Statutory & Minimum Wage Rates April 2026
April 2026 statutory and wage rates at a glance Payment or rate Current rate Rate from April 2026 Effective date Statutory Sick Pay £118.75 per week £123.25 per week 6 April 2026 Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental bereavement, neonatal care pay and maternity allowance £187.18 per week £194.32 per week […]
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) Cost & Rules 2026
Section A: What is the Immigration Health Surcharge? The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is an upfront charge paid as part of most UK visa and immigration applications for time-limited immigration permission, including most grants exceeding 6 months and in-country applications to extend or vary permission. It applies each time limited leave is granted, […]
L-1 Visa to Green Card: Employer Compliance Guide
Moving an employee from an L-1 visa to a US green card is not just an immigration project. It is a workforce continuity decision with real cost exposure, governance risk and reputational consequences if the employer’s evidence, role design and corporate structure do not withstand USCIS scrutiny. For HR and leadership teams, the practical challenge […]
US Transit Visa (C Visa) for Employers
The US transit visa is often overlooked in corporate travel planning, yet it remains a frequent source of disruption for employers with internationally mobile staff. Employees who are not intending to enter the United States can still be refused boarding or denied transit if the correct visa or travel authorisation is not in place. HR […]
Form I-864 Explained for Employers & Sponsors
Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support, is often treated as a peripheral issue in US immigration planning. For employers, founders and business owners involved in workforce immigration, that assumption is dangerous. While Form I-864 is not an employment sponsorship document in the traditional sense, it creates legally enforceable financial obligations that can intersect directly with […]
U.S. Green Card 2026: Eligibility, Categories & How to Apply
For UK employers with international operations, US clients or globally mobile senior staff, the term “Green Card” is often misunderstood as a purely personal immigration outcome with little relevance to employer compliance. That assumption is increasingly risky. While a US Green Card grants lawful permanent residence to the individual, it can materially affect workforce planning, […]
IR-5 Visa for Parents: Employer Compliance Risks
The IR-5 visa is a US family-based immigrant visa for parents of US citizens. It is not an employment-based route and does not involve employer sponsorship, labour certification or visa allocation in the way that business immigration categories do. However, IR-5 applications frequently intersect with workforce planning, relocation decisions and HR compliance, particularly where senior […]
IR2 Visa (US) 2026: Eligibility, Requirements & How to Apply
The IR2 visa is a US family-based immigrant visa for the unmarried children of US citizens. On paper, it sits outside employer-sponsored immigration and carries no formal sponsorship duties for businesses. In practice, it regularly intersects with workforce planning, senior hires, global mobility assignments and right to work compliance, particularly where employers are relocating key […]
IR1 Visa 2026 for Employers and Global Mobility
The IR1 visa is often treated by employers as a purely personal immigration route, irrelevant to workforce compliance because it is not employer-sponsored. That assumption is incorrect. While the IR1 visa does not create sponsorship duties, it has direct and indirect consequences for workforce planning, right to work compliance, global mobility risk and operational continuity. […]
O-1A Visa (US) 2026: Eligibility, Requirements & How to Apply
Employers using the O-1A route are usually doing it for one reason: they need a specific individual and they need them in role fast, with minimal cap risk and without the structural constraints of routes like H-1B. That commercial upside comes with a compliance trade-off. The O-1A is a credibility-based classification. If the petition narrative, […]