Immigration Update: News in Brief | Winter 2024/2025

Government lays proposed immigration fee increases before parliament

The government has laid the draft Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2025 before parliament which, if approved by both Houses, will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.

The main changes are:

• The application fee for ‘naturalisation’ as a British citizen is increasing from £1,500 to £1,605.
• The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) fee is increasing from £10 to £16.
• The certificate of sponsorship fee on work routes is rising from £239 to £525; and
• General increases to a selection of nationality services.

Home Office announces EU Settlement Scheme status automation

The Home Office has announced details of a new process to automatically convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Pre-settled status holders approaching the expiry of their status should receive an email to inform them that they may soon be considered for an automated conversion to settled status. Checks will be undertaken against government-held information, for example, to ensure they have remained resident in the UK and to check for any evidence of criminal conduct.

The Home Office emphasises that manual applications for settled status remain an option, and the automated system will be implemented in phases, with plans for expansion later in 2025. Individuals will be informed if they cannot be granted settled status automatically.

Home Office expands sponsor licence priority services

The Home Office has expanded sponsor licence priority services as follows:

• The cap for the pre-licence priority service (previously 30 applications a day) has been removed. The pre-licence priority service is available to prospective sponsors who have applied for a sponsor licence to sponsor migrant workers in the UK. It expedites application processing time from approximately eight weeks to ten working days for a fee of £500.
• The cap on the priority change of circumstances service (previously 60 requests a day) has been increased to 100 requests a day. The priority change of circumstances service allows sponsors to prioritise certain requests, by submitting an application via email (for example, requests for additional certificate of sponsorship allocation, to add a new Level 1 User or amend an organisation’s details). Eligible requests that have successfully made payment will be considered within five working days (reduced from approximately 18 weeks for standard processing). The fee is £200 for each request.

Home Office prohibits sponsoring workers in a personal capacity

The Home Office has updated its guidance to expressly prohibit sponsoring workers in a ‘personal capacity’ from 31 December 2024. This covers where:

• The sponsor is an individual or household wishing to sponsor a worker in a personal capacity, and the sponsor is not otherwise conducting business or providing a service in the UK.
• The worker, or workers, will be employed by, or engaged for the personal benefit of, an individual (or their close relative or partner) who works for the sponsor, and the role is unrelated to the sponsor’s wider activities.

New sponsor licence applications will no longer be granted in these scenarios, and existing sponsors will ‘normally’ have their licence revoked if they attempt to sponsor a worker in a personal capacity after 31 December 2024.

The only exception to the prohibition is sponsoring a private servant in the household of either a diplomat or of a member of a recognised international organisation, under the ‘International Agreement’ route.