Immigration

Worthingtons provide both our personal and business clients with the full compliment of immigration legal services. Immigration law is multi-layered and can be extremely difficult to understand for the unacquainted. It is also constantly changing as it is very politically charged and emotive area. We pride ourselves in being able to navigate clients successfully through this complex area – our expert team keeping on top of the latest legal developments, and we are able to deliver a high quality, effective and responsive service.

Whether you are a business seeking to recruit or employ an overseas national and require a licence to do so, or if you are applying for family to join you in the UK, seeking permanent residence here, or seeking to establish your right to stay in the UK on the basis of human rights and other international obligations, Worthingtons can provide bespoke, dedicated advice and representation in these cases, taking pride in what we provide to our clients, and staying with them every step of the way.

We are skilled in providing assistance in relation to all immigration related applications, and representation in relation to applications for administrative review, appeals to the First-tier and Upper Tribunal, and applications for judicial review. We have the right people in our team and have access to specialist immigration barristers where such representation is necessary or desired.

We have the experience to help your organisation bring the personnel it needs into the UK – whether they are key staff from other offices around the world, or new appointments. We are familiar with and have assisted businesses with Tier 1 and Tier 2 visa and sponsorship licence applications. We have also advised in connection with Tier 5 (youth mobility scheme) employees.

At present, we have been advising organisations on the likely effect of Brexit upon their ability to recruit and employ, nationals from other EU member states. After Brexit, the talk (at present) is that free movement for EU/EEA and Swiss nationals will end and that the UK will move entirely to a points-based system for all migrants coming to the UK. Under the present points-based system, which has been in place (for non-EU migrants) since 2008, there are five tiers:

Tier 1 Highly- skilled individuals, entrepreneurs and high net-worth individuals

Tier 2 Skilled workers in a shortage occupation who have a job offer

Tier 3 Low skilled workers for temporary labour shortages

Tier 4 Students

Tier 5 Youth mobility and temporary workers: people allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives.

Post-Brexit, it is likely that the vast majority of EU/EEA nationals who wish to come to work in the UK, would fall within Tiers 2-5 of the current points-based system. Thus it will be important for any business who might wish to employ such individuals, post-Brexit, to realise that they may require to apply for a licence to employ them, as such employees might require sponsorship by the employer. At present, only employers registered with and licenced by the Home Office are permitted to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) to a named individual, who must then apply for permission to enter the UK. The employer must have undertaken a strict verification exercise in order to issue a COS. We are able to advise on all aspects of this system.