Points based system meaning

What, in summary, are the recent developments relating to the EU settlement scheme? Following earlier pilot phases, the scheme went live in full on 30 March 2019, making it accessible to every EU citizen and their family members. The caseworker guidance is extensive and divided into two texts: EU Settlement Scheme: EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members — a 104-page guide outlining eligibility, when an application is valid, what evidence to submit, the steps in the process, and particular rules for family members. EU Settlement Scheme: suitability requirements — a 22-page guide devoted to character and conduct considerations, and the ways these could affect an application under the EU settlement scheme. These materials assist applicants seeking a thorough grasp of the process and the paperwork they may require. Yet the breadth and depth of what is provided can feel daunting for individuals, who might prefer to rely on the more general Home Office guidance available online. Do...

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Work sponsorships: sponsors Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement Citizenship applications Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar Note that our Immigration calendar sets out key forthcoming developments relevant to business immigration advisers. UK immigration control: how it works Immigration White Paper heralds significant changes to UK immigration system The government has issued its long‑awaited White Paper on lawful migration, ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration system’, setting out major reforms across the system, with the stated objective of cutting net migration and reasserting control. In the employment context, this includes lifting the skill threshold for Skilled Worker back to the Tier 2 graduate standard and turning all Points‑Based System routes into ten‑year pathways to settlement, with a new points‑led method to shorten that period based on contributions to the economy and society. A suite of measures...

In this issue: Commercial Competition and state aid Data protection and cybersecurity Free movement, immigration and employment Financial services Energy Environment IP Life sciences Regulatory TMT International trade Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Commercial Court of Justice rules on the concepts of average consumer and aggressive or unfair commercial practice (Compass Banca SpA/Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM)) The Court of Justice explains that the notion of the ‘average consumer’ is not confined to someone reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect; it must also reflect that a person’s ability to decide can be constrained (for instance, by cognitive biases) and other comparable constraints. It further finds that presenting, at the same time, a personal loan alongside a separate insurance product does not, in itself, amount to an aggressive or unfair practice under Articles 6 and 8 of Directive 2005/29/EC, the EU Unfair Commercial...

This Practice Note examines the key issues around applications made by dependent partners of individuals on work, investment and study pathways. Most of these routes include provision for dependent partners and children. The principal exceptions are the Youth Mobility Scheme, which permits no dependants at all, and the Student, Graduate and Skilled Worker routes, which impose certain restrictions. For the position in those routes, see Practice Notes: Applying under the Skilled Worker route — Dependants, Applying under the Graduate route and Student: eligibility — Dependants. Partners in this context means: spouses civil partners, and unmarried partners who have lived in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years — this type of relationship is now termed a ‘durable relationship’ Before their simplification, the rules governing dependent partners and children in these routes were found in Part 8 of the Immigration Rules (for dependants of relevant Points-Based System migrants and Appendix W workers), or in Part 5...

Genuineness and eligible role considerations in sponsored worker routes This Practice Note examines genuineness and eligible role issues across sponsored worker routes. These include, among other aspects, whether vacancies/roles genuinely exist, the financial viability of those roles, applicants’ qualifications/registration, the requirements of the job, and the worker’s intended purpose. The relevant criteria are found in the Immigration Rules for the Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes, and also in the Sponsor Guidance that applies to all sponsored work routes. The original 2008 sponsored employment model under the Points-Based System was, in essence, self-certification—employers had to sign up to and maintain stringent compliance arrangements to gain a sponsor licence, after which they could assign their own Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), subject to periodic compliance visits and other checks to ensure they continued to meet sponsor duties, including accurate CoS assignment. This approach was moderated with the advent of what became known as restricted CoS when interim limits were introduced in Tier 2 (General) in July 2010, bringing...

This review outlines the key updates to the Immigration Rules (the Rules) introduced in CP 232. Published on 14 May 2020, CP 232 was accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum (EM). The package notably covers: further limitations on the Representative of an Overseas Business route a range of revisions to the Start-up, Innovator and Global Talent pathways in Appendix W of the Rules changes to the EU Settlement Scheme, including broadening eligibility to additional victims of domestic abuse, and to family members of people born in Northern Ireland You can jump straight to particular subjects via the Contents bar on the left-hand side of the screen. Implementation Except where indicated, the updates apply to applications submitted on or after 4 June 2020. Applications filed (or supported by a Certificate of Sponsorship or an assigned endorsement) before this date will be decided under the Rules in effect on 3 June 2020. Adjustments for applications by ‘family members of relevant persons of Northern...

This is a Q&A about whether it is necessary for dependants to apply to switch categories at the same time as their relevant points-based system (PBS) migrants. The Points Based System (Dependant) Guidance states, as a general rule, that where the principal migrant changes employer or education provider, receives a new certificate of sponsorship and applies for leave to remain to work or study with their new sponsor, their dependants are not obliged to apply for leave to remain at the same time...

Long residence and private life resources—overview The ten-year long residence route set out in the Immigration Rules, Part 7, does not allow dependants to submit applications alongside the principal applicant. This means joint filing is not available under this route. Dependants may, however, apply independently where they satisfy the criteria of the relevant rule. By way of illustration, if a husband and wife have each been lawfully present in the UK for ten continuous years, they must each file their own separate applications under the long residence provisions. See Immigration Rules, Part 7, para 276B–276C. When a Tier 2 (General) migrant secures indefinite leave to remain (ILR) through the long residence rules, their spouse may have scope to seek leave to remain as the spouse of a settled person under Immigration Rules, Appendix FM (see Practice Note: Partners applying for limited leave to remain under Appendix FM: eligibility tables)...