About Anushka Sinha Anushka Sinha is a senior associate at Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law. She advises on all aspects of business and personal immigration to the UK, as well as providing seminars and training on sponsor licences and immigration routes for tech figures, other creatives and sectors. About Vanessa Ganguin Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law is a friendly immigration boutique providing exceptional service to businesses, individuals and families. The team of well-respected specialists, led by founder Vanessa Ganguin, who boasts three decades of UK immigration expertise, is a go-to for many legal and professional services around the world, providing positive outcomes for clients in the context of UK’s ever-changing immigration laws. Contact Anushka Sinha Senior Associate Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law 81 Rivington St, London, EC2A 3AY, UK Tel: +44 02045 514906 +44 07549 413432 E: anushka@vanessaganguin.com www.vanessaganguin.com And where does this money go? The Immigration Skills Charge is paid by employers sponsoring migrant workers coming to the UK for over six months. Where is this money spent? Current figures show that, for the year ended 31 March 2023, the total raised was £586 million. If the money is used for the purpose intended – to upskill the local workforce – the tech industry should really start to see a larger pool of locally trained talent available to hire. Illegal work We constantly advise companies against the perils of moving too quickly and hiring individuals to work in the UK without the appropriate immigration permission. Often, we are asked about business visitors and whether individuals can commence work here for the UK employer and then apply for their visa and the answer is almost always ‘no’. To add to this unfortunate news, individuals who do not currently have the appropriate immigration permission in the UK already will have to travel outside the UK and submit their application from their country of nationality (or a country where they hold immigration permission to live and work). Unfortunately, they cannot ‘pop’ to France and apply from there. With timing often crucial to fill a tech role, this requirement may further delay a candidate starting. Can you share anything about the current trends that you are observing in the tech sector relating to immigration? Regional tech hubs – We still see that the vast majority of applications are for migrant workers to be based in the South of England. We have lobbied the government for years to increase incentives for companies to sponsor and recruit migrants in more regionally diverse locations, such as Scotland. We wait to see whether this will change in future. Diversity – Women are still heavily underrepresented in tech and this has not changed from the immigration applications we see. Why is it essential for tech firms to seek the advice of a specialised immigration lawyer when seeking talent from abroad? Immigration can often be one of the last considerations in the journey of identifying and recruiting talent. This can lead to unnecessary stress and increased costs to scramble around and obtain visas in time for right to rent checks, job start dates, moves and the beginning of the school term. If a visa application is refused, this just adds to the time and cost of sourcing the talent you need. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced hikes in illegal working penalties too, as well as greater enforcement. Specialist advice on best practices to avoid illegal working practices, how to mitigate and report lapses and how to respond if you fall foul are all essential. EXPERT INSIGHT 51 The tech industry is one of the UK sectors where clients have been constantly facing a skills shortage, and Brexit has only exacerbated the issue.
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