News

Mar 25, 2024 - Taxpayers will start to use GOV.UK One Login

From May 2024, taxpayers accessing HMRC’s online services for the first time will be asked to create a GOV.UK One Login account.

HMRC has announced that from May 2024, some taxpayers who do not have a Government Gateway account will be prompted to create a GOV.UK One Login account.  At this stage GOV.UK One Login will not be offered to agents. 

Agents and taxpayers who already have a Government Gateway account should continue to access HMRC’s services in the normal way. They will be asked to create a GOV.UK One Login at a later date.  

What is GOV.UK One Login? 

GOV.UK One Login is a new way o...

Mar 21, 2024 - UK passport prices set to increase in April 2024

The government is set to introduce new UK passport application fees which will rise by more than 7%.

The cost of online applications made within the UK for people aged 16 and above will increase from £82.50 to £88.50 under new proposals.

The price hike is subject to parliamentary approval but it is due to come into force next month.

Passport fees will increase on April 11, 2024, if the price changes are approved.

How much does it cost for a British passport?

The new proposed passport application costs are as follows:

  • a standard online application made from within the UK will rise to £88.5...

Mar 20, 2024 - UK inflation falls to 3.4% - lowest level for almost two and a half years

The slower pace of food price rises helped push down inflation, along with soft drinks, restaurants and hotels, the Office for National Statistics stated.

This effect was partially offset by petrol prices and rental costs. Overall, the cost of living is not falling but prices are rising less quickly than they were previously.

Inflation was running at 4% in the year to January, the same as December's rate.

The drop was driven by a slowing in the growth of food prices with the report showing prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rising by 5.0% in the year to February 2024, down from 6.9% i...

Mar 18, 2024 - Sponsors no longer need to report changes to hybrid and remote working

Employers who sponsor migrant workers must comply with a number of sponsor duties to avoid breaching the conditions of their licence.

As we reported on 15 May 2023 in our previous news article (available here), the reporting obligations for sponsored workers working from home were abolished but working in the hybrid mode was still eligible for reporting purposes. However, now the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) announced it has abolished the reporting obligations for the hybrid mode of work as well.

UKVI’s reasoning  

The updated Sponsor Guidance explains UKVI’s reasoning:

We recognise that ma...

Mar 15, 2024 - Home Office immigration database errors hit more than 76,000 people

Major flaws in a huge Home Office immigration database have resulted in more than 76,000 people being listed with incorrect names, photographs or immigration status.

Leaked internal documents reveal the scale of the database fiasco at the Home Office, which has recently been criticised for delays in immigration application processing, long queues at borders and the distribution of incorrect identity cards.

The Home Office has been relatively silent about the database failures, referring vaguely to them as “IT issues”. Ministers have denied there is a “systemic” problem with Atlas, the tool use...

Mar 14, 2024 - Appellant keeps British nationality after Court of Appeal overturns dishonesty finding

An appellant did not act dishonestly when he applied for British citizenship and answered ‘no’ when asked whether there was anything that might cast into doubt his good character. This was despite him being arrested four weeks after citizenship was granted and later pleading guilty to an offence that took place prior to the application.

This is the conclusion of Lord Justice Lewison, Lord Justice Green and Lady Justice Andrews in Hafiz Aman Ullah v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 201.

Background

Mr Ullah arrived in the UK in 2004, was granted indefinite leave to rema...

Mar 14, 2024 - Statement of immigration changes HC 590: salary thresholds increased and other changes

As we have previously stated in our news article on 30 January 2024 (available here), the UK government confirmed that the salary threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa as well as the minimum income threshold for spouse and family visas shall increase on 04 and 11 April 2024 respectively.

Skilled worker salary threshold

Namely, as regards the Skilled Worker Visa Category, employers must from 4 April 2024 pay those entering the skilled worker route a general salary threshold of £38,700 or the going rate for the role (also being raised, from the 25th percentile to the median), whichever is higher...

Mar 12, 2024 - Non-Dom Changes – FAQs

In his Budget of 6 March 2024, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced significant changes to the non-dom regime – effectively abolishing the need to reference domicile in tax law by replacing it with a residence based test for those who have not been UK tax resident in the last ten years (the concept of domicile still remains relevant to the drafting of Wills and the devolution of assets on death).

Much of the detail is not yet known, but affected taxpayers will have a number of questions and we seek to outline what we know so far in the FAQ sheet below. This sheet assumes the rules come into effect...

Mar 08, 2024 - UK Budget 2024 – what changes in taxation are proposed and expected

Following the 6th March 2024 announcement of the UK Spring Budget 2024, please see below the detailed review of the upcoming taxation changes and amendments.

Abolition Of The Non-Dom Status And The Remittance Basis Regime

After much speculation in this area, the Chancellor has taken the bold step to abolish the current non-UK domiciled tax regime from 6 April 2025.  There will be a limited replacement for individuals coming to the UK for the first four tax years of residence, to be known as the foreign income and gains (FIG) regime.

Many of the proposed rule changes outlined in the Budget are ...

Mar 07, 2024 - Britain's net migration set to rise by 315,000 annually

The UK’s net population is set to rise by 315,000 over the next five years.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) bumped its net migration forecasts from 240,000 to 315,000 for each year up to 2028 – an increase of 70,000 people, and a 28 per cent increase since its last forecast in autumn.

The figure takes into account people leaving the country, though the predictions fall a great deal lower than last year’s 670,000.

Migration Watch UK chairman Alp Mehmet said the updated forecast would mean the UK’s population would see an increase of nine million people by 2046, meaning it’s set to ri...