Currently the Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) category allows employers to bring employees of linked overseas companies to the UK to work in roles requiring company specific knowledge provided they have been employed by the overseas entity for at least 6 months.
The changes announced to Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer), which will take effect from 6 April 2010, will no longer allow migrants to count time spent in this category towards Indefinite Leave to Remain (colloquially known as settlement) and will create 3 sub-categories within Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer). These new sub-categories are:
Established staff – this is very similar to the current Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) category, however the migrant must have been employed by the overseas entity for at least 12 months before a Certificate of Sponsorship can be issued
Graduate trainee – this sub-category applies to graduate occupations only and has been introduced to allow companies to bring graduates to the UK as part of a structured training programme for up a maximum of 12 months. The graduate must have been employed by the overseas entity for at least 3 months, and there will be an annual limit of 5 Certificates of Sponsorship per Sponsor under this sub-category; and
Skills transfer – this sub-category applies to graduate occupations only and is intended to enable recent recruits of the overseas company to transfer to the UK temporarily (for a maximum of 6 months) to acquire or impart skills and knowledge relevant to their new role, such as client or company familiarisation. No previous company experience is required, but the appointment of the migrant worker must be additional to the staffing requirements of the UK company so that the role would not exist but for the need for skills transfer.
Further clarification is required as to whether Sponsors will need to apply to add the new sub-categories to their existing sponsorship licence.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.