Frontier Worker Permit (Employer FAQs)

Frontier staff are people who work in a single nation whereas their major residence is in one other.

EU freedom of motion had enabled frontier staff to come back and go between the UK and EU member states with out being topic to immigration management.

Nonetheless, beneath the UK’s new points-based immigration guidelines, non-UK residents require permission to come back to the UK to work, reside and research. This consists of cross-border staff who’re EEA or Swiss nationals and are usually not primarily resident within the UK.

UK immigration choices for EU staff to safe lawful UK standing now embrace:

• Making use of beneath the EU settlement scheme. This scheme is open to EU nationals and their members of the family who have been resident within the UK by 31 December 2020. People should apply to the scheme by 30 June 2021 to retain lawful standing. These with 5 years of extra steady residence are granted settled standing, whereas these with beneath 5 years are granted pre-settled standing.
• Sponsorship as a talented employee beneath the intra-company switch (ICT) route. This visa is for expert staff to switch to the UK from an abroad department of a UK firm as a way to undertake work on a particular venture. The eligibility necessities are strict, and the employer has to carry a sponsor licence and meet numerous compliance duties in the course of the licence validity.

Nonetheless, EU frontier staff most often won’t be eligible beneath both of those routes.

The particular standing of frontier staff was recognised in the course of the Brexit negotiations and beneath the phrases of the Brexit Withdrawal Settlement, the UK assured that frontier staff who started working within the UK earlier than the top of the transition interval on 11pm on thirty first December 2020 would be capable to proceed to work after free motion ends, offered they get hold of a frontier employee allow by 30 June 2021.

What’s the frontier employee allow?

The frontier employee allow grants EU staff permission to stay within the UK following the top of the implementation interval on thirty first December 2020, offering they have been already working within the UK by this date. It ought to be applicable for many who don’t need to, or are usually not eligible to, apply for long run standing beneath settled standing or an ICT visa.

This implies cross-border staff can maintain their frontier employee standing if they’re ‘frontier working’ within the UK by 31 December 2020, however they might want to apply for a frontier employee allow.

The allow affords the holder an exemption from UK immigration management, but it surely doesn’t confer depart to enter or stay, nor does it supply a path to UK indefinite depart to stay.

Key factors to notice:

• Staff can apply in the event that they held frontier employee standing by 31 December 2020.
• Purposes are free.
• Purposes are submitted on-line, from inside or outdoors the UK.
• Profitable purposes are legitimate for 5 years for frontier staff and people who’re self-employed, or two years for retained staff.
• The allow could also be renewed indefinitely however won’t qualify as a path to indefinite depart to stay or settlement.
• The allow is legitimate solely whereas the holder continues to be a frontier employee.

Dependents and frontier staff arriving within the UK after December 31, 2020 won’t be eligible for the frontier employee allow. They have to as an alternative apply for a visa beneath the points-based immigration system.

What are the frontier employee allow necessities?

To be eligible for a frontier employee allow, the person should meet the next standards:

• They’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
• Their major residence is NOT within the UK.
• They’ve labored within the UK by 31 December 2020.
• They’ve saved working within the UK at the least as soon as each 12 months since they began working right here.

Their frontier work should have started earlier than thirty first December 2020 and they’re persevering with the identical working sample when making use of for a frontier employee allow as one of many following:

• A employee,
• Self-employed, or
• An individual who has retained the standing of being a employee or self-employed beneath regulation 4.

If there was a 12-month interval the place the applicant has not come to the UK to work, they could nonetheless be eligible.  They should have labored within the UK, whereas residing elsewhere, by 31 December 2020, and in the course of the 12-month interval once they weren’t working, they should have been:

• quickly unable to work due to an sickness or accident
• quickly unable to work as a result of they have been pregnant or had given start
• involuntarily unemployed, and both searching for work or doing vocational coaching
• voluntarily unemployed and doing vocational coaching associated to your final occupation
• unable to come back to the UK and work due to coronavirus (COVID-19)

This is called having ‘retained employee’ or ‘retained self-employed particular person’ standing.

What does ‘not primarily resident’ imply?

To be thought-about as not primarily resident within the UK for the needs of a frontier employee allow, the applicant might want to present:

• They’ve been current within the UK for fewer than 180 days within the rapid twelve months previous to thirty first December 2020;
• They returned to their nation of residence on at the least one event over the last six months or twice within the twelve-month interval previous to thirty first December 2020 except there are distinctive causes for not doing so.

The allow may additionally be appropriate for EEA nationals ineligible for settled standing as a result of UK residency requirement, to retain lawful standing within the UK offered they return dwelling at the least each six months.

What qualifies as ‘work’ for the allow?

Candidates shall be eligible offered their work within the UK is ‘real and efficient’. Because of this their work have to be greater than small, one-off duties, comparable to an interview, collaborating in a one-off competitors or audition or signing a contract.

How do you apply for a frontier employee allow?

Purposes for the allow are made on-line and are freed from cost.

Most candidates can use the ‘UK Immigration: ID examine’ app to confirm their identification, or this may be achieved on the .gov web site. Id paperwork will have to be offered, together with a legitimate passport or nationwide identification card.

As well as, supporting paperwork will have to be offered to show the applicant meets the eligibility standards and that their work qualifies as frontier work. Relying on whether or not the applicant is employed or self-employed, or making use of with retained standing, supporting paperwork may embrace:

• an employment contract, or contracts to work within the UK
• payslips, or copies of invoices for work carried out within the UK
• a letter from a health care provider if they’ve an sickness, or copies of latest job purposes if they’re unemployed and in search of work.

How lengthy does a frontier allow final?

The Frontier Employee Allow has a five-year eligibility interval for frontier staff and people who’re self-employed, or a two-year validity for retained staff.

The place a person ceases to qualify as a frontier employee, the allow might be revoked and immigration standing misplaced.

Frontier staff who must cease working might be able to retain their allow for as much as two years, offered their cause for ceasing work is because of one among numerous particular grounds per the federal government tips, together with sickness or an accident, being pregnant or childbirth, paternity depart, unemployment, or vocational coaching.

Those that turn out to be unemployed can solely retain the allow for six months the place they’ve been working within the UK for lower than twelve months.

The allow might be renewed upfront of its expiration interval, but it surely can’t be used as a route to realize a protracted residence software as a result of strict requirement of absence. The place UK settlement is the purpose, people ought to take into account different immigration routes.

Renewing the frontier employee allow 

When renewing their allow, candidates might want to present that they continued to fulfill the eligibility necessities over the time frame since they final utilized.

If they’re not employed or self-employed on the level once they apply to resume their allow, or they’re quickly unable to work, they could nonetheless be capable to apply for a 2-year allow as somebody with ‘retained’ standing (so long as they meet the necessities).

Is the frontier allow a substitute for the customer visa?

Frontier employee allow holders shouldn’t depend on their allow to enter the UK for causes aside from frontier work.

From 1 July 2021, to enter the UK as a vacationer, they will use passport by means of an eGate and acquire depart as a customer. Coming into the UK by means of an eGate is the same old route for many who are eligible to go by means of one, strictly for the aim of visiting the UK for a cause listed in Appendix V of the Immigration Guidelines. People can’t enter the UK by way of an eGate on a nationwide ID card or a non-biometric passport. 

Key dates for frontier staff 

To be eligible for a allow, the person should have been performing frontier work within the UK earlier than 31 December 2020.

From 1 July 2021, frontier staff might want to maintain a legitimate frontier employee allow, in addition to a legitimate passport or a nationwide identification card, to enter the UK as a frontier employee.

Till 1 July 2021, frontier staff can proceed coming into the UK as a frontier employee utilizing their legitimate passport or nationwide identification card.

How a lot does a frontier employee allow value?

The frontier allow is free to use for. Candidates are exempt from the Immigration Well being Surcharge.

Can an software for a frontier employee allow be refused?

Purposes might be refused for numerous potential causes. Public coverage, public well being or safety grounds are all areas that may result in a refusal. If a person has beforehand misplaced their frontier employee standing, it will probably additionally result in any future purposes being refused.

Purposes can be refused beneath regulation 20 which pertains to a ‘misuse’ of frontier employee rights. There shall be a misuse of rights the place somebody ‘intends to acquire a bonus from these Laws by partaking in conduct which artificially creates the circumstances required to fulfill the standards set out in these Laws. Arguably, due to its opacity, this provides the Dwelling Workplace loads of scope to refuse an software outright.

What are the alternate options to the frontier employee scheme for non-UK resident staff?

Non-UK resident staff coming to the UK from 1st January 2021 have to use by means of the UK ‘points-based immigration system’ for permission to enter or stay within the UK to work. If not eligible for the frontier employee scheme, different routes beneath the brand new system may embrace:

Expert staff

There’s a route for expert staff to affix the UK workforce who’ve a suggestion of employment from an accredited employer sponsor. You will have to have reached a stage of ‘RFQ3 or above’ which is equal to a UK A stage, want to have the ability to communicate English, and be paid the related threshold wage. The brink wage guidelines are complicated, and depending on numerous components, however most often, the minimal stage is mostly £25,600. In some instances, in case your wage is lower than £25,600 however at least £20,480 you should still be capable to apply by ‘buying and selling’ factors on specific traits in opposition to wage. For instance, you probably have a suggestion of employment for a task that’s on the scarcity occupation record.

World expertise scheme

The worldwide expertise scheme is already open to non-EU residents and shall be opened as much as EU, EEA and Swiss nationals. The scheme permits extremely expert researchers and scientists to enter the UK with out the supply of employment.

Worldwide college students and graduates

Worldwide college students can apply for a visa to check within the UK if:

• They’ve been provided a spot on a course
• They perceive, learn, communicate, and write English
• They can help themselves financially and pay for the course

The UK’s new graduate immigration route opens on 1 July 2021 for worldwide college students who’ve accomplished a level. A graduate will be capable to search for work, or work within the UK at any talent stage for as much as two years, or as much as three years for PhD college students.

Visiting the UK

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals won’t require a visa to enter the UK if they’re visiting for as much as six months. Nonetheless, if there may be an intention to work or research they need to apply for entry clearance upfront of coming into the UK beneath the related route.

EU residents residing within the UK by thirty first December 2020

Frontier staff ought to take into account whether or not they are going to be eligible to use beneath the EU Settlement Scheme for pre-settled or settled standing.

EEA nationals who have been residing within the UK by 31 December 2020 have till 30 June 2021 to register themselves beneath the EU Settlement Scheme to retain the correct to reside and work within the UK.

Want help?

As employer options attorneys, DavidsonMorris’ immigration specialists advise employers on all points of workforce international mobility together with the immigration points of the top of EU free motion and its affect on recruitment and onboarding. Working carefully with our knowledgeable HR consultants, we offer a holistic advisory and help service to allow employers to contemplate the complete individuals and authorized threat issues of working throughout borders after the top of EU free motion. For recommendation in your organisation’s wants, contact us.

Frontier employee allow FAQs

Final up to date: 15 April 2021