April 2008
National Campaign for the Arts: Changes to immigration policy and pricing - 25 March 2008
The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) is the UK’s only independent campaigning organisation representing all the arts. It provides a voice for the arts world in all its diversity. It seeks to safeguard, promote and develop the arts and win public and political recognition for the arts as a key element in our national culture.
Background
In 2005 the Home Office published an immigration strategy entitled Making Migration Work for Britain which was followed by a Command Paper in 2006. These documents proposed a major revision of the UK immigration system. The new Points Based System (PBS) will be introduced during 2008-2009. However, the policy is still under development and final decisions regarding policy, process and costs have yet to be made.
Under the current system there are a number of entry routes by which artists may come to the UK including: on work permits, as business visitors, as film crew on location, under a specific category for writers, composers and artists, and, importantly, via an entertainers’ concession. This allows entry without a work permit to certain categories of artists, including those participating in major arts festivals. For many artists, a work permit and/or a visa are not currently required either because they are not visa nationals or because of the nature of the work they are undertaking and/or the length of their stay.
Under PBS, artists are expected to enter via Tier 2 and Tier 5 Creative and Sporting, which are due to become active in the third quarter of 2008. Work permits will no longer exist but a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed UK sponsor will be required. Sponsors will have to demonstrate their legitimacy and pay a fee to join the sponsor register. They will be required to abide by a set of sponsorship rules and will be subject to sanctions for non compliance. Under PBS, individuals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), regardless of the length of their stay, will require entry clearance, bringing the citizens of many major countries, including the USA, into the entry clearance system for the first time. Applications for visas will normally have to be made in person and will include biometric data given at the point of application.
Changes to the immigration system
The following changes are now public knowledge. Detailed information will be published by the Home Office in due course. The NCA will update this briefing as further information becomes available.
• Migrants (anyone coming into the UK, not necessarily intending to settle) from outside the European Economic Area will require entry clearance (permission to enter the UK).
• Migrants in Tiers 2-5 will require a licensed sponsor. The register of licensed sponsors will be operated by the Borders and Immigration Agency (BIA) and will be available to the public.
• Prospective sponsors will have to apply to the BIA for a sponsor’s licence and will be required to comply with a set of sponsorship rules, including codes of practice related to resident labour market testing. Sponsors who do not comply or who break the law will be subject to sanctions, civil penalties, and criminal proceedings. Sponsors will use an IT system to issue certificates of sponsorship, track visa applications made by their sponsored migrants, and update their records.
• Work permits will no longer exist. Migrants will require a certificate of sponsorship issued by a licensed sponsor. This will be an electronic document with a unique reference number and will be an integral part of applying for a visa.
• Migrants applying for visas will complete an online self assessment determining the correct ‘tier’ of entry and visa applications will also be made online. It will be possible for a person other than the applicant (e.g. the sponsor) to complete the forms on their behalf.
• Applicants will be required to give biometric data (finger prints) when making an application, which means they will need to attend a designated biometric collection point in person. Not all such collection points will be visa processing centres, in which case applications will be transferred to processing centres and returned. Applicants may therefore be separated from their passports during the transfer and processing of their application.
• Migrants will enter under one of five broad tiers designed to accommodate different categories of migrants and conferring different entitlements. Tier 2 and Tier 5: Temporary Workers (T5:TW) are likely to be most relevant to artists.
• Tier 2 is for skilled migrants with a job offer. Jobs which do not fulfil a designated skills shortage will be subject to resident labour market testing. Tier 2 can be a route to settlement. The maximum initial leave will be three years, after which applicants may apply for further leave, in-country. Migrants wishing to enter under Tier 2 will have to accrue sufficient points on the basis of qualifications, prospective salary and the nature of the job they wish to take up.
• T5:TW is for temporary workers. There will be 5 sub-tiers, including one for “creative and sporting” applicants. Maximum leave under this sub-tier will be 12 months. Sponsors will have to vouch that migrants do not pose a threat to the resident labour market, in accordance with codes of practice which will be issued as part of the sponsorship rules. They may also vouch that migrants will not call on public funds during their time in the UK.
• Fees for obtaining a sponsorship licence, issuing Certificates of Sponsorship and entry clearance under the various tiers of the Points Based System (PBS) were laid before Parliament on 30 January 2008. The sponsor licence fee for a small organisation or a charity will be £300 for Tier 2, and £400 for Tier 5, or for both. For medium and large organisations it will be £1000.
• The proposed visa and certificate of sponsorship fees for Tier 2 (£205 and £170) and 5 (£99 and £10) are due to be approved in early summer. The proposed fees are listed at:
www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/
documents/news/proposedfees.pdf
The sponsorship register will go live in the first quarter of 2008.
The Home Office is due to publish Statements of Intent for Tiers 2 and 5 in March 2008. Tiers 2 and 5 are due to be rolled out in the third quarter of 2008.
Further information
The Borders and Immigration Agency website provides information about the new system as well as the paper entitled The Command Paper, A Points Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain
www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
The NCA has been working with the Home Office and the arts sector to address potential problems for the arts proposed by the new system. Information about this work is available on the NCA website at: www.artscampaign.org.uk/campaigns/nationalpolicy/
Visas%202005%20Overview.html
The NCA cannot provide advice on immigration.
NCA materials related to immigration are for information only and subject to change.
For more information about the NCA’s work on immigration policy please contact Chloë Reddaway on creddaway@artscampaign.org.uk | www.artscampaign.org.uk
© NCA 2008
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