The ramifications of Coronavirus on UK businesses will be wide ranging and the next few months will be turbulent. Almost all businesses, big or small, will feel the impact however those that rely heavily on footfall traffic, cross-border supply chains and face-to-face customer interaction could face serious financial disruption. Whilst there is a lot of […]

On 6 October 2019 the Immigration Rules were changed to make it significantly easier for restaurants to sponsor skilled chefs under a Tier 2 General Sponsor Licence. For a number of years, restaurants in Leeds and the surrounding Yorkshire area have faced a crisis around the recruitment and retention of experienced chefs due to the […]

When you apply for a Tier 2 Minister of Religion Sponsor Licence you soon appreciate there are many hurdles to overcome. However, the Sponsor Licence Application itself is just one aspect of the work involved with running a Sponsor Licence. When submitting your Tier 2 Licence Application you confirm that you will comply with all […]

As an immigration solicitor in Leeds, a city with a high student population, I am often asked the following questions: How do I switch from my Tier 4 Student Visa to a Tier 2 Visa? Are any other Visa categories available after I graduate? Since the abolition of the Post-Study Work Visa in 2012, it’s […]

11pm on 29 March 2019 was supposed to herald a new dawn for the rights of EU citizens in the UK. A deal would have introduced a relatively more liberal era, whilst no-deal threatened a far harsher outcome. The Government’s preferred choice under the Withdrawal Agreement was a ‘transition period’ which preserved free movement for […]

If you would like to hire an individual to undertake preaching or pastoral work at your religious organisation and the individual is from outside the EU, then you will first need to obtain a Sponsor Licence under the Tier 2 Minister of Religion category. There are over 1,200 organisations in the UK which presently hold […]

You have an individual in mind that you would like to employ; an outstanding individual in a sea of mediocrity, or a student already working for you part-time but coming towards the end of their studies. However there is one problem. That individual is from outside the EU and you need a Tier 2 General […]

Employers currently need a Sponsor Licence in order to recruit skilled workers from outside of the EU. We also know, from the Government’s White Paper, that from January 2021 employers will need a Sponsor Licence to recruit EU nationals too. With calls from some quarters for employers to obtain a Sponsor Licence now in order […]

On 1 March 2019, the High Court ruled that the Government’s Right to Rent scheme is discriminatory and in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Right to Rent scheme was a central plank of the Hostile Environment policy, published when Theresa May was Home Secretary. The Scheme, introduced on 1 February 2016 under The Immigration Act […]

Amidst the Parliamentary furore, on Monday the Government quietly released the key immigration policy for a no-deal scenario, highlighting the chasm which now exists between the deal and no-deal outcomes. This restrictive policy adds to the long line of initiatives overseen by a Prime Minister preoccupied with ‘getting tough on immigration’. Deal Under the terms […]