Statement of Changes to the UK immigration rules – HC 1496
The UK Immigration Rules have been changed again in the most recent update called Statement of Changes HC 1496, which was published on 17 July 2023.
Student route changes (dependants and switching)
The most important changes that were announced yesterday were about the rules for international students. Specifically:
- Taking away the ability for international students to bring their family members to the UK, unless they are studying postgraduate courses that are specifically focused on research.
- Taking away the opportunity for international students to change from their current study route to a work route before they finish their studies.
These changes were already told to Parliament in May 2023 with an expected start date later this year. The change in route switching happened suddenly, which is different from the usual rule that changes take at least 21 days to take effect after being announced in Parliament. But it is important to note that these changes allow for dependents who are already in the UK to stay longer, and for international students starting postgraduate courses before January 1, 2024, to bring their dependents with them.
In simpler terms, students who are studying at a degree level or higher can apply for a Skilled Worker visa before they finish their course. They need to have a sponsor who has a good history of obeying the rules. However, they can only start working after they have finished their course. In the same way, people who are studying for a PhD program can change to that program after studying for at least 24 months.
Changes to the Skilled Worker route
The Shortage Occupation List is being updated based on recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). The updated list will now include the following jobs: Bricklayers and masons, Roofers, roof tilers and slaters, Carpenters and Joiners, and Plasterers (including dryliners). The changes will take effect from 7 August 2023. Also, after Section 43 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 was put into action, certain jobs in the fishing industry have been included in the Shortage Occupation List with the codes 5119 and 9119.
As we discussed before, the Shortage Occupation List has jobs with lower salary requirements and visa application fees. This means that it is cheaper and easier for all types of organizations to hire people to fill their staff shortages. This news will be good for people in the construction and fishing fields who have been having a hard time finding workers with the right skills. Employers who want to benefit from these changes need to make sure that the Home Office approves them to hire migrant workers. This means that you will need to get a license to hire skilled workers if you don’t already have one.
Finally, the revisions to Appendix Skilled Worker will add a “real intention” requirement to all skilled worker applications. To make it simple, the Home Office wants to be sure that the person applying for a job genuinely plans to do the job they are sponsored for and is not planning to work against the rules. It is not clear what applicants need to do to prove that they have met this requirement in real-life situations.