The Home Office has announced EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) status automation that it will start automatically transitioning European national holders of Pre-settled status (usually granted if the applicant has been resident in the UK for less than 5 years) to Settled Status (indefinite leave to enter or remain, usually granted if the applicant has been resident for at least 5 years in the UK) from the end of January 2025. Those eligible will not need to actively apply for the Settled Status.
As anticipated, the transition will initially apply to those with accessible records of government-held information, which can be checked to ensure they have remained resident in the UK, and have no evidence of criminal conduct. We expect this will apply to for those with a national insurance record first. Those without such a record are likely to still need to actively apply for Settled Status.
Earlier this month the UK government announced several increases to visa fees. The most relevant to sponsoring employers are an increase in the Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) fee from £239 to £525, and from £25 to £55 for temporary workers (like Creative Workers). There's also a proposed increase in the fee for electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for visitors to the UK from £10 to £16. There's no planned date yet for these increases, as the relevant regulations need to be debated and approved in Parliament.
As UK sponsorship costs are high, some employers that pay all the visa costs seek to protect themselves by having clawback arrangements with the sponsored worker. That contractual agreement requires the worker to repay to the employer a portion of the visa costs if they leave employment voluntarily within a set period after visa approval. It has long been the case that the Immigration Skills Charge part of the cost could not be recovered from a visa applicant as the ISC is a tax on sponsors, but in its latest change to the sponsor guidance, the Home Office has confirmed that it is also unlawful for a visa applicant to pay (directly or indirectly) for the COS fee or any sponsor licence application fee or associated costs, like priority processing charges. They can only be paid by the sponsoring employer. It was already standard practice to exclude those costs from a clawback anyway, but as it's now included in the guidance, employers should check their clawback contracts or clauses to ensure that those costs are not inadvertently included - and preferably expressly excluded - in the definition of the amount to be repaid. Do let us know if you'd like any help with that review or if you need support with preparing a suitable clawback agreement.
