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Updated 4 November 2021
© Crown copyright 2021
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-intra-company-transfer-ict-route-2021/intra-company-transfer-report-annex-october-2021-accessible-version
Source: Home Office.
Notes: Statistics are provided by Home Office and may not match the main report due to differences in data filtering.
If the CoS states the applicant is being sponsored as a nurse or midwife undertaking the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and:
In addition, the applicant must be paid at or above the relevant salary threshold once they have their registration confirmed – Nurses are exempt from the £30,000 threshold, but midwives are not (see above).
Thank you very much for responding to the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) Call for Evidence on Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs). We are especially grateful for your time as we know that this is a difficult time for many organisations. The MAC has been commissioned to look at ICTs and report back later this year, the commission will look at a number of different elements of the ICT route, and the commission can be viewed using this link: Home Secretary’s commissioning letter to the MAC. As part of this process, we are seeking the views of employers on ICTs, we have constructed this Call for Evidence as a short questionnaire. At the end of the questionnaire there will also be an opportunity to attach further information or documents, if you wish to do so.
All identifying and personal information will remain confidential, however, aggregated and anonymised information in the form of summary statistics will be published as part of our final report. We may also use selected quotes from the responses submitted, however, these will not contain any information that would enable either the respondent or their organisation to be identified. For a full description of personal data policy please refer to the ”Processing of Personal Data” document published on our website. At any point you may save your response to continue later before submitting.
This form will remain open until Tuesday 22nd June 2021. We really value your input and would find it extremely helpful if you could respond as soon as convenient so that we can start considering your views and information. We look forward to hearing from you,
Migration Advisory Committee
[email protected]
2. What is your email address?
3. Which industry best describes your organisation/business? (Select one option) If multiple sectors apply, please select the one that best describes the largest component of business/organisation (by employment). For more information about the sectors please refer to the link below: Nature of business: Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.
4. Approximately how many people does your organisation/business employ in the UK? (Select one option)
5. In which region/country of the UK is the largest proportion of your employees located? (Select one option)
6. Is your organisation… (Select one option)
7. (If ticked Q6= overseas [third option]), are sites…
(Tick all options that apply)
8. Has your organisation made use of the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) route (Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer)” or “Intra-Company Transfer”) in the past five years? This is where your organisation would have transferred workers to the UK from other branches or parts of your company, located elsewhere in the world, for a limited period of time. (Select one option)
9. (If Q8= Yes) What, in your view, are the reasons for your organisation using the Intra-company transfer (ICT) route? This is where an organisation would have transferred workers to the UK from other branches or parts of the company, located elsewhere in the world, for a limited period of time.
10. Has your organisation transferred workers into the UK from other branches or parts of your company, located elsewhere in the world, on any of the following ICT routes, in the past five years? Please tick all the categories of ICT your organisation has used (Tick all that apply)
A. Intra-company Transfer route (including Tier 2 (ICT) in the long-term staff subcategory) – paid between £41,500 and £73,899, to work for the company directly
B. Intra-company Transfer route (including Tier 2 (ICT) in the long-term staff subcategory) – paid between £41,500 and £73,899, to work for the company on contracts
C. Intra-company Transfer route (including Tier 2 (ICT) in the long-term staff subcategory) – paid £73,900 or over, to work for the company directly
D. Intra-company Transfer route (including Tier 2 (ICT) in the long-term staff subcategory) – paid £73,900 or over, to work for the company on contracts
E. Graduate trainee route (including Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) in the graduate trainee subcategory)
F. Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) in the short-term staff subcategory – paid between £24,800 and £41,499, to work for the company directly
G. Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) in the short-term staff subcategory – paid between £24,800 and £41,499, to work for the company on contracts
H. No
I. Not sure
11. (If Q8= No) What are the reasons that your organisation does not currently use the ICT route?
12. (If Q10= A – G) For which roles/s did you employ/sponsor or contract individuals/s who came to the UK to work for the company directly on the ICT route?
13. (If Q10 = any employees on any route A -G) How many ICTs to the UK did your organisation carry out in total last year?
14. (If Q10 = Intra-company Transfer or Graduate trainee A -G) How easy or difficult do you find the process of using the ICT application system in the UK? (Select one option)
A. Very easy
B. Fairly easy
C. Neither easy nor difficult
D. Fairly difficult
E. Very difficult
F. Don’t know
G. No opinion
15. (If Q10= No or Not sure H or I) How easy or difficult do you think it would be to use the ICT application system in the UK, if you needed to? (Select one option)
A. Very easy
B. Fairly easy
C. Neither easy nor difficult
D. Fairly difficult
E. Very difficult
F. Don’t know
G. No opinion
16. The salary threshold for an employee on the main ICT route is currently the higher of £41,500 or the “going rate” for their occupation (the “going rate” is defined as the 25th percentile for their occupation, i.e. 75% of workers in the UK working in the occupation would be getting paid at least that much). What are your views on this salary threshold? (Select one option)
For information on what the going rate is for a particular occupation see link below: Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations.
17. Why do you say that?
18. The salary threshold for a graduate trainee on the graduate ICT route is currently the higher of £23,500, or 70% of the “going rate” for an experienced employee. What are your views on this salary threshold? (Select one option)
19. Why do you say that?
20. Do you think allowances (extra payments over and above the basic salary for the job, for example accommodation allowances, bonuses) should count towards the salary thresholds (the amount which an individual must earn before they can use the route) on the ICT route? (Select one option)
21. Why do you say that?
22. ASK ALL Some employers pay their staff benefits and/or allowances in addition to their salary. Apart from allowances which are guaranteed to be paid for the duration of the applicant’s employment in the UK (such as London weighting) or are paid as a mobility premium or to cover the additional cost of living in the UK, these are not reckonable as part of salary for the purpose of deciding whether or not someone meets the ICT threshold. For each of the following benefits and allowances, please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree that the benefit or allowance should be counted as part of the employee’s salary, for the purpose of deciding whether or not they meet the ICT threshold. (Select one option for each line)
23. Please add any additional information you wish to expand on your answer to the above question
24. ASK ALL Employers are currently able to count accommodation allowance as part of the salary (currently up to 30% on the specialist route and 40% on the graduate trainee route) paid to an employee on the ICT route. As an illustration, for someone being paid the minimum of £41,500 per year, this would mean their salary could be £29,050, topped up with £12,450 in accommodation allowances. Do you consider that this limit on accommodation allowances is: (Select one option)
25. Why do you say that?
26. Thinking about allowances as they relate to ICTs, what (if anything) do you think the consequences of not allowing employers to include allowances in the salary, for the purposes of meeting the salary threshold, would be?
27. In order for an employer to use the ICT route, the role the employee will carry out must be on the list of eligible occupations, all of which are at a skill level of at least RQF level 6 (RQF6 is equivalent to a bachelors’ (first) degree or comparable vocational qualification). Do you consider that the level of skills required is (Select one option):
28. Why do you say that?
29. Currently employees who are transferred to the UK on the ICT route can work for third party clients (other organisations who purchase services from the sponsoring employer) provided that this is part of a service that the sponsoring employer is providing to that client. It can’t be an open-ended or routine service: for example, ICT workers can work on developing a particular IT project for a client but can’t work in general IT support. In your opinion, is the ability to work for third party clients: (Select one option)
30. Why do you say that?
31. Currently employees who are in the UK on the main ICT route (unless they earn over £73,900) must have worked for the business overseas for 12 months before coming to the UK. In your opinion, is this (Select one option):
32. Why do you say that?
33. Currently employees who are in the UK on the graduate trainee ICT route must have worked for the business overseas for 3 months before coming to the UK via the ICT route. In your opinion, is this (Select one option):
34. Why do you say that?
35. The ICT visa currently allows the employee a maximum stay of 5 years in 6 (9 years in 10 for those earning over £73,900 and 1 year for graduate trainees). This means that after five years in their job, an employee on the main ICT route would have to go back to their home country for a year before returning to the UK, if they wanted to remain on the ICT route rather than switch to the Skilled Worker route. Do you think these rules are (Select one option):
36. Why do you say that?
37. How, if at all, should the rules around the ICT route vary for graduate trainees, compared to the main ICT route?
38. Currently there is no English language requirement for the ICT route. What, if anything, would be the consequences of requiring language proficiency for ICT holders?
39. Thinking about your organisation, what would you have done if the ICT route had not been available to you?
(ALL)
40. ASK ALL The Home Office has recently introduced the new Skilled Worker route, which replaces the old Tier 2 (General) route. The main characteristics of the route are shown above, along with the main characteristics of the ICT visa route. Do you consider that the introduction of the new Skilled Worker route will: (Select one option)
41. Why do you say that?
42. Is there anything that the ICT visa route allows you to do, that the new Skilled Worker route will not? Please give details if so
43. Are there any circumstances in which you will now use the Skilled Worker route, rather than ICTs? Please give details if so
44. Currently it is only possible for employers to send one person to the UK in order to establish a branch, subsidiary company or office in the UK (under a separate route known as the Representative of Overseas Business route). If the rules were changed in order to allow companies to send a small team for this purpose, alongside the ICT route, what (if anything) do you think would be the consequences?
45. Have you or your business ever used a similar route to this (using ICTs to send a small team for the purpose of establishing a branch or subsidiary) in another country? (Select one option)
46. Which country/route?
47. How would you describe your experience of using this route?
48. Where a business with no UK presence wants to send workers to the UK in connection to a contract for products or services, they can only do so in very limited circumstances that are covered by UK trade commitments. If rules were changed to allow workers to be seconded to the UK in connection to high value contracts, what (if anything) do you think would be the consequences?
49. Are there any changes that you would like to see to the ICT route? Please give as much detail as possible, including the reasons that such change/s would be helpful
50. Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about ICTs, or the ways in which you use the ICT route?
A1 Would you like to be added to our stakeholder database so we can send updates on MAC work?
A2 Would you be happy for us to recontact you in the next 12 months to invite you to take part in follow-up research regarding similar issues covered in this questionnaire?
A3 And would you be willing for us to contact you if we needed to clarify or supplement responses you have given to this questionnaire?
A4 If there is any additional evidence that you would like us to consider, please attach it here.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire, we really appreciate your contribution. The information you have provided today will help us to build a clear picture of how businesses use ICTs.
Thank you very much for responding to the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) Call for Evidence on Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs). The commission will look at a number of different elements of the ICT route, and the commission can be viewed using this link: Home Secretary’s commissioning letter to the MAC. We are especially grateful for your time as we know that this is a difficult time for many organisations. The MAC has been commissioned to look at ICTs, and report back later this year. We have constructed this as a short questionnaire, however, you will be able to complete this over more than one session if you wish. At the end of the questionnaire there will also be an opportunity to attach further information or documents, if you wish to do so.
All identifying and personal information will remain confidential, however, aggregated and anonymised information in the form of summary statistics will be published as part of our final report. We may also use selected quotes from the responses submitted, however, these will not contain any information that would enable either the respondent or their organisation to be identified. For a full description of personal data policy please refer to the Call for Evidence document published on our website. At any point you may save your response to continue later before submitting.
This questionnaire will remain open until Tuesday 22ndth June 2021. We really value your input and would find it extremely helpful if you could respond as soon as convenient so that we can start considering your views and information.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Migration Advisory Committee
[email protected]
Please tick one option
2. (DO NOT ASK IF INDIVIDUAL, Q1=4) What is the name of your organisation?
3. What is your email address?
Providing your email address will enable us to send you a link to the survey, should you not wish to complete it in one sitting. You will be able to pause and resume as you please by clicking the link in the email.
4. (DO NOT ASK IF INDIVIDUAL, Q1=4) Which of the following best describes your organisation? (Please tick one option)
5. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) How many businesses /organisations do you represent? (Please tick one option)
6. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) How have you engaged the businesses/ organisations you represent to inform this consultation response? (Please tick all that apply)
7. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) Thinking of the businesses/organisations you have engaged with, in general are their staff concentrated in specific UK countries/regions or are they UK-wide? Please tick one option.
8. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) (IF Q7= CONCENTRATED) Following on from the previous question, which region(s)/country(ies) are staff concentrated? (Please tick all that apply)
9. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) Thinking of the businesses/organisations you engage with, tick all the relevant sectors they cover from the list below: (Please select all that apply) For more information about the sectors please refer to the link below: http://resources.companieshouse.gov.uk/sic/
10. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) Thinking about the businesses/organisations you engage with and the number of people they employ, please tick all size bands they represent:
11. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) Thinking about the businesses and organisations you represent, have these organisations made use of the intra-company transfer (ICT) route (“Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer)” or “Intra-Company Transfer”) in the past five years? This is where an organisation has transferred workers to the UK from other branches or parts of the company, located elsewhere in the world, for a limited period of time.
12. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) Have any of the businesses/organisations you represent transferred in workers to the UK from other branches or parts of their company, located elsewhere in the world, on any of the following routes, in the past five years? (Please tick all that apply)
13. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ONLY (Q1= 2) For which role/s did the businesses/organisations you represent employ the individual/s who came to the UK on the ICT route?
14. ASK ALL What, in your view, are the reasons for businesses/organisations using the intra-company transfer (ICT) route? This is where an organisation is able to transfer workers to the UK from other branches or parts of the company, located elsewhere in the world, for a limited period of time.
15. ASK ALL What, in your view, are the reasons for businesses/organisations that do not currently use the ICT route not doing so?
16. ASK ALL How easy or difficult do you believe it is to use the ICT application system in the UK? (Please tick one option)
17. Why do you say that?
18. ASK ALL The salary threshold for an employee on the main ICT route is currently the higher of £41,500 or the “going rate” for their occupation (the “going rate” is defined as the 25th percentile for their occupation, i.e. 75% of workers in the UK working in the occupation would be getting paid at least that much). What are your views on this salary threshold? (Please tick one option)
(More information about the “going rate” can be found at Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations.
19. Why do you say that?
20. The salary threshold for a graduate trainee on the graduate ICT route is currently the higher of £23,500, or 70% of the “going rate” for an experienced employee. What are your views on this salary threshold? (Please tick one option)
(More information about the “going rate” can be found at Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations.
21. Why do you say that?
22. Do you think allowances (extra payments over and above the basic salary for the job, for example accommodation allowances, bonuses) should count towards the salary thresholds (the amount which an individual must earn before they can use the route) on the ICT route? (Please tick one option)
23. Why do you say that?
24. ASK ALL Some employers pay their staff benefits and/or allowances in addition to their salary. Apart from allowances which are guaranteed to be paid for the duration of the applicant’s employment in the UK (such as London weighting) or are paid as a mobility premium or to cover the additional cost of living in the UK, these are not reckonable as part of salary for the purpose of deciding whether or not someone meets the ICT threshold. For each of the following benefits and allowances, please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree that the benefit or allowance should be counted as part of the employee’s salary, for the purpose of deciding whether or not they meet the ICT threshold. (Please tick one response on each line)
25. Please add any additional information you wish to expand on your answer to the above question
26. ASK ALL Employers are currently able to count accommodation allowance as part of the salary (currently up to 30% on the main ICT route and 40% on the graduate trainee route) paid to an employee on the ICT route. As an illustration, for someone being paid the minimum of £41,500 per year, this would mean their salary could be £29,050, topped up with £12,450 in accommodation allowances. Do you consider that this limit on accommodation allowances is: (Please tick one option)
27. Why do you say that?
28. Thinking about allowances as they relate to ICTs, what (if anything) do you think the consequences of not allowing employers to include allowances in the salary, for the purposes of meeting the salary threshold, would be?
29. In order for an employer to use the ICT route, the role the employee will carry out must be on the list of eligible occupations, all or which are at a skill level of at least RQF level 6 (RQF6 is equivalent to a bachelors’ (first) degree or comparable vocational qualification). Do you consider that the level of skills required is: (Please tick one option)
30. Why do you say that?
31. Currently employees who are in the UK on the ICT route can work for third party clients (other organisations who purchase services from the sponsoring employer) provided that this is part of a service that the sponsoring employer is providing to that client. It can’t be an open-ended or routine service: for example, ICT workers can work on developing a particular IT project for a client but can’t work in general IT support. In your opinion, is the ability to work for third party clients: (Please tick one option)
32. Why do you say that?
33. Currently employees in the UK on the main ICT route (unless they earn over £73,900) must have worked for the business overseas for 12 months before coming to the UK. In your opinion, is this: (Please tick one option)
34. Why do you say that?
35. Currently employees who are in the UK on the graduate trainee ICT route must have worked for the business overseas for 3 months before coming to the UK via the ICT route. In your opinion, is this (Please tick one):
36. Why do you say that?
37. The ICT visa currently allows the employee a maximum stay of 5 years in 6 (9 years in 10 for those earning over £73,900 and 1 year for graduate trainees). This means that after five years in their job, an employee on the main ICT route would have to go back to their home country for a year before returning to the UK, if they wanted to remain on the ICT route rather than transfer to the Skilled Worker route. Do you think these rules are: (Please tick one)
38. Why do you say that?
39. How, if at all, should the rules around the ICT route vary for graduate trainees, compared to the main ICT route?
40. Currently there is no English language requirement for the ICT route. What, if anything, would be the consequences of requiring language proficiency for ICT holders?
41. Thinking about businesses and organisations that use ICTs, what do you think they would have done if the ICT route had not been available?
(ALL)
42. The Home Office has recently introduced the new Skilled Worker route, which replaces the old Tier 2 (General) route. The main characteristics of the route are shown above, along with the main characteristics of the ICT visa route. Do you consider that the introduction of the new Skilled Worker route will: (Please tick one)
43. Why do you say that?
44. Is there anything that the ICT visa route allows businesses or organisations to do, that the new Skilled Worker route will not? Please give details if so
45. Are there any circumstances in which organisations/the organisations you represent will now use the Skilled Worker route, rather than ICTs? Please give details if so
46. Currently it is only possible for employers to send one person to the UK in order to establish a branch, subsidiary company or office in the UK (under a separate route known as the Representative of Overseas Business route). If the rules were changed in order to allow companies to send a small team for this purpose, alongside the ICT route, what (if anything) do you think would be the consequences?
47. Do you have any views on eligibility criteria (for example experience, skill, education, salary or other characteristics) that workers coming to establish a branch/subsidiary company or office in the UK should fulfil?
48. Where a business with no UK presence wants to send workers to the UK in connection to a contract for products or services, they can only do so in very limited circumstances that are covered by UK trade commitments. If rules were changed to allow workers to be seconded to the UK in connection to high value contracts, what (if anything) do you think would be the consequences?
49. Do you have any views on the eligibility criteria (for example workers, businesses, contracts or other characteristics) that businesses sending these workers to the UK should fulfil?
50. Are there any changes that your organisation, or the businesses/organisations you represent, would like to see to the ICT route? Please give as much detail as possible, including the reasons that such change/s would be helpful
51. Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about ICTs, or the ways in which businesses and organisations you represent use the ICT route?
A1 Would you like to be added to our stakeholder database so we can send updates on MAC work?
A2 Would you be happy for us to recontact you in the next 12 months to invite you to take part in follow-up research regarding similar issues covered in this survey?
A3 And would you be willing for us to contact you if we needed to clarify or supplement responses you have given to this survey?
A4 If there is any additional evidence that you would like us to consider, please attach it here.
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey, we really appreciate your contribution. The information you have provided today will help us to build a clear picture of how businesses use ICTs, and what they want to see happen, and of other stakeholder views on ICTs.
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. We’ve been commissioned by the MAC for this project to explore employer and employee experiences of the ICT visa route. We are looking into how the ICT route is working and as part of this, we want to speak to people who have used the route themselves in order to find out more about their motivations for using it, their experience, and things that could be improved.
This section aims to establish:
[If unsure what the ICT route is – the ICT visa route allows an organisation to transfer workers to the UK from other branches or parts of the company, located elsewhere in the world, for a limited period of time]
[COVID: less about process, more about the nature of the work & demand for staff – e.g. has your business gone from shops to online so you’ve needed IT staff? Is this changing how people are using the ICT?]
[Brexit: can they country-hop/move between countries, do EU staff need different visas? Is this changing how people are using the ICT? Has it created a new set of needs?]
This section aims to establish:
This section aims to establish how the company decides who is needed in the UK.
In this section we are aiming to:
[Employers are currently able to count accommodation allowance as part of the salary (currently up to 30% on the specialist route and 40% on the graduate trainee route) paid to an employee on the ICT route.]
Employers can use allowances as part of meeting the salary threshold for an ICT visa
What do you think (if anything) would be the consequences of removing the option to use allowances to meet the salary threshold?
This section explores the choice to use ICTs rather than other routes.
The Skilled Worker route is open to graduates and middle skill occupations, but this is not the case for ICT workers – does this matter/represent an advantage or disadvantage?
This section aims to:
(If no) If you were to set up a subsidiary in another country, what would you want the process to be like? (probe around above points)
This section asks respondents to look ahead at:
Thank and close
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. We’ve been commissioned by the MAC for this project to explore employer and employee experiences of the ICT visa route. We are looking into how the ICT route is working and as part of this, we want to speak to people who have used the route themselves in order to find out more about their motivations for using it, their experience, and things that could be improved.
This section is aimed primarily at establishing a rapport with the interviewee, but also to gauge more about what they are doing in the UK:
This section is aimed at finding out who instigated the ICT transfer
Probe on:
Researcher to probe in particular respondents coming to UK for shorter periods of time – why not apply for shorter term visa?
Before moving to the UK what expectations were set out by your employer on what you would do?
Probe on:
Probe on:
[If applied since March 2020 / during Covid]
[If applied in lead up/after Brexit]
This section further explores:
(If they brought family) How did family feel on arrival in UK?
This section looks at:
Probe on:
In this section we ask the individual to take a forward look towards the time when they will return to their home country.
This section wraps up the interview, asking the individual for their final reflections on the route and their feelings about departure.
Thank and close
The main visitor rules are set out in Chapter X of the report. However, there are also several other permitted activities that are detailed below. Full details of the visit guidance can be found in the Visit guidance.
Other permitted activities include:
The Annual Population Survey is a continuous household survey, covering the UK, with the aim of providing estimates between censuses of main social and labour market variables at a local area level.
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings is a comprehensive source of information on the structure and distribution of earnings in the UK.
Academic Technology Approval Scheme. The worker where required must obtain this certificate. This is where study is allowed on the ICT route.
Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy is the government department responsible for business, industrial strategy, science, research and innovation, energy and clean growth, and climate change.
The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
CAGE Research Centre, University of Warwick. The CAGE Research Centre at the University of Warwick is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ES/L011719/1).
Chief Executive Officer
Call for Evidence to submit information and evidence to the MAC. This usually takes the form of an online questionnaire, and the submission of written evidence.
A Certificate of Sponsorship must be assigned to each foreign worker that a UK company employs. It is an electronic record rather than a physical document. Each certificate has its own number, which (once the CoS is issued) a worker can use to apply for a visa.
The Devolved Administrations (Scottish Government, Northern Ireland Executive and Welsh Government)
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is a ministerial department which exists to protect and promote the cultural and artistic heritage of the UK.
The Department for Education is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
The devolved nations of the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales)
Visa used in South Korea for the Intracompany Transfer Visa. It is for a migrant employee of a branch or liaison office of a foreign parent company who is being transferred to Korea by the foreign parent company.
This is for is individuals who wish to start up small businesses in Korea.
This is an Employment Based visa for the United States of America, for skilled workers, professionals and ‘other workers’ (for persons performing unskilled labour requiring less than 2 years training, education, or experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature).
Is a visa for the United States of America, similar to the UK Innovator visa, where the individual must invest in a new commercial enterprise.
Throughout this report we use the term ‘EEA’ migrants to include European Union (EU) countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. We also include Switzerland as part of our definition, but exclude migrants from the Republic of Ireland, as it remains part of the Common Travel Area once the UK leaves the EU
European Free Trade Association
English Language Requirement
The European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
The EU Intra-Company Transferee Visa allows migrants to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job at their UK branch.
Ernst and Young
A US visa. The E-1 non-immigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country (a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been deemed a qualifying country by legislation) to be admitted to the United States solely to engage in international trade on his or her own behalf.
A US visa. The E-2 non-immigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country (a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or with which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been deemed a qualifying country by legislation) to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business.
Freedom of Movement. Within this report this is used to describe the reciprocal travel rights that existed for citizens of the UK and the EU prior to 31st December 2020.
Free Trade Agreement. An FTA or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states.
The General Agreement on Trade in Services is a treaty of the World Trade Organisation which entered into force in January 1995.
Gross Domestic Product measures the total value of all the goods made, and services provided, during a specific period in a country. It is used to show whether, and by how much, the economy is growing.
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is a government department responsible for the UK’s tax, payments and customs.
Her Majesty’s Treasury is the government’s economic and finance ministry.
The Home Office is the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, fire, counter-terrorism and police.
Intra Company Transfers refers to people who work for multi-national companies and are transferred by their employer from an overseas location to a UK branch of the company.
The Inter-departmental Register is a comprehensive list of UK businesses used by government for statistical purposes.
Immigration Enforcement
Indefinite leave to remain in the UK (also known as settlement)
Information Technology.
Immigration Health Surcharge is a fee paid by non-EEA nationals coming to live in the UK for longer than 6 months to gain access to the NHS.
Immigration Skills Charge is an additional charge for each foreign worker recruited by a UK employer.
One of the Big Four accounting organisations.
The Labour Force Survey is a study of the employment circumstances of the UK population. It is the largest household study in the UK and provides the official measures of employment and unemployment.
Leave outside the Immigration Rules. A discretionary type of leave for cases not covered by the immigration rules. Usually where there are compelling compassionate grounds.
Visa used in US for the Intracompany Transfer Visa. This is similar to the UK RoBR route, the visa is time limited, but can lead to permanent settlement.
A sub-category of the US L-1 visa, for executive or managerial staff.
A sub-category of the US L-1 visa, for migrants who have specialised knowledge.
Long-term International Migration are the official government statistics on migration to and from the UK, produced by ONS by adjustments to the International Passenger Survey.
Migration Advisory Committee
The Migrant Workers Scan contains information on all overseas nationals who have registered for and allocated a National Insurance Number (NINO).
The UK NARIC Statement of Comparability is an officially recognised document that confirms the recognition of an overseas qualification and its comparable level in the UK
National Insurance Number: a unique set of identifying numbers given to all people born in the UK and to non-UK nationals over 16 who are planning to work and/or claim benefits in the UK.
National Insurance Contributions
National Minimum Wage
Countries outside of the EEA.
The Office for Budget Responsibility gives independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances. OBR is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by HM Treasury.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international organisation of 33 countries, mostly in North America and Europe. It defines itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy.
Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to Parliament. It produces official statistics on immigration, emigration, and net migration, amongst other areas.
An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a type of examination often used in health sciences. It is designed to test clinical skill performance and competence in a range of skills. It is a practical, real-world approach to learning and assessment.
Points-based system
Performance Reporting and Analysis Unit, a team which provides management information reports within the Home Office.
Doctor of Philosophy
Rest of the world.
The resident labour market test required a UK employer to advertise a job domestically for 28 days, before it can be offered to a foreign worker, if it was not on the shortage occupation list.
Representative of an overseas business route
Regulated Qualifications Framework, England
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
The Standard Occupational Classification Code system is a statistical standard used to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating or disseminating data.
Shortage Occupation List
South Africa
Fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
Skilled worker
Tax collected at source
Prior to 01 December 2020, all routes for skilled work in the UK were under Tier 2 of the immigration system. These routes now come under the skilled worker route and others.
Tier 4 allows migrants to enter the UK as a student usually at college, school or university.
Tier 5 is a temporary worker/government authorised exchange visa if migrants want to come to the UK for a short time for work experience or to do training, an overseas government language programme or research or a fellowship through an approved government authorised exchange scheme.
Time and Material Engagement
Trade Partner nationals
United Kingdom comprising: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
UK Visas and Immigration, a directorate of the Home Office
United States of America
Value added tax
The World Trade Organisation deals with the global rules of trade between nations.
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