Immigration Skills Charge for UK employers
From April next year, UK organisations looking to hire skilled non-EEA employees will be charged for every worker they choose to bring to the UK.
The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) will take the form of a £1,000 fee per migrant hire, per visa year, and will be payable upfront by the UK employer.
Almost all businesses wishing to employ Tier 2 migrants after April 2017 will be charged the full ISC. Small or charitable organisations, however, will be subject to a lesser yearly fee of £364 per Tier 2 migrant hire.
The good news is that some visa applications will be completely exempt from the fee, such as:
- The Intra-company Transfer Graduate Trainee visa route;
- Those applying for a PhD role; and
- Those switching from Tier 4 to Tier 2 (General).
This hike in UK immigration charges for UK employers was announced last month according to the recommendations of a government-commissioned review of Tier 2, the UK’s skilled visa category, and means an extreme increase in recruitment costs for many UK employers.
For example, bringing a skilled professional from outside the EEA to the UK on a five-year Tier 2 visa after April next year will cost a business up to £5,000 in ISC fees. This will be in addition to the Immigration Health Surcharge and Home Office processing costs.
We recommend that companies review their recruitment needs and budget in line with the new immigration costs well ahead of the April deadline.
Contact Smith Stone Walters for advice on how to best prepare your organisation.
