Our recent
update focused on the Migration Advisory Committee's
recommendations for the Tier 2 work permit scheme to be extended to
EU nationals after Brexit. Most notably, it was revealed that the
UK will focus on acquiring the best skills available and that EU
nationals should no longer receive preferential treatment by virtue
of their citizenship. This raises the prospect that, in the
event of a 'no deal', from 30 March next year employers
could find themselves having to 'sponsor' EU nationals to
work in the UK, at great expense and increased compliance whilst
also experiencing difficulty in recruiting for lower skilled
roles.
At the end of last month, the Immigration Minister was before
the Home Affairs Committee trying to explain how this could affect
employers. In particular, she was trying to articulate how
employers would be required to decipher between EU nationals who
were in the UK before 29 March 2019 and so able to register under
the EU Settlement
