EES meaning

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Sponsored work Family routes Long residence, discretion and human rights EU law rights and EU Settlement Scheme Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q&A Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar Please note our Immigration calendar outlines key forthcoming developments for business immigration advisers. UK immigration control: how it works New Statement of Changes HC 1333 laid The Home Office has introduced a new Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, HC 1333, accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum (EM). As well as replacing Part 9 of the Rules with a new Part titled Suitability, the Statement immediately adds Botswana to the Visa National List, raises the English-language threshold in specified work routes, shortens the Graduate route to 18 months (for non‑PhD students applying after 1 January 2027), broadens the High Potential Individual...

In this issue: Competition and state aid Free movement, immigration and employment Financial services Environment Insurance and reinsurance Life sciences TMT International trade Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Competition and state aid State aid—Court of Justice rules on an Italian reference, declaring renewable energy State aid inadmissible. In Case C-514/23, Tiberis Holding, the Court considered questions from Italy on whether a national scheme encouraging electricity generation from renewable sources is compatible with the EU internal market. See News Analysis: EU Competition law—daily round-up (01/08/2025)... State aid—European Commission opens a call for evidence on technical updates to the ETS State aid guidelines. The Commission is seeking views on planned revisions to the Emissions Trading System State aid guidelines (ETS Guidelines), with feedback invited until 5 September 2025. As signalled in the European Chemicals Action Plan of 8 July 2025, the ETS Guidelines will be revised to include further...

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Work sponsorship: sponsors Business, investment and non-sponsored work Long residence, discretion and human rights Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar Our Immigration calendar highlights the main upcoming changes that matter to business immigration advisers. UK immigration control: how it works ICIBI inspection on Home Office age assessments The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has released findings on how effectively and efficiently the Home Office applies age assessments, with specific focus on the Irregular Migration Intake Unit and the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB). The review pinpointed multiple areas where the Home Office could enhance its methods and procedures for establishing age, as well as its collaboration with local authorities. ICIBI issued eight recommendations covering every phase and element of age assessment. The Home...

The removal of internal border checks across the Schengen Area stands as one of the EU’s landmark achievements, shaping and embedding the European societal model and way of life. Yet major developments—such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and rising irregular migration—have exposed shortcomings and loopholes in Schengen border management. To address the migration challenges faced by Member States and to uphold border-free movement within Schengen, significant revisions were adopted in 2024. This Practice Note concentrates on Regulation (EU) 2016/399, the Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (codification), which sets out the conditions for movement to and from the area without internal border control, as well as between participating Member States. It also reflects the 2024 amendments, drawing out the principal features of the current framework and outlining the accompanying instruments that clarify how the Schengen borders management system operates. Notably, the free movement of persons within the EEC was among the core aims of the Treaty of Rome (1958–1967), laying the foundations for today’s...

EU external border governance has been in continual flux, driven in particular by the exceptional influx of refugees, irregular migration, and the digitalisation of control mechanisms. A closer look at amendments to the Schengen Borders Code also makes clear how lessons from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have shaped its evolution over recent years. The EU’s principal aims here include progressively creating an integrated management framework for the external frontiers, strengthening backing for migration management, intensifying action against cross-border crime, and bolstering national authorities to improve internal security. The ‘EU Migration and Asylum’ policy forms a significant strand of external border control more broadly. Nevertheless, this Practice Note does not examine that policy; instead it concentrates on the general Schengen visa regime, the core instruments and platforms already deployed—the Visa Information System (VIS) and the Schengen Information System (SIS)—and those still awaiting operation—the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation system (ETIAS). Background information To begin with, when considering the EU cross-border control architecture and its...