The Home Office has published its latest Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules taking effect from 6 April 2022 which includes new immigration routes, as well as some changes and rebranding for existing routes. The Home Office is presenting these changes as part of its commitment to simplify the Immigration Rules and provide greater clarity to businesses and workers (we are reserving judgement on that claim for now).  The key changes are as follows:

The new Global Business Mobility category will replace four existing routes and introduce a new route:

• The Senior or Specialist Worker route (replacing the Intra-Company Transfer route) will be most suitable for employers transferring staff from overseas group entities to the UK. The requirements are largely the same as the Intra-Company Transfer route, although the minimum salary threshold is now £42,400 instead of the previous £41,500. The route still does not lead to settlement in the UK.
• The Secondment Worker route is a new addition for workers being seconded to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment by their overseas employer.
• The UK Expansion Worker route for senior managers and specialist employees of overseas businesses expanding into the UK will replace the current Sole Representative provisions of the Representative of an Overseas Business route. The Service Supplier route will replace certain provisions of the Temporary Work – International Agreement route. These are lesser used routes for UK employers as they are aimed at the employees of businesses without an existing presence in the UK.There are no planned changes (for now) to the most highly used Skilled Worker route.

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