With the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Home Office made a lot of changes in the UK immigration rules. While some changes, HC 617, are made in September of 2021, they will be in effect from October. These rules are implemented to protect and provide security to the people who are the most affected during the pandemic.
Major Covid-19 Concessions
Some of the significant changes and concessions in these Immigration Rules are given below:
- Changes for Tier 1: These changes will affect individuals who hold Entrepreneurial visas. A visa extension will be provided to them with the requirement of them creating jobs opportunities.
- Changes for Skilled Workers or Tier 2 Sportsperson: If they had applied for a switch in their visa categories between the time periods from January of 2020 till June of 2021, they could include that time period towards the five years allocated towards the settlement time.
- Changes in EU settlement rules: If an individual was unable to return to the UK due to the regulations of the pandemic, they would still be protected under the EU Settlement Schemes (EUSS) from the requirement of “continuous UK residence.”
Some Other Changes
Apart from some of the major concessions and changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a small summary of the other changes is as follows:
- The rule was changed for the EEA nationals from displaying their valid national identity card to them having to have a valid passport to display for entry in the UK. These are valid for all other cases other than those authorised.
- An International Sportsperson visa would replace the current visas that were issued for the professional sports players, including Tier 2 and Tier 5 workers i.e., Creative or Sporting Workers. This was applicable for all the athletes who were visiting the UK for less than 12 months to 12 months.
- The visa category for Youth Mobility Scheme or “working holiday visa” was being expanded to allow people between the ages 18 to 30 from India and Iceland to work and also live for 2 years in the UK; without any sponsor and with three years of experience.
- A change would be seen in the Global Talent route as well for talented individuals from different fields.
- With the evacuation of Afghan citizens from Afghanistan, additional changes are being made for them under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy as well as the ex-gratia scheme.
Getting permanently settled in the UK opens a plethora of opportunities for you. Get in touch with one of our immigration consultants to discuss options to enter the UK. Call us at (+44) 7898641255 for more details.