Immigration

Immigration White Paper to reduce net migration – what does this mean for employers?

The government released its White Paper on legal migration entitled ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration system’ on 12 May with a wide range of proposed reforms. These include restoring the Skilled Worker minimum skill level to degree level and increasing minimum salaries, restricting permission on the Graduate route to 18 months, raising the Immigration Skills Charge …
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Chetal Patel urges cultural sector to support international creatives seeking moves to UK and boost film and television sector growth

While immigration remains a hot topic in the UK, Bates Wells is calling for the creative sector to lead in championing initiatives that increase the film and TV industry’s diversity. The UK’s film and television industry brings in more than £18 billion to the UK economy and supports almost 300,000 jobs. It is a fast-growing …
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UK visa options as an alternative to the H-1B visa

March can be a tense time for American companies and international employees who are awaiting the outcome of the H-1B visa lottery, which runs from 7-24 March 2025.  Last year, there were 484,000 entries submitted for 85,000 available spots, and high demand is anticipated again this year. It’s likely that many candidates will be disappointed …
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Two thirds of architect practices cannot pay new rates to sponsor overseas skilled workers

Law firms Bates Wells and Kingsley Napley are urging Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to respond to their letter, sent 16 December 2024 (see here), which highlighted the concerns of clients in the architect sector about the impact of minimum salary threshold changes on their ability to recruit and retain the right talent. The architect industry …
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2024 in review: UK immigration twists, turns, and digital shifts – and what’s ahead for 2025

2024: A year of change in UK immigration 2024 was a pivotal year for UK immigration, marked by significant policy changes impacting employers, individuals, and the broader immigration system. From evolving government directives to the transition toward a fully digital immigration framework, the UK’s immigration landscape has seen notable shifts. As we venture into the …
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It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas…

The arrival of the festive season is usually a time for merriment but for employers it brings with it the challenges involved with sourcing additional staff. It’s important that you don’t let practices slip, otherwise, you may find yourselves in tricky situations. Here are our top tips for HR directors this festive season to help …
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Faith-based Organisations: 2024 and 2025 update

Welcome to our annual faith-based update. In this packed edition, we cover a range of issues that commonly present challenges for faith-based organisations and explore recent developments that will impact faith-based charities. In this edition, we explore: Read the update here or download a copy here. We hope you enjoy this update and find it …
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Groundbreaking cases and positive impact: Bates Wells recognised by The Times Best Law Firms 2025

We’ve been recognised by The Times Best Law Firms 2025 for our work for charities, employment, immigration, and administrative & public law. Stand out work was recognised on a ground-breaking employment case against Uber Eats, and with the RSPCA on animal welfare regulation in the UK, highlighted in our latest impact report. And also our …
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Realise your purpose: How Immigration and hybrid working are shaping the future of workforce diversity

Realise Your Purpose is a Bates Wells campaign to help commercial organisations consider, decide on and implement their ESG goals. From governance to people, and from contracts to real estate, this series will provide insight and guidance for business leaders and senior decision makers on the first steps in their sustainability journey.   The global landscape …
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UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme rollout timetable finally confirmed

The government has finally announced further rollout dates for the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme. As one of many steps being taken by the Government towards achieving its aims of digitising the UK border and immigration system, it’s important that employers and individuals are aware and start preparing now for these changes. What’s changing? The …
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Employers’ guide to eVisas – all you need to know

As the UK government continues to phase out physical immigration documents in favour of digital eVisas, it’s important that employers are aware of what the changes mean and how it impacts right to work checks. What’s changing? By 2025, almost all migrants in the UK will have to use a digital record to evidence their …
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Transition to a fully digital system – changes to guidance on eVisas and BRPs

On 6 August 2024 the guidance for eVisas changed to state that anyone with a BRP can now create a UKVI account to access an eVisa. The system previously in place encouraged people to only create a UKVI account if they were invited. According to the guidance, it is planned that people will be able …
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