Written statement on Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules - Mar 9

Minister for Immigration (Robert Jenrick): My Rt Hon Friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules.

The government’s number one priority is keeping the UK safe. In order to further strengthen our border security the government is launching an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme.

The ETA scheme will be implemented in a phased manner, on a nationality basis, over the next two years. Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will be the first countries to benefit from the ETA scheme. The Home Office will provide further details about which country will be next to benefit from the ETA scheme in due course.

These rules explain how the UK’s forthcoming ETA scheme will be administered. The rules set out: who is required to apply for and obtain an ETA prior to travelling to the United Kingdom; the form or manner in which an application for an ETA may be made, granted or refused and specifies the conditions which must be met before an application for an ETA may be granted. The Rules also stipulate how long an ETA will be valid for, the conditions under which it may be varied or cancelled and any exceptions to the requirement to obtain one.

We are also implementing changes for Innovators which have previously been announced in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s document “UK Innovation Strategy: leading the future by creating it” (published on 22 July 2021). The Innovator Founder route removes the £50k minimum funds requirement currently applied to those coming to the UK to establish an innovative business in order to make more flexible provision for those with a genuine proposal for an innovative business and sufficient funds to deliver it. The changes relax existing restrictions on innovators engaging in employment outside the running of their business, provided such secondary employment is in a skilled role (i.e., at least skilled to RQF Level 3).

The changes close the existing Start-up route to new initial applications except where they are supported by endorsements issued before 13 April 2023. With the removal of the £50k minimum funds requirement for Innovator Founders, it is no longer necessary to retain a separate route for start-up entrepreneurs that do not have access to this level of funds. This means that applicants who would not meet the existing £50K requirement will be able to obtain permission for three years from the outset, rather than the one year granted to Start-up route applicants under existing arrangements.

The salary requirements for skilled work immigration routes have been updated in line with the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data. To prevent exploitation of migrants, a minimum salary is set, based on the 25^th percentile of average earnings for each job role, as per the most recent ASHE data. The Skilled Worker route base line minimum salary has also been increased.

Finally, more routes have been simplified in line with the recommendations of the Law Commission report ‘Simplifying the Immigration Rules’, to which the government responded on 25 March 2020.

The changes to the Immigration Rules are being laid on 9 March 2023. The changes relating to the ETA and updates to employment requirements in work routes will come into effect on 12 April 2023. The new Innovator Founder route will come into effect on 13 April 2023.