On 1 November 2021, the government published a Statement of Changes to the United Kingdom’s Immigration Rules. The main changes seen in this statement relate to the immigration rules detailed under Appendix TWSW (concerning temporary work done by seasonal workers) and Appendix AR (concerning administrative review of eligible decisions), and can be summarised as follows:
- Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker – This immigration route concerns workers in edible horticulture, poultry production work, haulage driving work (involving the transportation of food goods) and now specified pork butchery work, who are doing seasonal work in the UK with a sponsor.
- Whilst the Seasonal Worker route has historically been utilised by edible horticultural workers to work on UK farms, and recently food transportation HGV drivers, it has now been amended to permit specified pork butchers to use the route and remain in the UK for a maximum period of 6 months, in light of the recent dire staff shortages in the pork industry.
- The government has emphasised that this will be a temporary, time-limited measure with their addition of the proviso that all relevant Certificate of Sponsorship applications must be submitted before 31 December 2021.
- Additionally, it has been stated that those applicants who are successfully sponsored for specified pork butchery must receive a salary that either equals or exceeds the sum of £25,600 per year, or £10.10 per hour.
- In relation to the above, Appendix TWSW has further been amended to define specified pork butchery work as follows:
The work of (a) a butcher, involving (b) slaughtering and butchering pigs or preparing and processing pig meat, taking place at (c) a slaughterhouse, processing site or farm.
- Administrative Review of Eligible Decisions – Administrative review refers to the process of consideration used to determine whether an eligible decision is wrong in light of a case working error. If a decision is found to be wrong, it will be withdrawn or amended.
The relevant change here is a minor technical correction to an erroneous deletion of provisions by a previous Statement of Changes (HC 617 – 10 September 2021). The deletion in question limited the grounds of challenge against a previous decision, and the deleted provisions have now been reinstated. The aforementioned provisions refer to the following grounds for a case working error:
- Where a decision to refuse an application on the basis that its date was beyond any time limit in the Immigration Rules was incorrect;
- Where a decision not to request specified documents (under paragraph 245AA of the Rules) was incorrect;
- Where a decision saw the Immigration Rules applied incorrectly; or
- Where an original decision-maker failed to take into account the Secretary of State’s relevant published policy and guidance.
As instructions to caseworkers were not amended to reflect the original error, all applications have been considered as normal and no applicants have been disadvantaged.
This Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 803) can be accessed via the link below:
Should you wish to discuss your UK immigration matter with us, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly team of London immigration lawyers at Barar and Associates at barar.london@bararassociates.co.uk or call us on 020 7487 8370. You can access more information about us via https://bararassociates.com/.
