The Home Office’s new immigration and nationality fees were updated, and the good news is there were no increases in the current visa application fees. See link to the Home Office site.

The Home Office has introduced a new Priority service for expedited processing of sponsor licence applications, which will be available for all sponsor licence applications from 12 November 2020. For a fee of £500, the Home Office will expedite a sponsor licence application.  This is a welcome service for businesses who need a sponsor licence promptly. Sponsor licence applications can take approximately 8 weeks to process and sometimes this can take longer if the Home Office visit the business.  With the expedited service, the hope is that the Home Office will decide sponsor licence applications within 5 working days from submission although the Home Office has not confirmed the exact processing time as yet.

The Home Office is encouraging employers to apply for a sponsor licence in advance of the 31 December 2020, when free movement officially ends.  From this date, all EU nationals coming to the UK will need to comply with UK immigration rules.  Employers will need to have a sponsor licence to employ EU nationals, which is a significant change of all UK employers.

If you want help with applying for a sponsor licence or have other immigration questions, please contact us.