United Kingdom: Important Changes Regarding Biometric Travel Documents and Advertising Requirements for Tier 2 Job Openings

Starting November 30, 2009, the UK Border Agency will fingerprint all foreign nationals entering the country with biometric UK visas, entry clearances and identity cards. This initiative is aimed at improving security and securing UK ports-of-entry and borders. On arrival in the UK, border control will perform regular immigration checks on all foreign nationals seeking admission to the UK and then capture their fingerprints to verify that they match the fingerprints given when the foreign national started the process abroad. This added security measure by UK authorities will stop individuals from cheating the system by having someone else complete biometrics abroad so that possible bars to admission, such as a criminal conviction, are not picked up during the biometrics process.

Employers should also be aware of another UK immigration law development. As reported earlier on this blog, starting December 14, 2009, the resident labor market test for Tier 2 of the points-based system will be extended to four weeks for all jobs. This will replace the current requirement to advertise jobs for two weeks, or one week for jobs where the salary is £40,000 or more. Employers should understand that the increased recruitment period will delay Tier 2 applications by at least 2-3 weeks, and that any transfers to the UK under this program should be adjusted accordingly.

This entry was written by Ian Macdonald.