2024 brought a rapid evolution of the immigration system and policies in the UK. Here, we take a whistlestop tour of the highlights, key changes and challenges throughout the year.
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) increase
February 2024 saw a huge increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which almost doubled from £624 per year for adults (and £470 per year for children, students, student dependants and individuals who have applied under the Youth Mobility Scheme route), to £1,035 per year (with the latter rising to £776 per year). This whopping 66% increase affected a number of applicants, from Skilled Workers to individuals on alternative visa routes.
Illegal working penalties
Also in February 2024, the government tripled illegal working penalties from £15,000-£20,000 to £45,000-£60,000. We also saw a number of key examples of severe punishment for repeat offences of employing individuals with no right to work.
Fee increases and changes to the Skilled Worker route
April saw a number of staggering immigration changes. This included increasing the general salary threshold for Skilled Workers from £26,200 to £38,700, replacing the Shortage Occupation List with the Immigration Salary List (ISL), restricting students and care workers from bringing dependants to the UK, updates to the salary requirements for ILR as a Skilled Worker, increasing the minimum income requirement from £18,600 to £29,000 per year for family visas, further fee increases, and other significant updates to the Immigration Rules.
Education
A number of immigration changes were also made impacting the education sector in 2024. In January 2024, students had new restrictions placed upon them severely reducing the circumstances in which they are permitted to bring their dependants to the UK. This affected all new international student applications from 1 January 2024 on every type of course, with the exception of postgraduate research courses and courses with government-funded scholarships.
A few months later, in March 2024, the Home Secretary commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a ‘rapid review’ of the Graduate route by May 2024. The MAC recommended that the government should retain the Graduate route, and that there was no evidence to suggest that the visa route was the subject of abuse. This was a welcome response for graduates and higher education institutions.
Changes to the UK Government
The Labour party’s victory in the general election brought about many considerable changes to immigration policy in the UK. These included the cancellation of the Rwanda removal policy for asylum seekers, the introduction of a new statutory body, Skills England, to work alongside strengthening and assisting the MAC in its recommendations and focus on skills training, commissioning MAC reviews of the minimum income requirement in family visas (and the pause of the further scheduled increase to £38,700 per year), and the IT and engineering sectors with regards to international recruitment. The results of these MAC reviews should be published in around Spring 2025.
Furthermore, there was a significant change to the definition of an ‘unmarried partner’ in 2024. This removed the longstanding requirement for two years of cohabitation for the couple. However, individuals applying under this route are still required to demonstrate that their relationship is similar to a marriage or civil partnership, and had subsisted for at least two years.
The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
In January 2024, the Home Office introduced amended guidance for caseworkers dealing with late EUSS applications. This change meant that a number of individuals were afforded a certain level of flexibility. The amendments stated that where the person had a “reasonable belief” that they did not need to apply, or where there was a “reasonable basis” for being unaware that they had to do so, this could constitute a “reasonable ground” for applying late.
The EU advocacy group the3million also presented a set of ten suggested policies for the new Labour government regarding the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and protecting the rights of EU members residing in the UK. They requested that these policies should be fulfilled within the first one hundred days of government. Suggested policies included granting everyone who is under the EUSS Withdrawal Agreement rights, ensuring that late applicants to the EUSS do not suffer any long lasting punitive effects if they are granted status, and other suggestions, which can be found here.
General updates to the sponsorship system
April 2024 also saw the surprise abolishment of sponsor licence renewals. This sudden (but welcome) change meant that licences would now be automatically extended, as opposed to the previous requirement to renew a sponsor licence after every four years. It was suggested that this change could potentially lead to increased UKVI compliance action for sponsor licence holders.
Additionally, changes relating to supplementary employment for Skilled Workers, to the Sponsor licence priority service guidance and CoS updates, and Sponsor guidance updates and the new ‘Sponsor UK’ system were also introduced throughout 2024.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) 2024 annual report stated that:
“Net migration between 2021 and 2023 was unusually high, mainly as a result of increased international students and non-European Union (EU) work immigration through the Skilled Worker (SW) route, most noticeably in health and care occupations.”
The same MAC annual report also confirmed the following:
“For households, we estimate the typical SW route household had a positive net fiscal impact of £12,000 and the equivalent UK household to have a negative net fiscal impact of £4,400 in 2022/23…We explain that migrants on the SW route are net fiscally positive as the immigration rules are designed to allow entry to the highest earning migrants who meet the salary thresholds of the SW route.”
Health and Care Worker visa applications were quite heavily restricted in 2024, and according to the statistics, they have decreased significantly. This could also be as a result of the ban on health and care workers bringing their dependants to the UK. There were only 1,900 main applicant applications in November 2024, down from a huge peak of 18,300 in August 2023.
In general, Skilled Worker visa applications also drastically declined to 4,100 in November 2024 (down from around 6,000 per month between January 2022 and March 2024, and a peak of 10,100 in April 2024).
eVisas and Digitalisation
2024 was the year of the digitalisation of the immigration system in the UK, as well as the introduction of eVisas. In 2024, we touched on the steps that businesses could take in regards to the digitalisation of the UK immigration system.
Throughout the year, many individuals were invited to create a UKVI account and link their eVisa. However, a number of concerns from legal practitioners, charities and businesses were raised with the Home Office regarding how many marginalised communities and vulnerable groups of individuals could be left behind in 2025.
The Home Office made the decision to stop printing and producing Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) at the end of October 2024, as part of the ongoing digitalisation efforts.
It was also announced in December 2024 that the full switchover from BRPs to eVisas would be delayed until March 2025, and expired BRPs would still be accepted (provided that the individual still held a valid visa) when travelling between January and March 2025. This delay could be due to the significant issues that have been reported with the implementation of eVisas. An eVisa error reporting service was also introduced towards the end of 2024. Further information on the concerns surrounding eVisas can be found here.
Alongside providing status via an eVisa and the view and prove service, Migrants Organise and the 3million have also released an eVisa Bust Card, which individuals can print and carry with them. This is aimed to assist individuals who may struggle with technology or may have anxiety around travelling.
Additionally, the Home Office is planning on the gradual phasing out of vignette endorsements in passports towards the end of 2025.
No Time Limit applications
No Time Limit (NTL) applications have been increasing in popularity, due to the ongoing digitalisation of the immigration system in the UK. Many individuals who have held ILR for a number of years, or even decades, may have evidence of this on a legacy document other than a BRP (for example, a stamp or vignette in their passport or a letter). These individuals are required to make an NTL application so that they can obtain digital confirmation of their status in the form of an eVisa.
Although the Home Office confirmed that legacy documents can still be used when travelling throughout 2025 (as they are still valid immigration documents), they will eventually be phased out. Additionally, as some individuals making an NTL application are unsure of their status, the Subject Access Request (SAR) department are also taking much longer than their usual timeframe of 30 days to deliver SARs.
ETAs
Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is a new electronic screening process available for non-visa nationals who wish to visit the UK. ETAs are generally valid for two years or until the passport that they are linked to expires (whichever is sooner), and they are valid for multiple journeys to the UK within that time period.
The light touch application process (fast to complete and priced at £10 per applicant) was introduced as a way to fill the current gap in advanced, digital permissions for non-visa nationals and bring the UK up to a similar level to other countries and the EU who run parallel schemes (such as ‘ESTA’s in the USA and ‘ETIAS’ in the EU). It is hoped that ETAs will strengthen the security of the UK border, whilst enhancing the Home Office’s ability to screen travellers and stop those who pose a threat from travelling to the UK.
The Home Office have also maintained that the increased use of automation will speed up clearance at the border to improve overall passenger experience. However, there are a number of concerns with the changes, as certain individuals (particularly older, non-visa nationals who have frequently visited the UK for a number of years, such as EU nationals), may be unaware of the need to complete this new application process in advance of their travel, and this may result in further delays and confusion at the border.
The introduction of the ETA scheme has been done in a staggered manner, with certain countries or groups of countries, able to apply for a two-year ETA at different points. Phase one of the rollout included countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain – these countries could apply for ETAs throughout 2024. For EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, it will be mandatory to apply for an ETA when visiting the UK from 2 April 2025.
Further information on ETAs can be found here.
Conclusion
It is difficult to say if the changes that we saw to UK immigration policy in 2024 will be permanently implemented throughout 2025. However, it is clear that the Labour government would like to continue its predecessor’s aim of reducing overall net migration significantly, as well as continuing the ongoing digitalisation of the border and immigration systems in the UK.
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