Will Westminster devolve powers for Northern Ireland to introduce an NI visa scheme?
The question of whether Northern Ireland will gain the power to create specific immigration policy for the region has been asked regularly by our clients particularly in sectors such as retail and manufacturing. Why is such an initiative of importance to companies based in Northern Ireland?
The answer is quite simple. The salary requirements for a Skilled Worker visa in attracting global talent to Northern Ireland is set at £38,700 per annum by the Home Office. The NI Chamber and BDO recently commissioned a report that outlined 3 in 5 employers in Northern Ireland find the salary requirements of £38,700 to be too high in offering positions at the medium to lower levels of the company. Even for employers based in Belfast the salary requirements are still providing difficult to meet.
The current national salary thresholds for sponsoring skilled workers are much easier to meet for companies paying London wages than those in other parts of the UK, where wages are lower. One thing that is often not reported is that some exceptions to this salary figure do exist within the Immigration Rules, something we have outlined to our clients providing some form of reprieve to employers in Northern Ireland to continue to hire skilled workers. Immigration lawyers should be advising clients of ways around the minimum salary requirements. This is the case whether your company is based in Belfast, Dungannon or any part of the province.
SNP MP Stephen Gethins tabled a bill last Thursday seeking an amendment to the Scotland Act 1998 to enable the Scottish government to set up a Scottish visa. The Scottish executive subsequently asked the Home Secretary in the House of Commons “…what talks have been had with the Scottish government on the merits of devolving the power to introduce a Scottish visa scheme?…” The answer was less than inviting from the Home Secretary “…we are not introducing a Scottish visa scheme or devolving control of immigration policy, and this has been made clear to the Scottish Government…”.
It would appear unequivocally the Home Office are reluctant to devolve such powers for any regional visa schemes for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland in the near future. This conflicts with the remit set by the Government to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review UK employers’ reliance on international recruitment and review the following:
- Which roles are in shortage within the UK economy
- What influences these shortages, including training, pay, and conditions
- How sectors have adapted beyond recruiting internationally
- How the former Shortage Occupation List (SOL) impacted these skills shortages
- Whether the Immigration Salary List that replaced the SOL should remain in its current form
- How to stimulate domestic recruitment
The MAC will coordinate its activities with the newly formed Skills England the Industrial Strategy Council, the Department for Work and Pensions and the respective devolved authorities. The MAC have outlined that Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will all be consulted to explore differentiated regional immigration approaches to salary requirements. This will be welcomed news to employers in Belfast who have been quite vocal on the £38,700 per annum threshold.
Our concern is that the MAC is only an advisory body on immigration policy to the Home Office. If the current administration in Westminster is already so clear in rejecting any notion of regional salary rates for Scotland then this does not bode well for the devolved governments elsewhere looking for a more competitive salary rate for employers to gain a Skilled Worker visa. Not the news employers in Belfast want to hear.
In conclusion, given the rebuttal of the Scottish executive last week in requesting devolved powers in determining immigration policy particularly around salary rates. It is highly unlikely that anytime soon Northern Ireland will be afforded such powers. The message is clear from Westminster. The salary rate of £38,700 per annum for a Skilled Worker visa will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. This does create a situation in which immigration lawyers need to be innovative in their thinking when advising clients whether based in Belfast, London or elsewhere.
CMC Immigration can simplify the Skilled Worker visa application process, minimising risks and ensuring that your organisation can successfully recruit and retain international talent.
CMC Immigration Law is an immigration practice based in London and Belfast which provides UK immigration services and solutions to businesses and private individuals throughout the world.
