The Points-Based System

The Points-Based System Sponsor Management Unit

Points Based System Overview • The Points Based System: • The biggest change to the immigration system in over 30 years • Consolidates 80+ existing immigration routes into a • structured 5-Tier system • Objective policy criteria (allowing self-assessment) • A simplified one-stop migration process for those who wish • to work or study in the UK • Sponsorship • Administrative Review

Tiers • Tier 1 Highly skilled individuals to contribute to growth and productivity • Tier 2 Skilled workers with a job offer • Tier 3 Low skilled workers to fill temporary labour shortagesTier 3 is suspended indefinitely • Tier 4 Students • Tier 5 Youth Mobility and Temporary Workers • Tiers 2 to 5 are underpinned by the new concept of ‘sponsorship’. Tier Structure

Tier 1 • Highly skilled individuals to contribute to growth and productivity. • do not need a job offer and will have unrestricted access to the labour market • will not need a sponsor • English language requirement • There will be 4 subcategories: • General • Entrepreneurs • Investors • Post Study Work. • Tier 1 (General) was launched in the UK on 29 February 2008, in India on the 1st April 2008 and globally with Sub Categories on 30th June. The Sponsor register is opening fully for Tiers 2,4 and 5 in July 2008.

There are certain key principles that will apply to all migrants under Tier 2 general • The Job • The Migrant • All migrants must have a Certificate of Sponsorship from an employer • Must be at National Vocational Qualification level 3 – equivalent to A levels, A – C grade. • The rate for the job must be not be less than the ‘appropriate rate’ for the job to prevent undercutting of the resident labour market. • All tier 2 general applicants must show competence in English to assist with community integration. Basic user level will be required for T2 General and Sports people. An intermediate level will be required for Ministers of Religion. ICTs will not be required to show this until applying for an extension. • Initial leave to enter will be a maximum of 3 years (actual length will depend on the contract) and migrants will then be able to apply for extension for up to a total of 5 years.

Tier 2 – Skilled workersStatement of Intent published on 6 May 2008

Transitional Arrangements • Transitional arrangements will be put in place to minimise the impact on existing work permit holders. • Where a migrant’s work permit leave expires after Tier 2 comes into force: • the applicant must in possession of a Certificate of Sponsorship issued by a licensed employer; and • The Certificate of Sponsorship must confirm that the job is at or above NVQ 3 level and will be paid at or above the appropriate rate for the job. • They will not have to meet the Tier 2 specific criteria relating to qualifications, prospective earnings and language requirements.

Tier 3 • Limited numbers of low skilled workers needed to fill specific temporary labour shortages (if required). • There are no current plans to introduce this Tier

Tier 4 • Students • There are 2 types of student categories: • General: (for the majority of students) – 15 hours a week organised day-time study except where studying at degree level at a publicly funded Higher Education Institution • School: for those below 16 years old (no work permitted) • Sponsors of migrants under Tier 4 will need to show that they: • hold valid accreditation from an accreditation body approved by the UK Border Agency; or • have passed an inspection by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). • Due for roll out Spring 2009.

Tier 5 – Temporary Workers and Youth Mobility SchemeStatement of Intent also published on 6 May 2008 Tier 5: Temporary Workers comprises the following sub-categories: Creative & Sporting, Religious, Government Authorised Exchange and International Agreements. • Tier 5 is for people coming to the UK to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives and comprises: • Normal prohibitions on access to benefits/social housing. • No switching into other tiers. The Tier 5: Youth Mobility Scheme is for sponsored young people from participating countries who will come and experience living and working in the UK for up to 24 months, while young UK nationals enjoy similar opportunities in participating countries.

Tier 5: Temporary Workers • Points can be earned against two sets of objective criteria: • Entry clearance is mandatory across Tier 5: Temporary Workers, except for non-visa nationals coming to the UK for up to three months in the Creative & Sporting sub-category. • Tier 5: Temporary Workers will be allowed to take supplementary work for up to 20 hours per week, with some restrictions.

Principles of Sponsorship • Sponsorship is a key element of the Points Based System • Any organisation that wishes to employ migrants or enrol them on a course of study must have a Sponsor Licence • Those who benefit most directly play their • part in ensuring the system is not abused • Those applying to come to the UK to do a job • or study are eligible to do so • Attract only reputable employers and • Educational establishments to take migrants on

What it means to be licensed • Licenses are valid for four years and sponsors will remain on the register for this period of time (unless removed or withdrawn) • Once licensed, the sponsor is eligible to apply for Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) or Certificates of Acceptance to Study (CAS) • Sponsors can apply for a CoS for Tier 2 and Tier 5 from November 2008. Tier 4 is currently scheduled for implementation in Spring 2009 when a CAS may be issued • Should the Sponsor use their allocation of certificates, they can discuss with their Account Manager and arrange further certificates if required.

Costs • To join the register of sponsors, a fee must be paid appropriate to the size of the organisation • There are 2 different fees for Tier 2 (General) • £300 if you are a small sponsor (on or after 6 April 2008) • Turnover of not more than £5.6 million • Balance sheet not more than £2.8 million • Number of employees not more than 50 • £1000 for all other sponsors

Key Personnel • During the application process you will have to provide details of the following key personnel: • Authorising Officer (AO) - The Sponsor will be held fully responsible for the actions of its AO, and so should ensure that it appoints a senior and competent officer from within the organisation to this position. • Key Contact - The key contact is the person who will act as the main point of contact between the Agency and the sponsoring organisation. • Level 1 User - will undertake the day-to-day operation of the Sponsor’s activities through the Sponsor Management System.

Application and Consideration Process • On-line application only, no paper version • Applications must be made by the organisation themselves (not by a 3rd party) • Applications will be considered by the Sponsor Licensing Unit • Pre-licensing visits maybe arranged with the potential Sponsor. • Further guidance about how potential sponsors will be assessed is available at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/sponsorduties/assessment/ • To get a licence, you must meet the following criteria: • you are a legitimate organisation working within the law in the UK; • there are no reasons to believe that you are a threat to • immigration control; and • your organisation is committed to fulfilling its sponsorship duties.

Approved applications and ratings • If application approved, Sponsor rated A or B • Suitability criteria for A or B will be assessed against a 1-3 marking: • We will work with B-rated Sponsors to help them bring their systems into line • Once granted a licence you will be given access to the Sponsor Management System when it is opened for your relevant Tier/s • 1. Meeting all of the criteria • 2. Only meeting some of the criteria • 3. Not meeting any of the criteria

Refused Applications • Applications may be refused if the Sponsor does not comply with the rules governing Sponsorship: These include: • The Submission of false documents • A conviction of a serious offence within a specified number of days • Been convicted of a serious within specified number of days • The online Sponsor Application and the website details the obligations and your Account Manager can also advise you • There is no right of appeal against refusal of an application for a licence but • Potential Sponsors can reapply at any time, using their Account Manager and the reasons for refusal to assist with further applications.

Responsibilities of an Organisation • As a sponsor, you must fulfil certain duties to make sure immigration • controls stay effective. The sponsorship duties are: • record keeping; • reporting; • compliance; • co-operating with us; • tier specific duties. • If you fail to comply with any of you sponsorship duties, you may be • down-graded to a B rating or have your licence withdrawn.

Certificates of Sponsorship • A CoS/CAS is a virtual document, it consists of a • unique reference number (URN) • Sponsor issues the certificate to a migrant it wishes to sponsor to enable • them to apply for entry clearance or leave to remain • A certificate does not guarantee that prior entry clearance • will be granted to a migrant

More about Certificates of Sponsorship…. • The information needed to complete a CoS or CAS varies from Tier to Tier • A Certificate of Sponsorship is not a piece of paper — it is just a unique reference number which is passed from Sponsor to Migrant and checked by UKBA • Certificates of Sponsorship can be produced in groups or batches

Application process • First, find your migrant worker or student……. • Check out their ability to do the job or to complete the course of study — the ECO will no longer check this • Will they meet the points criteria? • Use the self assessment tool to help you to check?

Points-Based Calculator www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/pointscalculator

Issuing Certificates of Sponsorship • If you are now ready to sponsor the worker or student… • Log onto the Sponsor Management System • Complete and pay for the certificate • When completed and paid for, you will be given a unique reference number to pass to the person you wish to sponsor • For employers, the above procedure replaces the work permit process

Overview of the Migrant Application Process – Within the UK • If self-assessment successful, they should then apply to UKBA for leave to remain submitting: application form; fee; passport; passport photos; Police Registration Certificate (if applicable) and other supporting documents as required. • UKBA verifies the supporting documents and CoS • UKBA notify the applicant of the decision • We are working on providing this service via the PEO network but we don’t yet have an implementation date for that

Overview of the Migrant Application Process – Overseas • When the applicant has a CoS/CAS, they should then self assess on the UKBA website • The application, supporting documents and fee are taken in person to our Commercial Partner in the country where the applicant is normally resident • The applicant will have their biometrics captured at this point • The ECO will ensure the application is valid and all supporting documents are verified. • Under the single stage decision making process, the decision will now be taken entirely by the ECO overseas

Administrative Review • Only applies to refusals of PBS applications taken overseas • If a PBS application is refused overseas, there are no statutory rights of appeal • Instead, it will be open to the migrant to ask for an Administrative Review • An Administrative Review is a review of the original decision by an Entry Clearance Manager not involved in a management (or other) relationship with the ECO who made the initial decision • Applicants submit their request for an Administrative Review on a form available from the UKBA website at no charge but no new information can be submitted with the Administrative Review

Preventing Illegal Working (1) • Under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 employers may be liable to pay a civil penalty of up to £10, 000 per illegal worker if they employ someone who is: • subject to immigration control; • aged over 16; and • not entitled to undertake the work in question. Under the new law, employers can establish an excuse against liability to pay a civil penalty for employing an illegal migrant if they check and copy certain original documents before someone starts working for them. If the person has a time limit on their stay in the UK, the employer will also have to carry out repeat checks on their documents at least once a year to have the excuse. However, if the employer knows that they are employing a person who is not permitted to work, then they will not have an excuse and they could be prosecuted under section 21 for knowingly employing an illegal worker, regardless of whether they have carried out any document checks. Sections 15 and 21 only apply to individuals employed on, or after 29 February 2008.

Preventing Illegal Working (2) • Guidance on Preventing Illegal Working is available at: • http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/employersandsponsors/preventingillegalworking/ • The Verification Service is offered through the Employers Helpline (0845 010 6677). • The Employers Helpline is available between 9am – 5pm (Monday to Friday). • Details of immigration rules are on the Employers Toolkit (www.employingmigrantworkers.org.uk).

Useful Links • UK Border Agency • www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk • Points Based System • www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/ • Guidance documents for employers and sponsors on the Points Based System • www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/employersandsponsors/pbsguidance/ • General Queries about the Points Based System • Sponsorship and Employer Helpline - 0845 010 6677 • General Queries about Work Permits • Contact Centre Sheffield - 0114 207 4074

The Points-Based System