Immigration Solicitors

The focus of the UK Visa and Immigration Agency (UKVI) seems to have switched from years of constant and continuous visits on Tier 4 sponsors onto ensuring Tier 2 sponsors are complying with their Sponsorship duties. This has meant the UKVI has started expending its resources into an increased number of pre and post registration compliance visits for Tier 2 sponsors.

There have been over 1000 post application Tier 2 sponsor visits in the first quarter of 2015, the majority of which were unannounced, resulting in over 100 licenses being suspended and a further 190 being revoked. The data of which can be found here.

While there are many reason as to why licences may be revoked, the most common causes seem to be;

•Jobs on which employees are sponsored are being found to be exaggerated
•There is no genuine vacancy which is being filled
•Incomplete records (absence of employment contracts, detailed job descriptions, copy of adverts or interview records)
•Employees not being paid as was agreed
•Employees failing to adequately explain their occupation
•Failing to update the SMS with changes (such as change in addresses)
•Failing to keep records

If you are sponsoring an employee, it is absolutely imperative that your records are kept up to date as once a licence has been revoked, it is extremely complicated to get it reinstated. Therefore it is highly recommended that a sponsor instruct a business immigration professional to undertake a compliance visit so as to ensure that they remain compliant with the rules.

At Duncan Lewis our business immigration lawyers have over 20 years combined experience in handling matters that may affect if you want to hire foreign nationals. Our immigration department has been ranked by Chambers UK and Legal 500 for our work in business immigration.

We understand that your business needs to be free to employ the best possible candidates in order to excel in the UK’s international economy and we will help you comply with the current law so that you can benefit from the global talent pool. We have a high success rate in this area of practice which we attribute to our specialised team of lawyers who are able to offer in-house assistance right from the initial application through to the appeal stage.

In addition to procuring the right visas and licenses for your employees and your business, we have, in the past, also provided advice to businesses who want to relocate employees with families or change the type of visa an employee holds.

About the Author: Geoffrey Yeung

Geoffrey joined Duncan Lewis as a Consultant in January 2015. He has extensive experience in all UK immigration matters, specialising in Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and all aspects of Tier 2 under the Points-based System. He is particularly adept at assisting companies and educational institutions with licences and general compliance issues under Tier 2, Tier 4 and Tier 5 of the Immigration Rules.

Having had over half a decade of practical experience, Geoffrey has worked at Partner level in niche boutique immigration law firms, as well as other top five "Legal 500" solicitor firms in the UK. His personal experience includes providing expert legal solutions and advice on all general immigration matters, asylum, nationality and human rights law.

Geoffrey has assisted multinational Tier 2 corporations with licence, compliance and audit matters, including: oil and mining PLCs; international airlines with offices in London; global architect companies and middle-Eastern banks. He has also advised high net worth individuals, some of whom are politically sensitive in their home countries on relocating them and their family to the UK under the Tier 1 Investor and Tier 1 Entrepreneur routes.

Geoffrey contributes regularly to the press as an immigration expert, having conducted interviews with renowned media corporations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), LBC, China's Phoenix TV, Voice of Russia, Gaydio and Sunrise Radio. He also contributes regularly to local newspapers around London on key immigration discussions and changes.