The Global Business Mobility Visa
The Global Business Mobility Visa
The Home Office recently have release new visa category – The Global Business Mobility Visa. The Global Business Mobility Visa is designed for overseas businesses seeking to establish a presence in the UK, or to transfer staff to the UK, for specific business purposes. The Global Business Mobility Route will open to new applicants on 11 April 2022.
The Global Business Mobility visas reformed and expanded on a number of existing business visas including the Representative of an Overseas Business Visa and the two types of Intra-Company Visas. There are five routes:
- UK Expansion Worker Route
- Senior or Specialist Worker Route
- Graduate Trainee Route
- Service Supplier Route
- Secondment Worker Route
The Global Business Mobility Visas will not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, once in the UK, Global Business Mobility visa holders may be able to switch into other immigration routes that leads to settlement.
UK Expansion Worker Visa Route
The UK Expansion Worker Visa is to replace the Representative of an Overseas Business Visa. The UK Expansion Worker Visa can only be used when the business has not started trading in the UK. If the business is already trading in the UK, workers should apply for the Senior or Specialist Worker Route.
The visa is for overseas senior managers and specialist employees looking to undertake temporary assignments related to the expansion of their businesses in the UK.
UK Expansion Worker Visa applicants need to be currently working outside of the UK for a business that is linked to their UK sponsor group for a cumulative period of at least 12 months, unless they will be working in the UK as a high earner earning at least £73,900 per annual or as a Japanese national seeking to establish a UK branch or subsidiary under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Applicants will need to have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job they’re proposing to do, issued by an employer that’s authorised by the UK Home Office to sponsor a UK Expansion Worker.
Applicants will also need to have an eligible job at or above an appropriate minimum skill level, with a salary of at least £42,400 per annual or the ‘going rate’ for that job, whichever is higher.
The UK Expansion Worker Visa is not a route to settlement. If successful, permission will be granted for one year at a time, and up to two years in total. Applicants, however, may be able to switch to another route.
Senior or Specialist Worker Visa
Senior or Specialist Worker Visa is to replace the Intra-Company Transfer Visa, it will open on 11 April 2022. The Senior or Specialist Worker Visa is designed for senior managers and specialist employees undertaking a temporary assignment in the UK. The UK company needs to be linked by common ownership to the overseas employing company.
The applicant needs to have worked outside the UK for the linked business for a cumulative period of at least 12 months, unless the applicant is a high earner earning £73,900 or more per year. The Sponsor of the Senior or Specialist Worker Visa must be listed as A-rated company on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors. The applicant’s Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) must have been issued no more than 3 months before the date of the applicant’s Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa application.
The job needs to be genuine and the salary needs to be more than £42,400 per year or the “going rate” for the job, whichever is higher.
The applicant needs to have enough funds without relying on public funds for support and have a valid TB certificate if required.
The Senior or Specialist Worker Visa does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, applicants may be able to switch into another immigration route which leads to settlement.
Dependent partner and dependent children can apply for this route.
Graduate Trainee Route
Graduate Trainee Route is to replace the Intra-Company Transfer Graduate Trainee Route. The Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee Visa is designed for workers on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position, and are required to do a work placement in the UK. The Graduate Trainee Route will open on 11 April 2022.
The Graduate Trainee Visa Route does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, applicants may be able to switch into another immigration route which leads to settlement.
Dependent partner and dependent children can apply for this route.
The applicant needs to have worked outside the UK for a business for at least three months before the date of your visa application. The overseas business and the UK sponsoring company are needed to be linked by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture.
The job sponsoring is genuine and the salary is no less than £23,000 per year or 70% of the “going rate” for the job, whichever is higher.
The applicant needs to have enough funds without relying on public funds for support and have a valid TB certificate if required.
The Sponsor of Graduate Trainee Route must be listed as A-rated company on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors. The applicant must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the job you are planning to do, and your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) must have been issued no more than 3 months before the date of the applicant’s Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee Route application.
Service Supplier Route
The Service Supplier route is for contractual service suppliers employed by overseas service providers, or self-employed independent professionals based overseas, looking to undertake temporary assignments in the UK to provide services covered by a UK international trade agreement.
This route is to replace the contractual service supplier and independent professional provisions under the Temporary Work – International Agreement route. The service Supplier Route will open on 11 April 2022.
Service Supplier Visa applicants will need to be currently working as or for an overseas service provider that will provide services to their UK sponsor and have worked as or for the overseas service provider outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months.
The applicant must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the job they’re proposing to do, issued by an employer that’s authorised by the UK Home Office to sponsor a Service Supplier. The UK sponsor must have a relevant Home Office registered contract with an overseas service provider on which the applicant will work in the UK.
Applicants will not need to satisfy a salary requirement but the job is required at or above a minimum skill level, or applicants have a university degree or equivalent level technical qualification and experience meet the nationality requirement for a Service Supplier.
Applicants need to be a national of the country or territory in which the overseas service provider is based; or where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the General Agreement on Trade in Services and your employer is established in a country or territory that has made a notification under Article XXVIII(k)(ii)(2) of that agreement, a permanent resident of that country or territory; or where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility, a permanent resident of Switzerland; or where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the United Kingdom-European Union Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a national of any Member State of the European Union or any other person included in the definition of “natural person of a Party” for the European Union in Article 512(k) of that agreement; or where the service that you will provide is covered by a contractual service supplier commitment in the CARIFORUM-United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement, a national of any CARIFORUM State that has provisionally applied or brought into force that agreement.
Permission will be granted for either the time given on the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days, the length of time that will take the applicant to the maximum time period allowed in the category or the maximum single assignment period of either 6 months or 12 months.
Applicants under Global Mobility Visa – Service Supplier Route will be able to extend your stay in the UK up to a maximum period of 5 years in any 6 year period.
The Service Supplier Route does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, applicants may be able to switch into another immigration route which leads to settlement.
Dependent partner and dependent children can apply for this route. Access public funds are not permitted.
Secondment Work Route
The Secondment Work Visa is designed for overseas workers who wish to be temporarily seconded to the UK by their overseas employer as part of a high value contract or investment. The Secondment Worker route will open on 11 April 2022.
Applicants need to be currently working for an overseas business that has a contract with UK sponsor which has been registered with the Home Office. The applicants need to have worked outside the UK for that overseas business for a cumulative period of at least 12 months.
The Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) will need to have been issued by a UK-based business that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Secondment Worker. The UK-based business must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless you were last granted permission as a Secondment Worker and are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in your last permission.
The job needs to be genuine and at an appropriate skill level. The applicant needs to have enough funds without relying on public funds for support and have a valid TB certificate if required.
The Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued not more than 3 months before the date of your Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker Visa application.
The Secondment Worker Route does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, applicants may be able to switch into another immigration route which leads to settlement.
Dependent partner and dependent children can apply for this route. Access public funds are not permitted.
If you have any further questions about the personal immigration routes or business immigration routes or any other visa related queries, please contact our immigration team. We speak many other languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, Gujarati, Portuguese, Korean etc. With access to our solicitors at two locations, one in City and one in Mayfair.
High Potential Individual Route and Scale Up Visa
The Home Office recently released two new visa routes - the High Potential Individual Route and the Scale Up Visa.
High Potential Individual Visa
As of 30 May 2022, the High Potential Individual Route will be available to recent graduates of top global universities who wish to work or look for work in the UK. The High Potential Individual route is not a sponsored route. Applicants do not need job offers from a sponsor approved by the Home Office. The High Potential Individual Route is not available to graduates graduated in the UK. However, there are other immigration routes for graduates graduated in the UK.
Requirements for a High Potential Individual Visa
- Age requirement – you are 18 years or above;
- Educational requirement – you have been awarded an overseas degree level academic qualification from an institution on the Global Universities List, which is published by the Home Office.
- Language requirement – English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in all 4 components (reading, writing, speaking and listening) to at least level B1 (equivalent to IELTS 4.0), OR you are a national of a majority English-speaking country, OR have been awarded a degree taught in English, OR you have obtained a GCSE/A Level or Socttish Highers in English whilst at school in the UK.
- Financial requirement -- You have enough funds to support yourself without relying on public funds.
- TB Test requirement – If you are from a country where TB is common, you must be screened for active TB in the lung.
Duration of a High Potential Individual Visa
Before applying for a High Potential Individual Visa you should also check that you have not previously been granted permission under the Student Doctorate Extension Scheme as a Graduate or as a High Potential Individual. If so, your application will be refused.
If your application for a High Potential Visa is approved, the period of permission you will be granted will depend on the qualification that you relied on to meet the Global Universities List overseas degree requirement:
- PHD or other doctoral level qualification – 3 years
- All other degree qualifications – 2 years
The High Potential Individual Visa Route does not lead directly to settlement in the UK.
The Scale Up Visa
The Scale Up visa is open to all sectors as long as the businesses sponsoring the application meets the growth criteria. The Scale Up Visa Route will open on 22 August 2022.
What are the criteria of The Scale UP business?
The business needs to demonstrate that they have had a yearly growth of at least 20% for the previous 3 years in terms of turnover or staffing. They need to have a minimum of 10 employees at the start of the business. The business must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licenced sponsor. The Sponsor must be authorised by the Home Office to sponsor the job in the question under the Scale Up route.
What is the criteria for Scale Up Visa applicant?
- The applicant must be 18 or over on the date of the application
- High levels of skills or education
- A high-skilled job offer from a qualifying Scale Up business
- A minimum annual salary of £33,000
- Sufficient English Language proficiency.
- TB Test requirement, if you are from a country where TB is common, you must be screened for active TB in the lung.
Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued no more than 3 months before the date of your Scale-up Visa application. You can switch to an employer who are not classified as a Scale Up business within the UK after you have been employed in the job that you are being sponsored for an initial period of 6 months. After this initial period of 6 months, your immigration status will no longer be tied to your original sponsoring employer. You will also be permitted to study however you will not be permitted to access public funds.
The Scale Up Visa is a route to settlement in the UK. A dependent partner and dependent children can apply on this route.
After 5 years you, your dependent partner and children will be eligible to apply for settlement in the UK and also potentially British citizenship.
If you have any further questions about the personal immigration routes or business immigration routes or any other visa related queries, please contact our immigration team. We speak many languages including Mandarin and Cantonese, Gujarati, Russian, French, Korean and Spanish. With access to our solicitors at two locations, one in City and one in Mayfair.
Private Life Route – How To Obtain A Visa To Legalise Your Residence In The UK
When living in the United Kingdom lawfully and continuously for ten years, it is possible to apply for indefinite leave to remain (settlement) by combining different visa categories, even if they individually do not lead to settlement, such as Student or Graduate visas. This is, of course, subject to meeting the requirements of the Immigration Rules under the Long Residence visa route. However, what happens if the residence in the UK has been lawful and unlawful? Is there a way to regularise status in the United Kingdom and potentially settle in the future?
The Private Life visa category was originally introduced in the Statement of Changes in June 2012 and came into force on 9 July 2012. Under this immigration route, those, who have been living in the UK continuously for 20 years, regardless of whether the residence was lawful or unlawful (or combination of both), could be eligible to apply for a visa to regularise their status.
We have successfully assisted clients in regularising their precarious status after having resided in the UK continuously for 20 years. From our experience in dealing with such applications, the Home Office expects an applicant to provide a variety of documents that could demonstrate their physical presence in the country, such as travel history as evidenced by entry stamps in the applicant’s passports, bank statements and employment records.
To strengthen a Private Life application, we, as immigration practitioners, advise to provide additional documentary evidence to demonstrate the applicant’s established private life in the UK, such as personal statement, support letters from friends, local social groups and communities which the applicant has been a part of, and photographs.
Once the applicant has been granted their first permission to remain in the UK on the Private Life route, they will be placed on a 10-year route to settlement, provided that they meet the visa conditions and have maintained their continuous residence throughout their qualifying period.
This visa route offers a pathway for those with a precarious status to regularise their stay in the UK and could be a solution to those who have been subject to the hostile environment policy of the Home Office as a result of their precarious status within the UK.
If you require assistance in relation to a Private Life route visa, or would just like to learn more about this visa route, please feel free to contact us to arrange a consultation.
How do I evict a tenant to regain possession of my property?
If there are tenants in your property and you need to evict because of rent arrears, nuisance or for personal reasons to move back in to the Property or to sell it. Chan Neill Solicitors are able to assist to regain possession of your property from preparing the relevant notice, and if necessary, issue possession proceedings, provide representation at court and instructing bailiffs.
The Procedure of the Eviction Process
Firstly, we will need to know what type of tenancy that you have with your tenant. In most cases, the tenancy is as assured shorthold tenancies. We would check whether the tenant is on a fixed term tenancy or periodic (rolling month to month)
There is a three stage process to evicting tenants:
- Notice
- Issue court proceedings to obtain an order for possession
- Bailiffs
1) Which Notice: Section 21 or Section 8 notice?
Subject to the type of tenancy that you have with your tenant and the reason you want to evict your tenant will depend upon which notice would be most suitable for your personal circumstances.
Whilst these notices are independent of each other and served for separate reasons, they provide the same result- we recover your property back.
Section 21 notice
Section 21 is a no fault basis whereby you are not compelled to provide reasons for eviction. A Section 21 notice is usually served when the tenancy is coming to the end of the fixed term or if the fixed term has expired (periodic tenancy).
There are a number of requirements that you must comply with first before a valid Section 21 notice can be served on the tenants, these are:
- An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- How to Rent Booklet, this guide must be given to a tenant at the start of any new tenancy
- A Gas Safety Certificate
If a deposit was taken, then this must be protected within the requirement period. Failing to protect the deposit on time (within 30 days of receipt) will invalid the Section 21 notice.
A Section 21 cannot be served because the tenant has raised any housing disrepair issue.
The notice period for a Section 21 is 2 months.
Section 8 notice
A Section 8 notice is used where the tenant has breached the terms of the tenancy. The notice must state the grounds that you are seeking possession of the property. Landlords usually use the Section 8 procedure where a tenant is in rental arrears.
The notice period for Section 8 can be between 2 weeks to two months, depending on the terms of the tenancy / grounds.
2) Issuing Proceedings to obtain Possession order
In the event that the Tenant does not vacate the property after receipt of the notice, the next stage is to issue possession proceedings.
We can prepare the possession claim form on your behalf and issue it at the Court. Depending on which grounds you are seeking possession, we can then determine whether we can apply for possession via the accelerated route or the standard route for you.
3) BAILIFFS
If we are successful in obtaining an Order for Possession and the tenants still refuses to vacate the property, we can seek recovery of the property for you with the help of bailiffs.
Should you wish to discuss any of the matters talked about above or if you wish to look to instruct us, please contact us. Our team speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian etc. Our offices are in Mayfair and the city should you wish to see us in person.
Can I Get A Divorce In The UK? Can I Stay In The UK After I'm Divorced?
According to The Independent, divorce petitioning consultations received by UK law firms have increased by 95% during the pandemic. While we want our clients to be able to try to resolve any issues and conflicts in their relationship before deciding to file for divorce, when the relationship between husband and wife breaks down and divorce is inevitable, Chen Neill Solicitors can help you through the entire process, protecting your rights to the greatest extent, and minimising the harm caused by the divorce.
In this article we have conducted some example questions about divorce applications that we hope will be helpful to you. If you have any other than questions that are not related to divorce applications, such as financial division and child arrangements, please feel free to contact us.
Q: Both spouses are non-British citizens and married outside the UK. The husband works in the UK with a work visa and the wife came to the UK as a dependent on a Dependant Visa. After living together in the UK for several years, the wife wants to file for divorce. In this case, will the wife be able to file for a divorce in the UK and is she able to remain in the UK after the divorce?
A: A marriage registered in an overseas country can be recognised by the British government as long as both parties are able to marry according to their place of residence and meet the formalities required by the law of the place of incorporation. Even though some overseas marriage registration formalities may be invalid under the laws of England and Wales, as long as it meets the rules set out in the local regulations for registration, the court can still consider the marriage valid and accept a divorce application filed by one of the parties.
In answer to the above case, the wife can file for divorce in the UK, but if the wife does not obtain a visa other than the husband's accompanying visa (Dependent visa) after the divorce, then she must leave the UK within the stipulated period.
Q: The husband is an EU citizen living in the UK and the wife is a non-EU or non-UK citizen who is also residing in the UK. Is it acceptable for the British court to accept the following case, the parties have registered their marriage in the wife's home country and have lived as husband and wife in the UK for several years and one of them wants to file for divorce in the UK?
A: Same as the previous situation, the couple can file for divorce in the UK, but the divorce may affect the wife's residency in the UK. If the wife is unable to obtain another residency visa after divorce, the Home Office may ask her to leave the UK.
In a marriage relationship, a party residing in the UK on a spouse or dependent visa may be affected by the divorce and may not be able to remain in the UK. But this problem can be solved by applying for other visas, and the solicitors at Chan Neill Law Firm have extensive experience in handling divorce and immigrant visa cases, which can make the divorce and subsequent stay in the UK as smooth as possible.
Case Study
A couple married outside the UK, the husband is a British citizen and the wife is an non-UK citizen. She lives in the UK with her husband on a Family Visa after marriage and has a child. After living together for three years, the husband files for divorce on the grounds of emotional breakdown, and after the divorce, the wife will lose the family visa that was originally approved for marriage. However, since they both have a child during their lives in the UK, and the husband is British, the child automatically becomes a British citizen at birth. After the divorce, we are able to help the wife to switch the dependent visa of the husband to family visa as a parent, subsequently, she will be able to remain in the UK to take care of the child.
If both husband and wife have no children and are not British citizens, and one of them lives in the UK with an accompanying visa that depends on the other party. They are able to continue to work and live in the UK by applying for one of the following visas: Representative of an Overseas Business Visa, Innovator Visa, or Skilled worker Visa after divorce.
Q: On what grounds can I request a divorce?
A: The divorce petition must provide information on one or more of the following five grounds to convince the court that the marriage has broken down to the point of irreparability in order to accept the divorce application. The five reasons are:
(1) Infidelity/adultery (2) Unreasonable behavior such as domestic violence (3) Abandonment (4) Separation for two years with the consent of the defendant (5) Separation for five years
Q: Do I need to appear in court after my divorce application is accepted in court and divorce proceedings begin?
A: Most divorce cases can be made in writing and the court will not require either spouse to appear in court. During the pandemic, if you file for divorce outside the UK and are unable to return to the UK during divorce proceedings, we can arrange a video conference or conference call for a meeting, or we can represent you if necessary.
Please contact our experienced Family Law team who are fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian etc.
What Are The Responsibilities Of Being An Employer In The UK
Previously we shared an article explaining how employers should apply for sponsorship, if employers want to hire oversea employees. We have also given you a detailed overview of the process and documentation required to apply for sponsorship license, you are more than welcome to click here for further details.
In addition to applying for sponsorship license and guaranteeing jobs for overseas employees, employers have many obligations to employees. In today's article we will give you a comprehensive introduction to the responsibilities of employers.
Employers' Liability Insurance
As long as you become an employer in the UK, you must purchase employer liability insurance from an insurance company authorised by the UK government before you can formally hire an employee, and the value of the policy must be at least £5 million. If an employer hires only one family member as an employee, or hires only one employee outside the UK, employer liability insurance may not be required.
Employer's liability insurance can protect employers' benefits in a number of ways, such as helping employers pay compensation when their employees need compensation for work injuries or illnesses. If the employer does not purchase insurance then it will face £2500 per day, accumulating from the date of no insurance. The UK government also checks the employer's certificate of insurance and could also be fined £1,000 if the employer fails to show the certificate of insurance or refuses to provide it when requested by the inspector. Employer liability insurance will vary depending on the business activities of the company, we recommend that employers consult a professional before purchasing employer liability insurance.
Register PAYE (Pay As You Earn)
In addition to purchasing employer liability insurance, employers are also required to register with the HM Revenue & Customs in order to pay taxes and national insurance for their employees through PAYE, the UK's system for collecting income tax and national insurance. Therefore, the employer must register before the first payday, but the registration date cannot be earlier than two months before the payday. It usually takes 5 working days from registration to getting your employer's PAYE reference number.
Employers are required to report employees’ payments and deductions to HMRC on or before each payday. Tax arrears and national insurance amounts are generally calculated through payroll software, which includes employer national insurance premiums for employees earning more than £170 per week.
If the employer is not familiar with the UK tax system, it is advisable for the employer to seek help of an accountant to handle such business.
Register for a Pension scheme
Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must include certain employees in their workplace pension and pay a fee, a liability that begins on the day the employer's first employee starts working, which is known as 'auto-registration'. The UK has a dedicated pensions regulator to ensure that all employers comply with workplace pension laws.
In the scheme, the employer's main responsibility is to monitor the age and income of the employees each time they are paid to determine whether they need to be included in the pension plan and how much the employer needs to pay.
In addition to paying pensions, employers are also obliged to pay the following two fees on behalf of employees.
Income Tax
Personal income tax is a tax levied by the government on personal income, and there are many types of income within the scope of taxation, including:
- Wage income;
- Self-employment income;
- State or social welfare;
- Pension income, including state pensions, corporate and personal pensions, and retirement annuities;
- Rental income;
- Benefit bonuses earned at work;
- Trust income, etc.
Among them, personal income tax expenses arising from wage income and work benefit bonuses need to be deducted from the wages or bonuses by the employer before paying the wages or bonuses, and then the employer pays taxes to the UK government through PAYE. Employers need to calculate how much income tax deduction is required based on the employee's Tax Code.
The standard Personal Allowance is £12,570, and income exceeding the exemption is taxed at a different rate in each range. The specific income tax rates for the current tax year (from 6 April 2021 to 5 April 2022) are as follows:
| Personal allowance | Under £12,570 | 0% |
| Base tax rate | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% |
| High tax rates | £50,271 to £150,000 | 40% |
| Additional tax rates | Over £150,000 | 45% |
If an employee applies for a marriage allowance or a blind allowance, the income tax exemption will be higher. If an employee earns more than £100,000, the income tax exemption will be lower.
National Insurance
Same as personal income tax, employers are obliged to deduct national insurance from wages before paying their wages and then pay them to the UK Government via PAYE.
The national insurance premium is paid to individuals who have reached the age of 16 and meet the following two conditions:
- Employees earning more than £184 per week;
- Self-employed earn £6,515 or more per annum.
Employees earning more than £184 a week and who are under the national pension age are subject to Type I state insurance, which is automatically deducted from wages by the employer. In the first category of national insurance, the amount required by the employer to withhold varies depending on the letter code of the employee's national insurance category. For the current tax year, the specific Category 1 national insurance rates are shown in the chart below:
Note that in the next tax year, from 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2023, the national insurance premium will increase by 1.25%, and the scope of the increase includes categories 1A and 1B national insurance.
In addition to withholding income tax and national insurance premiums from employees, employers are required to provide employees with pay slips on a monthly basis, indicating the breakdown of income tax and national insurance premiums deducted for the current month. Similarly, if the employer is not sure how each employee's pension, income tax and national insurance should be calculated, it is recommended that the employer seek the help of a professional accountant.
Immigration skills charge
When a sponsored employer provides a letter of sponsorship (COS) to an overseas employee applying for a Skilled Worker Visa or an Intra-company Transfer Visa, the employer is usually required to pay an immigration skills fee for the employee.
Generally speaking, employers are required to pay an immigration skills fee for overseas workers in the following two cases:
- Overseas employees applying outside the UK for a work visa for more than 6 months;
- Overseas employees applying within the UK for a work visa for any length.
However, if the overseas employee is applying for an in-house graduate trainee work visa, or if the overseas employee is converted from a student visa to a skilled worker visa or an internal personnel transfer work visa, the employer is not required to pay the immigration skills fee.
Also, if the employer is sponsoring overseas workers engaged in the following occupations, they are not required to pay the immigration skills fee.
- Biological scientist and biochemist;
- Physical scientist;
- Social and humanities scientists;
- Other natural and social science professionals;
- Research and Development Manager;
- Teaching professionals in higher education;
- Clergy;
- Sports athletes;
- Sports coach, instructor or official.
The specific amount of immigration skills fees that employers need to pay is as follows:
| Length of work for employees | Small or charitable organisations | Medium or large institutions |
| The first 12 months | £364 | £1000 |
| For every 6 months extension | £182 | £500 |
In addition to the above-mentioned responsibilities, employers are obliged to provide maternity and annual leave to employees. Almost all workers are legally entitled to at least 28 days of paid leave (also known as annual leave) per year. However, employers can count Bank Holidays and public holidays (e.g. New Year's Day, Christmas, Easter, etc.) as part of statutory annual leave.
If you have questions about employer-related legal liabilities, please contact our Immigration and Employment Law team.
Considerations For Buying A Property Through Auction House
As well as traditional estate agents or developers selling in the United Kingdom, Auction House is one of the ways to buy and sell a property. Often smaller developers and individual investors in the UK are more keen on auctioning property, and there are often property auctions across the UK. During the pandemic has restricted offline home auctions, so online house auctions have sprung up virtually and attracted numerous investors.
Participating in a house auction requires the discernment to distinguish between the pros and cons. Some houses may seem cheap, but in fact they are layered with mines, and follow-up problems are continuous. However, looking at the positive side, there are also many buyers who can pick up a big bargain. At Chen Neill Solicitors, our experienced conveyancing solicitors suggest that if you want to buy a property through auction, you must do your homework in advance, including fully reading and studying the legal pack provided by the auctioneer, and be sure to conduct a site visit.
Recently, a client from Chen Neill Solicitors bid on a high-end property in London's zone 1, although the price of the auction was relatively cheap, the lease of the house was less than 10 years. In the space of two years, the seller of the property is already the third resale of the property, and the first two sellers have applied for an extension of leasehold and it was unsuccessful. The client agreed to buy the property without fully understanding the legal documents and without a detailed understanding of the lease of the property before bidding. The client encountered problems and could not regret it. Because the law stipulates that once the property at auction is decided to be auctioned, the buyer must purchase the property (Legally Binding), and the entire transaction process must be completed within 28 days.
In order to avoid the loss of buyers who are interested in participating in the house auction and buy the auction house of their choice at the right price, our property solicitors have summarised the following suggestions:
1． Read the legal package carefully
Auctioneers will generally provide buyers with a package of legal documents for the property before the auction begins – including title deeds, environmental investigation reports from local authorities, lists of fixtures and fittings, seller information sheets, and any rental information related to the property. The legal documents provided by auctioneers are quite important, and it is recommended that you ask a solicitor to take a closer look, as there may be hidden contractual terms or loopholes that only professionals can find, and these loopholes may cause you to pay more than your budget.
2． Field trips
Generally speaking, you can make an appointment to visit your property about a month before the auction starts. You can bring an experienced architect with you on your expedition to help you see some issues that you may not notice from a professional point of view. At the same time, if you have plans to renovate your house, the architect can also estimate the cost of a renovation. This way, you can take into account the cost of the renovation when bidding. You can also hire a chartered surveyor to measure and evaluate the property during the viewing, and some of the structural problems of the property itself cannot be viewed with the naked eye, and the appraisal report of the professional surveyor will play a great help when you measure the value of the property.
3． Funding provision
If you are prepared to buy in cash, it is recommended that you ask your conveyancer to check the source of funds in advance to ensure that the transaction is completed within 28 days of bidding. If you need to take out a mortgage to buy a property, you will need to discuss with your mortgage lender in advance to get the Mortgage in Principal. This way you know the maximum amount you can bid for at the auction. Please note that you only have 28 days (20 working days) to complete the transaction after the auction, and often the loan application takes more than 28 days, it is just as important to have the purchase funds ready in advance as the two factors mentioned earlier.
One final tip is to take out home insurance as once your offer has been accepted, you will be liable for any damage to the property until completion, it is advisable to take out an insurance policy to protect yourself in the event of any damage.
If you are interested in buying an auction property or need any legal advice on real estate, please contact our residential conveyancing team.
How Can I Recover Debts Owed To Me Or My Company?
If money is owed to you by either a business or individual Chan Neill Solicitors is able to assist in recovery of this money dealing with anything from letters of claim up to, and if necessary, the issue of legal proceedings and providing representation at court.
The Procedure of Recovery of Debt From an Individual or Business
The first step when looking to recover a debt is for our lawyers to understand what the debt refers to, the amount that is owed and a full breakdown of that figure. We would also need to know any interim or part payments that may have been made for that debt or if any response has been received from the debtor in relation to the money owed.
Once we are satisfied that you do have a claim against a debtor the next step is to draft a letter of claim. The content and structure of the letter of claim differs as to whether the claim is against an individual or a business.
Claims Against an Individual
If you are looking to pursue an individual for monies owed then the letter of claim needs to contain certain information including, but not limited to, the amount that is owed, a full breakdown of the figure, the amount of interest owed and the costs that would also be payable if proceedings are issued. It is also necessary to include with the letter of claim a copy of a reply form and information sheet. The individual must also be given 30 days from receipt of the letter of claim in which to respond before any legal action can be taken.
If an individual does respond to the letter of claim either on the reply form sent or by email/telephone, we would be obliged to act reasonably and in a cooperative manner when dealing with them. What this means that if, for example, the debtor wished to repay the debt but only could afford to do so over an extended period of time because of financial commitments then we would be obliged to negotiate and cooperate with them in this regard. Should the court discover that we haven’t been cooperative then we risk our claim being struck out if legal proceedings are issued prematurely.
In terms of claiming debt from a business the rules are more relaxed. It is not necessary to allow a business 30 days in which to respond and you just have to afford them a reasonable period of time i.e. 14 days before you can issue legal proceedings. The business does also not need to be sent the relevant paper work an individual would or be provided an estimate for the costs and interest if legal proceedings become necessary.
Issuing Proceedings
If the letters of claim are ignored then legal proceedings may be the only option. Depending on the value of the amount that is owed will depend on the cost of issuing the proceedings (the issue fee) and the legal costs (solicitors fee). Should the amount owed be above £10,000.00 then the legal costs can potentially be recovered from the other side on top of the debt.
Below are the different type of claims depending on the size of the debt.
Small Claims Track – claims below £10,000.
Claims below £10,000 are processed under the small claim procedure in England and Wales. This procedure is one of the most cost-effective solutions. However, the costs of these proceedings are almost never fully imposed on the losing party.
Fast Track – Claims between £10,000 and £25,000.
The fast track procedure deals with undisputed cases with a value between £10,000 and £25,000. As these proceedings often take more time to process than the small claims track, the costs of this procedure are often (partly) passed on to the losing party.
Multi Track – claims above £25,000.
For complex or disputed claims above £25,000, the multi-track procedure should be followed. On average, these procedures take longer than small claims and fast track procedures. In this procedure, the judge can also decide that the losing party must pay all legal costs.
After Judgment Obtained
If we are successful in obtaining Judgment either in default or after a hearing/trial then we can actively seek to look to recover the money for you with the help of bailiffs (if necessary) or potentially by way of charging order if the debtor owns a property.
Should you wish to discuss any of the matters talked about above or if you wish to look to instruct us, please contact us. Our team speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian etc. Our offices are in Mayfair and the city should you wish to see us in person.
How to look out for scammers and what legal action should you seek?
For the majority of overseas investors to UK companies, hopefully the investments have proven to be lucrative and or provided you with the ability to meet home office conditions. A small percentage of you however are falling victim to very unscrupulous people.
Here is one case we wish to example were we have assisted an investor and an innocent customer with.
The investor was advised that in order to help him comply with immigration visa rules, he could invest in a business opportunity and become a director and Tier 2 employee of a UK limited company. He would also obtain shares for his investment. The investment was substantial and had been paid to the directors personal bank account on the directors request. Over a period of time, suspicions arose that the monies invested were not being used for the company. However the investor had no access to company bank accounts and so could not confirm his suspicions and he was kept being promised his shares will be transferred to him. A friend of the investor entered an agreement with the company to sell his goods. The goods were sold but the sale monies were not given back to the customer, but kept by the company . The director offered instead a repayment plan to the customer. No sale monies were ever returned. At this point the investor realised all his suspicions must be real.
The only way forward was to legally reclaim what the investor and customer had lost. The director of the business however placed the company into liquidation. The director thought this would stop any claim for the investment monies or sale proceeds. Normally creditors of a company have to stand in line for anything a company in liquidation can offer them back. Usually there is no monies to offer creditors and they lose everything.
However with our experienced help and legal advices, the claimants have been able to pierce the corporate veil and go after the director personally for the monies owed. This is a very difficult argument to make before a High Court judge. With a lot of time, patience and explanation of what documents and witness evidence was needed, we issued a world wide freezing injunction on the director in his personal capacity and also a full claim for all the monies owed and invested. A High Court judge accepted the directors personal assets should be frozen world wide and judgement against the director in his personal capacity was also granted.
This has been a great relief to the investor and customer. Our ability to give them hope and strength to see this through has been appreciated. Rather than lose everything to an unscrupulous director, they have been able to stop this director from using the corporate structure from evading his liabilities.
We urge any potential investor to instruct lawyers from the beginning to do proper due diligence on who they are investing in and who with. When you are investing hundreds of thousands of pounds or millions of pounds, it is worth having lawyers do everything to advise and protect you before investment is made.
It will not always be possible to bring such an effective claim against a director who has been unscrupulous as detailed above and therefore we urge prevention is a better solution rather than reaction to a loss.
We do carry out due diligence work for overseas investors and would be happy to hear from you if you wish to have more information on your target investment.
We have listed commercial proceedings if you would like to know details of procedures for such litigation.
1, Appoint a solicitor -- provide your solicitor with timelines, documents and evidence of the case.
2, Draft and send the letters (pre-litigation) to defendant before making a claim.
3, Decide whether to initiate court proceedings (Issue the Claim), aslo considering whether it needs to make special applications before litigation, such as property freezing orders and property disclosure orders etc.
4, Prepare the prosecution file including claim application form, civil lawsuit (Particulars of Claim)
5, First appearance in court and prepare documents for court hearing.
6, Final Hearing and Judgment
If you do find yourself in a similar situation with an investment you have made as exampled above, please do contact us and we shall be happy to help.
Why is Anti Money Laundering Check So Important?
On October 28 2021, the National Crime Agency (NCA) announced that they had filed civil claims against a Chinese mother and two sons in the name of suspected money laundering, and successfully asked them to hand over a London property worth 1.6 million pounds for compensation.
National Crime Agency (NCA) is a law enforcement agency in the UK. This agency is the UK’s leading agency in combating criminal groups. It mainly combats organised crime and economic crime, including human trafficking, weapons and drugs, cybercrime, as well as economic crime across regional and international borders etc.
A woman named Mrs Hajiyeva was previously investigated by The National Crime Agency, they issued her an "Unidentified Wealth Order" (UWO) and asked her to explain and prove the source of her large amount of funds. The lady was unable to explain the legal source of her funds, thus, the National Crime Agency confiscated her luxury house in London.
What is the "Unidentified Wealth Order" (UWO)?
UWO refers to "Unexplained Wealth Order", which is a court order issued by a British court to enable the target person to disclose the unknown source of wealth. The relevant requirement for issuing an "unknown wealth order" is that the court must be convinced that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the target person's known legal source of income is insufficient to enable him/her to obtain such a large amount of funds. After the National Crime Bureau and other law enforcement agencies successfully appeal to the High Court, the assets of people who fail to explain the source of their wealth may be seized and bank accounts may be frozen.
We have discussed in a previous article that many students’ bank accounts were frozen by the National Crime Agency or Police in the name of suspected money laundering due to private currency exchanges. Therefore, we once again remind students studying in the UK to use private currency exchange services carefully and not to be involved in money laundering investigations which could affect their studies. If you want to learn more about what to do if your bank account is frozen because of private exchange, you can click here to view the article.
What is Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (AML)?
Anti-money laundering legislation is a piece of legislation aimed at illegal money laundering. Money laundering refers to the illegal act of converting illegally obtained funds into legal funds or concealing the illegal source of funds. The purpose of the anti-money laundering law is to prevent money laundering activities that conceal and conceal the proceeds of crimes, such as drug crimes, organised crimes, terrorist activities, smuggling crimes, corruption and bribery crimes etc., through various means.
The process of money laundering usually includes the following 3 stages:
- Placement: Put "dirty money" into the legal financial system while hiding its source.
- Layering: This step is also known as "structuring". It hides the source of funds through a series of transactions and accounting techniques, and breaks down the funds into small transactions, making money laundering activities difficult to detect.
- Integration: After the laundered money becomes legal funds, it is withdrawn from legal accounts and real records, and then large-scale consumption, investment, etc are carried out.
In the United Kingdom, companies must abide by anti-money laundering laws. The anti-money laundering regulations in the United Kingdom stipulate that all industries that involve large amounts of capital must take a series of measures to prevent their businesses from being used for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes. For example, in the gaming industry, the UK government imposes very strict supervision. For casinos and online gambling platforms that do not have due diligence to investigate the source of customer's funds, the UK gaming regulator - the UK Gambling Commission will enforce penalties.
- In April 2020, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) imposed a fine of £13 million on Caesars Entertainment (now acquired by Silver Point Capital), which is the largest regulatory fine in the UK. Caesars Entertainment was punished on the grounds that it allowed a VIP registered as a high-risk gambler to place bets without investigating the source of funds, and lost £795,000. It also failed to investigate the source of funds for a lady who claimed to be a waiter and allowed her to bet £87,000. Additionally, allowed a customer to transfer £3.5 million through the casino without investigating the source and destination of funds, etc. In addition to being punished with huge fines, three senior managers of Caesars Entertainment in the UK also had their personal licenses revoked.
- March 2021, the British Gaming Corporation (UKGC) fined online casino and sports betting operator Casumo with a fine of 6 million to the Gaming Commission for anti-money laundering defaults in the United Kingdom. The casino operator must investigate the client's funds. And Casumo caused at least 5 customers to lose a huge amount of gambling money without investigating the source of customer funds.
In addition to the gambling industry, the real estate industry also involves a large amount of funds in every transaction. Therefore, the British government also urges real estate agencies and real estate transaction lawyers to check every client's funds. Especially funds from abroad, including those from areas with frequent and high-risk terrorist activities and areas with more serious bribery.
At present, the UK's anti-money laundering laws are becoming more and more stringent for financial service providers. For example, banks will always check the source of any large sum of funds in your account. If you plan to buy a house in the UK, we recommend that you prepare relevant documents and materials in advance and cooperate with a conveyancing solicitor for checking your source of funds. At the same time, we also recommend that you contact your bank manager in advance to avoid the bank from misunderstanding the large amount of money you have transferred for house purchases, which may cause your account to freeze.
If you have any questions about buying a house, investing in the UK and AML investigations, please contact us. Our team speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish etc.