Lawyer Monthly Magazine - April 2019 Edition

31 What Is Driving the Drop in EU Net Migration? www. lawyer-monthly .com APR 2019 work or rent a home in the UK after Brexit. The government’s hostile environment policies (rebranded as the ‘compliant environment’, post-Windrush scandal but no less hostile) have undoubtedly contributed to these difficulties. Employers, landlords, banks, doctors and others are now tasked with checking immigration permission before they employ, rent a property to, provide banking facilities or provide medical treatment to migrants in the UK. With substantial civil penalties for employers of up £20,000 per illegal worker, and fines for landlords of up to £3,000 per tenant and prison sentences of up to five years, some employers and landlords have been nervous about employing or renting homes to EU nationals who they may mistakenly perceive soon will not have permission to be in the UK. The discredited ‘right to rent’ scheme, in particular, has resulted in significant discrimination, laid bare in the recent landmark High Court judgment (R (JCWI) v SSHD [2019] EWHC452 (Admin))which held the scheme amounts to unlawful discrimination and is incompatible with the HRA 1998 and the ECHR: ‘the Scheme introduced by the Government does not merely provide the occasion or opportunity for private landlords to discriminate but causes them to do so where otherwise they would not’. The government is appealing the judgment. EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME (EUSS) Whilst there has been a lot of confusion and uncertainty surrounding the precise date of Brexit, as well as whether the UK will leave the EU with or without a deal, in reality, there is a reasonably strong package of measures to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK (in both a deal and a no-deal scenario). The Withdrawal Agreement reached forms the basis for the new EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) under which EU citizens in the UK can apply to protect their rights to reside in the UK post-Brexit. The EUSS was gradually rolled out in test phases from August 2018 with only certain migrants able to apply, becoming fully operational (open to all applicants) from 30 March 2019. Under the scheme, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, EU nationals and their eligible family members with at least five years’ residence in the UK are granted ‘settled status’ (indefinite leave to remain) and those with less than five years’ residence are granted ‘pre-settled status’ (temporary leave to remain) for five years, to allow them to accrue the necessary time for settled status. The deadline for applications under the scheme varies depending on whether the UK leaves with: 1. a deal, in which case EU citizens (and eligible family members) can move to the UK until 31 December 2020 and apply under the scheme up to 30 June 2021; or 2. no-deal, in which case EU citizens (and their eligible family members) residing in the UK by the date of Brexit, which, in a no-deal scenario is expected to be 12 April 2019, have a deadline for applications submission which is on the 31 December 2020. Whilst the EUSS is not without its faults, for the average applicant it provides a streamlined, fast and free online application process with minimal documentation required - unlike anything seen before in UK immigration. INCREASE IN NON- EU MIGRATION AND THE FUTURE OF EU MIGRATION Notably, the drop in net EU migration has coincided with an increase in net migration from outside the EU - reaching its highest level for 15 years. In part, directly in response to falling numbers of EU migrants together with longer-term concerns about access to the EU workforce, businesses are increasingly turning to migrants from outside the EU, and the Tier 2 sponsorship route, to fill skills shortages in the UK. This is a trend we can expect to see continue. The government’s white paper setting out the blueprint for the future of the UK from January 2021, confirms that migrants from the EU will be subject to the same rules as non-EU nationals. The main route is expected to remain a system similar to the current Tier 2 arrangements, with a number of modifications - including a reduction in the minimum skills threshold from RFQ 6 (degree level) to RFQ3 (ironically where the scheme started when it was first introduced in 2008) – but with no corresponding reduction in minimum salary thresholds. ABOUT SOPHIE BARRETT-BROWN Sophie is Senior Partner and Head of the UK Practice of Laura Devine Solicitors (LDS) in London. Recognised for many years by legal directories (including Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and The Who's Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers) as a leading expert in UK immigration and nationality law, she has been described by directories as having ‘exceptional knowledge' and ‘one of the best in the field’. Sophie Barrett-Brown Laura Devine Solicitors www.lauradevine.com With upfront government charges associated with a 5-year sponsorship of Tier 2 migrant (with 3 dependants) also exceeding £18,000 (not including the costs of obtaining a sponsor licence) small and medium-sized British businesses, regional businesses as well as certain sectors such as social care, hospitality, leisure, and charities, may be disproportionately impacted. The government is carrying out a 12-month consultation on its white paper proposals and UK business would be well-advised to engage in that process and make their views known.