As the immigration law firm of choice for HR functions of a number of leading institutions we make a point of knowing what goes on in their lives outside immigration, but we also ensure we are aware where the top local and international academics are. Global movement within academic circles because of their niche specialist knowledge is common place, as is the mobility of visiting professors and guest speakers. As such, we are alive, aware and fine-tuned to the fluid nature of academia and the even greater fluidity and dexterity that is required of HR.
Institutions want to attract and retain this talent as soon as it is available, and unless we are talking coded acronyms for the next social or scientific breakthrough that will cure illnesses, bring peace in the Middle East, or just change the world altogether, academics who have poured years of time, sweat, blood and passion into becoming the top in their fields have no time or interest in seemingly trivial things like RLMT and CoS. The passport they bear doesn’t and shouldn’t matter, however, the UKVI feels differently.
To keep UK institutions in the leading rankings top international staff and academia need to be mobile; however, moving from one Top 500 institution to another will unfortunately not satisfy the Home Office requirements, so proper planning needs to be in place. Additionally, institutions must keep immaculate records of all staff to comply with prevention of illegal working provisions.
Firefighting is not our favourite type of instruction as we endorse the old adage ‘preventing is better than curing’, but we seem to do a lot of both, so should you need immediate assistance if the UKVI are intervening because of a breach, we’re here to advise you on the best course of action to protect your licence, your employees and your reputation. You can reach us on 020 7494 0118.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals