UK immigration: What should tech employers consider in 2022? - Part 1

Despite unprecedented circumstances such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK tech sector has been resilient, and Tech Nation’s 2021 report shows that the sector has managed growth. Tech leaders play a significant part of the economic recovery—creating new jobs while developing ground-breaking technologies and supporting societies around the world. There is no doubt that during these challenging times, technology has facilitated new ways of working for individuals, companies and communities. As a result, the demand for tech jobs was 42% higher in June 2021 than at the same time in 2019.

The success of the UK tech industry owes a great debt to the UK migrant workforce. It is one of the largest industry users of the UK Skilled Worker visa route and, in a recent report, The Migration Observatory found that migrant workers make up 25% of the workforce in the tech sector. As such, the accessibility of the available immigration routes are pivotal to the success of the sector, and companies will closely watch developments within the UK immigration sphere.

With the number of tech vacancies continuing to steadily rise, access to talent will remain a key topic of discussion for the sector in 2022 and beyond. Retaining these skills within businesses, while also attracting new talent, will be crucial. So, what can we expect from UK immigration in 2022?

In this first instalment, we will look at the immigration considerations for employers relating to remote working in the tech sector. 

Working from Home… or Anywhere

When the pandemic hit two years ago, no one knew how long ordinary life as we knew it would be disrupted. Employees around the world were subject to mandatory stay-at-home orders and the working world was swift to adapt—by working from home and communicating in novel ways.

As we move forward towards a post-pandemic era, a key focus and attraction for many employees across the tech sector is a flexible working environment—one that can allow them to work from home or, indeed, anywhere, while also allowing increased productivity, efficiency and collaboration. 

Consequently, to attract and retain talent, tech employers are looking at adopting the changes that took place in lockdown by developing permanent remote or hybrid working policies. In tandem, for the first time, some governments are embracing remote working by promoting new ‘Digital Nomad’ schemes.

Although tech companies have long been at the forefront of remote working, there are still gaps to be filled in remote working policies and issues that employers need to think about. For example, employers must have a system to be able to oversee that their work meets the specifications of their Certificates of Sponsorship.

The Home Office’s current concession on working from home permits sponsored workers to work from home without the need to update the Home Office with a change in work address. However, if this concession ends, employers may need to consider a requirement to notify the Home Office of their main work locations—including home—to remain compliant with sponsor licence obligations. If this is enforced by the Home Office, employers may need to put robust systems in place to track changes in home address and report these to the Home Office.

Sponsored employees based in the UK should be permitted to work entirely remotely, but the key personnel for sponsors must be able to justify why their presence is required in the UK. On audit, the Home Office will consider the type of work that is being done and where employees are carrying out their roles. This could be availability to clients or colleagues, time zone or even tax. Employees should also understand that they may be visited by the Home Office to be interviewed at home.

Should sponsored migrants want to work from their home country, even for relatively short periods of time, consideration must be given to how this could impact their ability to return to the UK. Sponsored migrants can travel abroad for holidays and short business trips that are required as part of their role but working from overseas on a longer-term basis may adversely affect their UK sponsorship and future applications for settlement.  

One advantage of increased remote work is that employers can look for candidates based in other countries and they may not need to relocate. Additionally, there are more immigration options for individuals who would like to spend a period of time in a country where they are not employed but are working remotely for their employer. Numerous countries such as the UAE, Barbados and Hungary have introduced so called ‘nomad visas’, which allow for this arrangement from an immigration perspective. There are numerous companies that have advertised their ‘work from anywhere’ policies. However, companies should proceed with caution. For workers based overseas (or spending a period of time working outside of their country of employment/assignment) but employed by a UK company, there are significant tax and social security implications, for both the individual and the company, and more complex HR policies may be required. Hiring in other countries sounds great, but the wider picture is complex—and whilst not impossible, it is not an easy fix.

Data privacy considerations are also important. Employees working from home will be generating, storing and transmitting data, and if they are working from abroad, that data may also come under the jurisdiction of the country or zone where the employee is living and working.

Tech companies are, therefore, urged to think carefully about their internal policies on remote working, considering the above factors. A unified internal policy will also demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to sponsor duties.

Need to know more?

Fragomen can fully support your business as you navigate immigration requirements surrounding remote working policies. Our highly experienced team can also provide support on applications under the UK Immigration system, including Skilled Worker and Intra-Company transfer applications, plus the raft of new categories expected in 2022—taking away the stress so that you can focus on other areas of your business growth and product development.

If you and your business need assistance, please feel free to contact Laxmi Limbani at [email protected]

You should also look out for part two of this mini-series next week, where we will be looking at other potential considerations for tech sector employers.

This blog was published Monday, 11 April 2022. The UK’s Immigration Rules change frequently. To keep up-to-date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 site, subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.