UK Immigration Alert

22nd July 2026 | Nelli Shevchenko | Immigration, Immigration Law, Visa fees reimbursement

As we move through the summer, the UK immigration landscape continues to evolve, with a number of significant developments affecting employers, businesses and individuals alike. This edition highlights important changes to the right to work regime, new opportunities under the Global Talent route, Government initiatives aimed at supporting high-growth businesses, and the introduction of a new priority service for nationality applications.

With major reforms to right to work compliance coming into force from 1 October 2026, now is the time for organisations to review their workforce arrangements, supply chains and internal processes to ensure they are prepared. As always, our immigration team continues to monitor these developments closely and is on hand to help clients navigate the changing landscape with practical, commercially focused advice.

 

Recent Engagements

In June, Nelli Shevchenko represented Sherrards at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual Conference in San Diego, one of the world’s leading immigration law conferences. Speaking as part of the Global Migration Section, Nelli joined fellow international practitioners to discuss “How to Ethically Attract Clients and Keep the Welcome Mat Out in an Anti-Immigration Era”, exploring the professional and ethical considerations facing immigration lawyers in an increasingly complex global landscape.

During the conference, Nelli was also recognised at the inaugural Immies Awards, receiving the Against All Odds Award in recognition of her commitment to the immigration profession and her work supporting businesses and individuals through complex immigration matters.

Earlier in June, Nelli also joined AllAboutLaw and BPP Law School as a guest speaker for their Lunch & Learn series. Speaking alongside Louis MacWilliam of Truth Legal and chaired by Mamta Ondhia of BPP Law School, Nelli gave students an insight into life as an immigration lawyer, discussing the realities of day-to-day practice, the range of clients and matters immigration lawyers advise on, and the skills needed to build a successful career in this specialist area.

 

IMPORTANT FOR ALL UK EMPLOYERS: Right to work checks – significant expansion from 1 October 2026

A wide-ranging update to the right to work regime will take effect from 1 October 2026. Employers in the UK should expect to update policies, contracts and internal processes well in advance.

Under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, it is unlawful to employ an adult who does not have the right to work in the UK. A compliant right to work check continues to provide a statutory excuse against a civil penalty. However, from 1 October 2026, the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (in particular, section 48) expands the scope of the civil penalty regime and broadens the concept of “employment”. A draft code of practice published on 1 July 2026 sets out the new scheme and the updated approach to statutory excuses.

What is changing in practice?

The changes are intended to capture working arrangements outside traditional employment and extend civil penalty exposure through certain contractual chains.

In particular, the draft code introduces a new section 14A (to be inserted into the 2006 Act) which treats the following as “employment” for right to work purposes:

• contracts of employment (already covered)
• worker’s contracts
• individual sub-contractors
• online matching services

Where a business is treated as employing a worker under one of these arrangements without the requisite right to work, the draft code indicates exposure to a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker, alongside other potential consequences (including criminal liability, closure action and sponsor licence implications).

A new section 15A also extends potential civil penalty liability beyond the party with the direct relationship in certain structures, including subcontracting chains, online matching arrangements and substitution models.

Statutory excuse against extended liability

The draft code introduces a further statutory excuse concept aimed at protecting businesses against extended liability. In summary, it is framed around prescribed requirements in four areas:

• Contractual terms and conditions (written terms in place before work starts, including specified right to work obligations and controls on subcontracting).
• Substitution controls (proportionate processes to ensure checks are carried out on substitutes and are not delegated to workers).
• Identity verification systems and processes (proportionate measures to ensure the person working is the same person whose right to work was checked).
• Digital identity verification providers (from 1 October 2026, where a digital verification provider is used, it must be registered on the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes register and specifically authorised for right to work checks).

Recommended next steps

Although the changes do not come into effect until 1 October, we advise to review your staffing, supplier, and third-party arrangements, ensuring right to work compliance across all areas of your business. Our UK immigration team is available to discuss in detail your arrangements, but in summary we advise to do the following preparatory steps:

• Map engagement models and supply chains: identify how the organisation engages workers (including contractors, individual subcontractors and any online matching models) and assess which arrangements are likely to be brought into scope.
• Update contracts and processes: prioritise template and key supplier contract updates, and update internal checking processes and training to reflect the new scheme.
• Review digital verification: if you rely on a digital verification provider, confirm it will be properly registered and authorised for right to work checks from 1 October 2026. 

 

Global Talent (Design): new endorsement pathway from 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, a new endorsement pathway has opened for certain applicants in the field of Design under the Global Talent route (Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise).

Arts Council England remains the route administrator, and the Design Business Association (DBA) assesses Design endorsement applications on its behalf. Applications are submitted to the UKVI and forwarded to the DBA for assessment.

Key requirements

Applicants should expect to provide:

• A CV showing they are a recognised leader or future leader and have a sufficient professional track record. As a guide, the DBA expects at least five years’ track record for Exceptional Talent and at least three years’ track record for Exceptional Promise. The CV must include specific dates for engagements and cover the full professional career and (if applicable) education.
• Three letters of support. Two letters must be from well-established nationally or internationally recognised Design organisations, with at least one UK-based. The third can be from another such organisation (UK or overseas) or an eminent individual.
• Up to ten pieces of evidence across at least two categories. Categories differ between Exceptional Talent and Exceptional Promise but broadly include (i) credible media recognition in the form of critical evaluations, (ii) awards, and (iii) significant appearances, publications, exhibitions or distribution in recognised contexts.

If you are interested in applying for Global Talent endorsement under this route, please contact our UK immigration team who can have a pre-assessment exploratory call with you.

 

Government concierge service and visa fees reimbursement

n 9 June 2026, the Government announced a package aimed at supporting high-growth firms to scale and attract international talent. The key elements are described as:

• a bespoke concierge service offering tiered support for promising scale-ups
• strengthened measures to attract and retain world-leading talent through the Global Talent Taskforce
• a visa fee reimbursement scheme for certain UK scale-ups
• an Office for Investment fast-track referral process for UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence applications

Our practical view

While the announcement will be welcome in principle, the practical value is limited.

The eligibility criteria for reimbursement is limited to scale-up companies in key sectors: Life sciences, Clean Energy and Digital Technology. Furthermore, the visa fee reimbursement scheme is capped (with a maximum award of £5,000 per international hire and dependants, and an overall limit on available funding). In our experience, the cap per hire is unlikely to cover the full Home Office fees and associated costs for an international hire and their dependants. We also expect the concierge service to evolve, and we await more operational detail and clear entry criteria to understand which businesses will be able to access meaningful support.

Expedited process for Expansion Worker licences is also welcome, since many of the applications currently face over 6 months processing time. The scheme is available now for eligible businesses already receiving ongoing Office for Investment support, meeting the investment criteria, and operating in one of the eight sectors identified as priorities under the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy. If accepted for referral, processing times will be around ten working days, compared with the standard processing time of up to eight weeks. However, this is not an automatic priority service. Complex applications may revert to standard processing times.

 

Nationality applications: new priority service

On 6 July 2026, the Home Office has updated its nationality priority treatment guidance to reflect a new paid Priority Service for citizenship applications. This is a significant development for applicants seeking greater certainty on timing for British citizenship applications (naturalisation or registration).

Under the updated guidance, applicants who want a faster nationality decision may be able to use the Priority Service for an additional £500 fee. The normal expectation is a decision within 30 working days from the date of biometric submission, provided the application is suitable for priority handling and is not complex.

The Priority Service does not guarantee that an application will be approved, and it does not mean that every case will be suitable for priority processing. Cases requiring enhanced scrutiny, external checks, national security or identity enquiries, or more detailed Home Office consideration may fall outside the target timeframe.

Priority must be considered before the application is submitted. An application that has already been submitted cannot be upgraded later to the paid nationality Priority Service.

 

How we can help

If you would like to discuss any of the changes above, including preparing for the 1 October 2026 right to work updates, reviewing contractor and supply chain models, assessing Global Talent endorsement options for Design applicants, or planning the timing of a nationality application, please contact the Sherrards Immigration team.

If you’d like to sign up for future immigration alerts, please contact Nelli.