Fees, Immigration News, News, Visas
Immigration Skill Charge Exemption
From 1 January 2023, the Home Office has introduced a concession which will exempt employers paying the Immigration Skill Charge (ISC) for any worker who is covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, for those on the Global Business Mobility (Senior or Specialist Worker) visa (this was previously known as the Intra Company Transfer route).
This will apply in all of the following circumstances:
- The Certificate of Sponsorship must be assigned on or after 1 January 2023;
- The worker is a national of an EU Country (not including Ireland, Liechtenstein or Norway, or is a Latvian non-citizen);
- The worker has been assigned to the UK by a business established in the EU and forms a part of the same sponsor group; and
- The end date of the assignment, as specified on the Certificate of Sponsorship, is no more than 36 months after the start date.
It is to be noted that when this exemption applies, the sponsor will need to use an ISC exempt Certificate of Sponsorship, and will be required to provide an explanation of the exemption. For example, it should state, the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement application, and it should provide the location of where in the EU the business that assigned the worker to the UK is.
This is a welcome change, as the current ISC fee is at £1,000 per year, for large employers, and £364 per year for small employers. It is hoped that this measure will provide a financial benefit for businesses doing business in the UK and sending staff on assignment. This reduced cost will allow greater flexibility for transferring employees into the UK.
