Guidance on Fees for European Economic Area Applicants in Case of No-Deal Brexit

The situation

According to a response to a Parliamentary Question provided by the UK Minister of State for Immigration, further guidance is forthcoming for European Economic Area (EEA) applicants in case of a no-deal Brexit, and the Immigration Skills Charge and Immigration Health Surcharge would not apply to such applicants.

A closer look

The guidance is expected to address the following points:

• European Temporary Leave to Remain applications. The guidance will include instructions on how to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain (ETLR), the permit required for European Economic Area (EEA) nationals seeking to stay in the United Kingdom between three and 36 months, having entered after 11pm on March 29, 2019 in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
  • Stay over 36 months. As a reminder, for stays over 36 months, applicants would immediately be required to apply for a standard national permit type under the new immigration system which will be developed and implemented on January 1, 2021.
• Employer right to work checks. The guidance will include new rules for employers on completing right to work checks for EEA nationals under the new policy. As a reminder, the right to work check should occur on or shortly before the first day of work, to verify that the worker is work authorized.
• Application fees. Although information on application fees will be published separately from the guidance in due course, the Minister confirmed that the Immigration Skills Charge of GBP 1,000 per main applicant per year (required for non-exempt Tier 2 applicants staying more than six months) would not apply to ETLR applicants. The government also intends to waive the Immigration Health Surcharge of GBP 400 per person per year or 300 GBP per year for students or Tier 5 Youth Mobility migrants (required for non-exempt applicants staying more than six months) for ETLR applicants, subject to parliamentary approval.

Impact

Employers will benefit from the Immigration Skills Charge and proposed Health Surcharge waivers, as overall UK visa costs are very high and the introduction of standard fees would require a significant recalculation of immigration budgets for EEA nationals.

Background

This confirmation was based on Fragomen's inquiry to the UK parliament, published here.

Looking ahead

The next step will be for the UK government to publish the relevant guidelines and develop these proposals into draft laws, which would need to be accepted by the UK Parliament before they could take effect. No time frame has been provided as yet but Fragomen will report on these steps as they occur.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].