Boarder Control

What does the future hold for university recruitment of non-EU students and staff?
Gordon Barr, employment solicitor for Dundas &Wilson LLP, navigates foreign waters.

There has been considerable concern for a while in higher education circles about how changes to the UK's immigration system could affect the recruitment of sought-after staff and students in the future.  With a new Coalition Government proposing an annual cap on non-EU economic migrants and a further tightening of the points-based visa system already in place, universities need to be mindful of the legal issues surrounding immigration.

The Background

In 2008, the Government introduced a new 'five tier' points-based immigration system for non European
Economic Area (EEA) nationals. The aim was to simplify the previous immigration system which had some 80 available routes for working or studying in the UK.

The new 'five tier' system imposed an initial regulatory and administrative burden upon universities which had to apply for a sponsorship license before they could sponsor migrants who wished to enter the UK to work (under Tier 2 for skilled workers with a job offer and Tier 5 for youth mobility and temporary workers), or to study (under Tier 4).