significant risk of low temperature or asphyxiation.
Rather than send out our Coastguard and Navy to assist, the Home Office decided to try and vilify the refugees. A number of those actually steering the boats (refugees themselves and not the smugglers or agents) were charged with assisting illegal immigration of the other passengers. These charges were dropped as it is not unlawful to enter the UK clandestinely for the purposes of claiming asylum.
Looking at safe passages for refugees is important. There is presently no other option but to try and enter the UK somehow (asylum cannot be applied for overseas) or see if you are one of the lucky few to be included in a refugee resettlement programme (the UKs has not been operational since March). Rather than think about this, the Home Secretary had been looking at a number of startling options, such as housing refugees on remote islands or disused ferries whilst their claims were processed or putting large nets and wave machines in the Channel. Her latest plans involve returning refugees to any other safe country they may have travelled through regardless as to whether the UK has a return agreement – a process known as the Dublin regulations allowed this during EU membership – this is likely a breach of international law and may not be specific or limited enough for the Government to get away with it.
What does the future hold?
Businesses in the UK will need to get used to their new normal and associated costs in order to hire the talent they need. The processes they have to use will likely be amended and clarified as the year goes on and practical concerns arise.
Students will be able to, from this summer, apply for new Post-Study visas which will allow them to start working in the UK following completion of their courses. The return of this popular route may help with some of the inevitable labour market shortages,.
Refugees will remain scapegoats for some time to come. The Government seems to wish to conflate refugee return with deportation of foreign national offenders (a totally separate issue with a different regime and set of criteria). Hostile Environment policies are likely to continue and make lives for many far more difficult than they should. Refugee housing will continue to be an issue.
Immigration Application fees are incredibly high compared to neighbouring countries and have been subject to legal challenges. As we seek to compete in a global marketplace, these may finally need to be reviewed.
If you have any queries about where you stand with changes to immigration law, we're here to help.
Other articles you may be interested in