By Sarah Barnard, AORA
Probably the most frequently asked questions about AORA are “How does AORA adapt to changes to UK Immigration rules?” and “How quickly does AORA handle the updates?” Not really surprising when you consider that, after this week’s statement of changes, the UK Immigration Rules have been updated six times in 2023 – and we’re only halfway through the year. In 2022 that number was 16.
The answer, in short, is that we invest a lot of resource into understanding the pipeline of changes. We know what to expect and we can plan ahead. Take this week’s statement: the majority of changes relating to Appendix Skilled Worker don’t come into effect until the 7th of August. Giving us plenty of time to code any changes ahead of time. Any eager Immigration Caseworker who wants to use AORA for a skilled worker visa evaluation and application at 00:01 on 7th August 2023, can do so, safe in the knowledge that the outcome would take up-to-date legislation into consideration.
Of course, we don’t always have the luxury of 3 weeks’ notice. Some of this week’s updates to Appendix Skilled Worker, specifically relating to people who are moving from a student visa into the skilled worker category, came into effect on the day they were announced (17th July). Similarly, last year, there was no prior knowledge of the exact content of the government guidance updates that were published relating to the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
In such cases, our expert team of Legal Analysts build as much knowledge as possible prior to the announcement and ensure that as soon as changes have been published and publicised, we add them to AORA’s arsenal of legislation and government guidance available to our clients.
It can be challenging to stay on top of the frequent updates to the UK Immigration Rules, especially for full-service Immigration firms/teams, but AORA takes this problem off your plate and allows you and your team immediately to capitalise on the opportunities that the changes often present.
For example: Like all codes on the shortage occupation list, the seven additional occupation codes, that will be added to the list next month, have lower salary requirements and lower UKVI visa application fees, making them a more attractive option for potential employers and thereby increasing the volume of skilled worker visas law firms assist with.
To learn more about how AORA can help you streamline your skilled worker visa and nationality process, as well as handling all legislative updates for you, reach out to Sarah Barnard at sarah@aoralaw.com or book a call: https://calendly.com/sarah_aora/aora-immigration-call
