New immigration routes launched in the UK from 01 December 2020

The Government has today (Tuesday 1 December) launched a number of immigration routes under the UK’s new points-based immigration system, including the flagship Skilled Worker route. 

The launch of these new immigration routes will ensure that businesses can continue to attract the brightest and best people from around the world, to complement the skills and talent we already have in the UK.

Free movement between the UK and the EU will end on 31 December 2020. From 1 January 2021, anyone coming to work or study in the UK from anywhere in the world, will need to apply through the points-based immigration system. To allow for this, routes already available to non-EU nationals, as well as new routes, including the Skilled Worker route, have been extended to allow applications from EU, EEA and Swiss citizens.

Key information on the new Skilled Worker route –

• This has replaced the Tier 2 (General) work visa route.
• If your organization previously held a licence in Tier 2 General and/or ICT, your licence details have been automatically updated, so you are now licensed to sponsor applicants on the Skilled Worker and/or the Intra-Company routes. You will retain your current licence expiry date.
• Your annual allocation of Tier 2 General and/or ICT CoS will also be automatically updated to a Skilled Worker and/or Intra-Company routes allocation, and any unassigned CoS will be transferred over. The new allocations will have the same expiry date as the respective previous allocations.