Immigration Updates:The UK's New Skilled Worker Program and the State of Emergency in Canada

New UK Immigration Policy-Good news for workers or a hidden shutdown?

2021 brings into effect new immigration policies in the United Kingdom, with the implementation of a “Skilled Worker” program. This requires all visa applicants/migrants coming to the UK for work to pass a “points test” similar to those in place in Canada or Australia. However, one key difference is that the UK program mandates that skilled applicants must have a job offer in hand from a sponsor. Also, the system favors “highly skilled” individuals, such as scientists, doctors and other professional degree holders, regardless of their nationality. It may be observed that the overall focus of this new policy may be targeted at reducing migration levels, as per the latest information from the home office. This is because unrestricted access to the UK for EU citizens has been scrapped entirely, and there are few avenues, if any, available to those who do not qualify as “highly skilled” workers, which could describe a large majority of potential immigrants.

State of Emergency in Canada

Due to the Pandemic surging in the cold winter months, major provinces in Canada, such as Quebec and Ontario, have declared a state of emergency. In Ontario, travel has been restricted to “essential purposes” only. In Quebec, a full blown curfew has been imposed. The effect of these measures on immigration could be significant, despite the fact that the Immigration Minister had previously announced ambitious plans for 2021, in terms of increasing the number of immigrants to Canada. Coronavirus cases continue to surge and it appears that immigration numbers are unlikely to increase until the pandemic is truly over, when international travel becomes safer. This could have a significant impact on the Canadian Economy, which benefits from incoming immigrants and the skills/funds they bring.

The best advice for 2021 so far is to stay safe, stay put and hope for a quick turnaround in the fight against the pandemic!

For any questions on Immigration or International Law and policy, contact us at info@borderlesscounsel.com!