On 14 March 2024, the UK government published a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 590), which introduces significant amendments to the Work and Family Visa routes and implements the Immigration Salary List (ISL), among other changes. Employers are likely to face challenges in hiring and relocating foreign nationals to the UK. To benefit from the current rules, employers may wish to take immediate action. With the influx of applications, access to the Sponsorship Management System will be disabled from 2 to 4 April 2024. Employers may wish to consider assigning relevant Certificate of Sponsorships prior to 29 March 2024. Employers may also benefit from conducting an impact analysis on their existing workforce, new hires in the pipeline and their graduate population. This may enable early planning and communication, cost saving/budget planning, and talent retention, and potentially minimize disruptions while assisting employers in taking relevant actions to revisit their strategy and communicate with related entities.
A Tax Alert prepared by EY's People Advisory Services group, and attached below, provides additional details.