International workers keen to take up jobs in the UK are encountering long visa application delays at the Home Office.
The delays are particularly worrying for individuals and businesses who are facing a race against time as they rush to finalise paperwork before significant hikes in fees for visas and new rules that make international recruitment harder are implemented.
The delays are most acute around the approval of “defined certificates of sponsorship”. These are issued by employers to overseas workers as part of the Skilled Worker visa application process. Normally it takes a day for an application to be approved online. Recently the process, sources have told Personnel Today, has been taking between a week and two months.
This is creating a headache for recruiters rushing to finalise their overseas recruitment needs ahead of a significant rise in the Immigration Health Surcharge, which most migrants must pay. The fee is due to go up from £624 per person to £1,035 (a rise of 66%). The increase was originally due to take effect on 16 January but has been delayed and will now come into force on 6 February.
Immigration policy
Government hikes work visa salary threshold
The problem is compounded because businesses are also eager to beat the minimum salary increase announced in December last year. Currently, in order to meet the criteria to qualify for a general Skilled Worker visa most applicants must be paid a minimum of £26,200 a year (the threshold does not apply to health and care workers). In spring this year that figure is set to increase to £38,700, which is higher than the average salary for full-time employees.
Visa expert and director of visa and immigration law firm A Y & J Solicitors, Yash Dubal, said the delays were causing concern among clients.
“Given the changes that are coming down the line, many businesses that planned to recruit from overseas in 2024 are bringing those plans forward and are trying to get ahead of the restrictions and fee rises. The delays that we are now seeing are a real cause for concern,” he said.
Some immigration lawyers have suggested that the Home Office may be using the application process for defined Certificates of Sponsorship as a way of making further checks on migrants and the companies that employ them.
“The system used to be routine and hassle free,” said Dubal. “The Home Office now seems to be using it to check not only that the skill level and salary requirements are met, but also to do a preliminary assessment of ‘genuineness’, for example by asking for employment contracts and client contracts to show there is genuine work for the migrant to do.
He added: “There is a political imperative to reduce migration and crack down on businesses that cheat the system so this renewed level of scrutiny is not unexpected; however, genuine businesses who are eager to finalise their recruitment processes could end up paying more, or losing the staff they want to employ.”
Chetal Patel, head of immigration at Bates Wells, told Personnel Today she had also seen long delays: “We’ve seen many sponsors submitting urgent certificate of sponsorship allocation requests to support their recruitment needs for those already in the UK. However, securing one of the daily 60 priority change of circumstances service slots has become tricky because so many organisations are applying for it.
“The pressure on the system will only continue with the minimum Skilled Worker salary threshold due to be increased significantly in the spring.
“Businesses are carefully looking at their recruitment needs to consider ways in which they can offset some of the visa costs.”
Patel added that despite net immigration reaching record levels the goal of reducing levels of net migration “isn’t something that’s new, it’s long been part of our UK immigration system”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The prime minister has made clear current levels of migration to the UK are far too high. That is why the government announced a plan to cut the number of migrants coming to the UK and we are working to bring these changes in as soon as possible in a sensible and pragmatic way.
The spokesperson contradicted the evidence from businesses, saying that it had in fact cut processing times for sponsorship, stating: “Our sponsorship system is designed to be easy to use. We have introduced a number of measures to streamline processes for customers which have shaved an average of eight weeks from the process of employing an overseas worker.”
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
