UK points-based immigration from 2021: good news for Commonwealth-qualified lawyers

The UK government's much-heralded “points-based immigration system” has crystallised as the Government issues some basic guidance for employers on how the new system will work. When it comes into force (scheduled for January 2021), coming to the UK to work or staying in the UK beyond the two years afforded by a Tier 5 "Youth Mobility" visa will be significantly easier.

I’d all but written this article when news came through that the Government had pulled the Bill from House of Commons business ahead of its second reading. No reason has yet been given, but opposition parties were quick to point out the contribution made by “Jenny from Invercargill” and “Luis from Portugal; near Porto”, and indeed workers from all over the world to the NHS, social care, and other essential services. No mention of lawyers, but read on!

The new system has come about because on 1st January 2021, having left the EU and completed 2020's "transition period", the UK will no longer participate in the EU’s free movement of workers. The new system promises to “open up the UK to the brightest and best from around the world”, and the way it is structured it would seem that common-law qualified lawyers fall solidly into the “brightest and best category”.

The scheme is to work as follows: from 1 January next year, anyone coming to the UK to work will need to demonstrate four things: they have a job offer from an approved sponsor; the job offer is at “RFQ 3 or above”; they speak English; they earn more than a prescribed salary threshold (if they will earn below the required threshold they may still be eligible if the job is in a shortage occupation, or they have a relevant PhD). Below I outline how I expect it to apply to New Zealand, Australian, and other common law-qualified lawyers.

Job offer from an approved sponsor

Under the current system getting a sponsorship licence can be expensive and onerous which is why plenty of smaller law firms don’t bother.

Given the clamour for SMEs to be able to employ “the brightest and the best” from around the world, one would hope that it won’t be difficult or expensive for sponsors to gain approval. Big law firms have seldom had trouble paying for their own “best and brightest” from wherever in the world they come so will no doubt still be a popular employment destination for Kiwi and Aussie lawyers, but the new system will hopefully make sponsorship more accessible for firms further down the money tree. The UK public sector is also likely to be able to take advantage of the scheme, meaning greater certainty and security of employment for common law-qualified lawyers who had previously been limited to short term contracts until their visas ran out.

The job offer is at the skill level RFQ 3 or above

Sounds scary, and the Home Office’s Register of Regulated Qualifications is long and quite painful to navigate. Fortunately, Lawyers seem to come under level 6, so well above Level 3 (which I believe equates to A-Levels).

They speak English

We may have an entirely different way of pronouncing vowels from the Queen, but if you’re a Kiwi, Aussie, or South African lawyer, it’s likely you speak English or a recognisable form of it to the required level.

They earn more than the required salary threshold

The threshold is ￡25,600. Lawyers in the sort of large firm which might employ a common law qualified lawyer, and indeed most lawyers in major UK cities in any sector will earn more than this.

So on the face of it, provided getting a sponsorship licence isn't a hurdle, lawyers from the old commonwealth will quite easily qualify to be sponsored.

The government hasn’t indicated there will be any changes to the existing Tier 5 “working holiday” visa system. As an offer of employment is a key requirement of the new visa, it’s likely plenty of Kiwi and Aussie lawyers will continue to rely on a Tier 5 visa to begin their OE, but the new immigration regime will make finding sponsorship (and thus staying in the UK) that much easier.

If you’re a commonwealth-qualified lawyer and you’d like to hear more about working in the UK, either now or when the new system comes into play next year, get in touch: [email protected].

David von Dadelszen is a Director at Jameson Legal.

Prior to moving into recruitment in 2006 he qualified as a lawyer in New Zealand and worked in private practice in New Zealand and in-house in the UK.