Permanent residence policy changes; stopping certification of tech talent
Today we will look at the changes to other immigration categories in the Immigration Rule Changes Statement
The requirement for continuous residence of 10 years has been revised to exclude short-term stays on visas from being counted towards achieving permanent residency
People who have been legally resident in the UK for 10 years, also known as ‘Long Residence’, are eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, also known as UK Permanent Residence or UK Green Card.
Ten years of continuous lawful residence means the applicant has resided in the UK uninterruptedly for the last ten years on an authorized visa. Applicants may hold a combination of different types of Visas of varying lengths of time, including student visas, business visas and various short-term visitor visas.
However, this Immigration Rule Change Statement removes the eligibility of various short-term visas and some residence situations to count towards ten-year permanent residence.
The specific types and circumstances of the disqualified visas are as follows:
- Short-term Tourist Visitor Visa
- Short-term (English) Study Visitor Visa
- Seasonal Temporary Worker Visa
- EA stay during the corona outbreak
- Staying during Immigration Bail
Immigration Bail is a procedure used when a person is at risk of imprisonment because of their immigration status, mainly for visa overstays or asylum seekers whose appeal rights have been exhausted.
It means after 13 April, ten years of permanent residence with any of the above residence conditions will have to be recalculated.
Contact us immediately so we can help you prepare your documents and submit your application as soon as possible before the new policy comes into effect if you are in any of these situations and are about to meet the 10-year permanent residence requirement.
The Tech Nation will cease operation, and the list of certified agencies for the global talent visa has updated
In the previous article, we mentioned that the immigration department addressed the list of sponsors for the Innovator Founder Visa. This change will also apply to The Global Talent Visa.
As a Visa category for the admission of high-caliber talent, the Global Talent Visa requires very professional qualifications from applicants.
To be eligible for this Visa, applicants need to have a proven track record of winning prestigious awards in the industry or an endorsement from a professional accreditation body in their field.
The list of accredited sponsors that can approve endorsements to Global Talent Visa applicants after 13 April 2023 will also have an update.
The certification body has announced new changes in tech Nation, a technology certification body for digital technology (fintech, gaming, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence) talent.
In January 2023, the UK media reported the Tech Nation had lost its government funding, leading to Tech Nation ceasing operations on 31 March 2023.
Tech Nation is a government -funded organization dedicated to facilitating the scaling of the UK tech ecosystem. Over the past decade, Tech Nation has helped grow and scale over 5000 startups, including Revolut, Monzo, Ocado, Skyscanner, Delivery and many more.
Tech nation is also one of the certifying bodies for the Global Talent Visa, certifying and helping the UK government bring in hundreds of talented individuals in the digital technology sector.
The new immigration rule change statement does not specify how the immigration Service will process applications for Global Talent Visas that have been or will be certified by Tech Nation.
However, Tech Nation has confirmed that they will continue to process applications already submitted for certification as usual after 31 March in the absence of a published alternative accreditation.
Chan Neill Solicitors can advise digital technology talent applicants of the visa pathways that are still available and find alternatives on a client-by-client basis. If you have any questions, contact our immigration team.