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The way you hire from the EU has changed. You must be a licensed sponsor to hire eligible employees from outside the UK;
Anyone you want to recruit from outside the UK must meet the job, salary and language requirements under the points-based immigration system;
Some immigration routes, such as Global Talent, are ‘unsponsored’. You don’t need a licence to hire employees with an unsponsored visa;
The system treats EU and non-EU citizens equally. As a licensed sponsor, you can hire skilled workers from anywhere in the world;
Irish citizens can move freely and take up work in the UK under the Common Travel Area. They do not require a visa or any form of employment permit;
Some immigration routes, such as Global Talent, are ‘unsponsored’. You don’t need a licence to hire employees with an unsponsored visa.
Getting a sponsor licence normally takes eight weeks and fees apply;
There has been an increased volume of companies based in the IT/Tech and manufacturing sectors looking to futureproof recruitment plans by securing a sponsor licence. With the manufacturing sector, the demand for EU workers continues to be the case. Employers within the manufacturing sector will need to consider securing a sponsor licence with the Home Office due to the end of freedom of movement of EU nationals from 1 January 2021.
A real opening has developed for the manufacturing sector with a liberalisation of the immigration system. For the first time in the history of the Points Based System can manufacturing companies look to bring into Northern Ireland, plumbers, electricians, brick layers and welders. Recruitment is not confined to just the EU. Companies can source talent globally to come live and work in Northern Ireland under the new immigration system.
We have received a number of notifications from the Home Office in recent weeks outlining the increased processing times for sponsor licence applications. This will simply be down to the volume of new licence applications received by the sponsor licensing team at the Home Office in the run up to the introduction of the new immigration system. Currently, we have been working tirelessly to prepare and submit sponsor licence applications on behalf of our clients with the increased processing times. 2021 is already shaping up to have even further delays to the processing of the sponsor licence with more companies applying than ever before due to the end of freedom of movement within the EU.
This article has been produced for general information purposes and further advice should be sought from a professional advisor. For tailored legal advice please contact our expert manufacturing or Business and Private Immigration team at Cleaver Fulton Rankin.
Call us on the Belfast number below or send us a message and one of our team will be in touch.
028 9024 3141