Stakeholders are being asked to provide information to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) as part of their public consultation on Intra-Company Transfers (ICT). This is an important opportunity for businesses to have their say on the future of the ICT route. The deadline for responding is Tuesday 15 June 2021.
Background
The purpose of the ICT visa route is to allow employers to transfer senior staff and skilled employees, employed overseas to come to work in the UK. Typically, individuals will need to have been employed for at least 12 months in their overseas role to be eligible and they must meet strict salary and skill requirements. In most cases this means earning more than £41,500 per annum and being employed in a role which is classified as requiring a degree level of education i.e. being at least level 6 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework.
The Graduate Trainee subcategory of the ICT route enables individuals who are on a graduate training programme a managerial or specialist role to be transferred to the UK where they are earning above £23,000 per annum or 70% of the market rate. In this case, they need to have at least 3 months’ service overseas.
Importantly, the ICT route does not require any minimum English language capability – unlike the skilled worker routes.
The purpose of the current call for evidence is to enable the MAC to review the effectiveness of the current ICT route and consider whether there are any changes to the route that should be made.
Review of the ICT
The MAC have been asked to advise on the points below:
- The salary threshold for entry to the ICT route;
- The skill level threshold for this route;
- Which elements, aside from base salary should count towards meeting the salary requirement;
- Whether different arrangements should apply to high earners;
- The conditions of the route, in particular those conditions where it differs from the main Skilled Worker route.
In addition, the Government wants to try and expand the options available to overseas businesses looking to send teams of workers to establish a branch or subsidiary in the UK or to undertake secondments in relation to high value contracts for goods or services. As part of this, the MAC have been asked by the Government to consider how the ICT route can be expanded to facilitate this.
Call for evidence
The MAC have asked stakeholders to provide evidence in relation to all aspects of the ICT route, including:
- The reasons for which employers use or do not use the ICT route;
- The ease of using the current ICT routes;
- Views on the current salary thresholds;
- The skills threshold that should apply to the ICT route;
- Whether there should be reforms to the length of time an applicant on the ICT route can stay in the UK;
- Whether the English language should become a requirement for the ICT route;
- Views on the ICT route since the introduction of the skilled worker route;
- Other reforms which stakeholders think would be advantageous to the ICT route.
Next Steps
The deadline for providing responses to the MAC is Tuesday 15 June 2021. This is so that the MAC can respond to the Government by October 2021.
If your organisation currently uses this route (or anticipates using this route) - particularly as we emerge from the pandemic and as businesses start to think about the impact of the end of free movement on their EEA national workers, this is a good opportunity to have your say and influence future policy.
If you would like any assistance with preparing a response to the Call for Evidence or have any questions about the ICT route in general, please get in touch with one of the Business Immigration Team.
