Immigration Alert: UK Border Agency Establishes a New Business Helpdesk Pilot

In response to requests from the Immigration Law Practitioner’s Association, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has established a Business Helpdesk Pilot. Kingsley Napley has been asked by the UKBA to participate in this pilot on behalf of our business clients, which will run until the end of March.

Since the introduction of the Points-Based System it has often been difficult to contact relevant UKBA staff in order to obtain status updates which can cause frustration for businesses who need more certainty and timely information when applying to sponsor migrants.

During the pilot we will be able to email the UKBA in order to obtain timely information about the processing of applications submitted on behalf of sponsors in the UK.

The timescales for obtaining updates are as follows:-

• Status updates for applications made in the UK should be provided within 2 working days of the request;
• More complex queries, for example in interpreting the guidance or when anomalous situations arise should be provided within 3 working days; and
• Passport/identity document checking service where there are concerns regarding a migrant’s right to work in the UK should be provided within 10 working days.

Following the trial and subject to satisfactory feedback, the UKBA will be looking to expand the service to include businesses based overseas.

For more information, please contact a member of the immigration team.