Croatia becomes a member of the EU

30 June 2013

Croatian nationals can enter and live in the UK without permission under our immigration rules. However, they will need permission to work in the UK unless they are exempt.

Students wanting to study in the UK do not need to be sponsored under Tier 4, but if they want or need to work, they must obtain an accession worker authorisation document unless they are exempt.

A Croatian national working without permission is committing a criminal offence under the Accession of Croatia (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2013.

This could lead to a fine and/or imprisonment for both the Croatian national and their employer.

Further information for Croatian nationals along with application forms, guidance and exemptions can be found on our Croatia pages.

Employers who wish to legally employ a Croatian national can download the leaflet ‘Employing a Croatian national in the UK.’

Home Office New Proposals for tougher sanctions against employers who exploit illegal migrant labour – July 2013

09 July 2013

Measures to toughen civil penalties against rogue businesses employing illegal migrants while cutting red tape for legitimate employers have been unveiled by the government today, 9 July 2013.

These proposals are part of the government’s plans to make it more difficult for illegal migrants to live and work in the UK, and to take tougher action against the rogue employers who exploit them. It is also intended to ensure that the country’s immigration policy is built into the benefits system, health system, housing system and the provision of services across government. The proposals outlined in today’s consultation will simplify and strengthen the current civil penalty scheme to prevent illegal working. The plans will form part of the Immigration Bill, being introduced later this year.

Immigration Minister Mark Harper said:

‘This government is committed to taking action to effectively tackle illegal working. Illegal working encourages illegal immigration, it undercuts legitimate businesses by illegal cost-cutting activity, and is often associated with exploitative behaviour like tax evasion and harmful working conditions.

‘We will not allow the growth of a shadow economy for illegal migrants, so we are proposing to get tougher on employeers who exploit illegal labour.

‘At the same time, we want to make it easier for legitimate businesses by reducing the administrative costs of complying with right to work checks.’

Proposals being considered to toughen civil penalties for businesses employing illegal migrants are:

An increase in the maximum penalty to £20,000 per illegal worker, targeted at those employers who repeatedly break the rules;
Simplifying the way civil penalties are calculated;
Simplifying the way unpaid penalties can be enforced in the civil courts; and
Measures to allow recovery of a civil penalty from directors and partners of limited liability businesses following failure to pay by the business.

At the same time, the government has unveiled a number of proposals to help legitimate businesses including:

Reducing the number of documents an employer needs to check to establish a right to work;
Replacing annual follow-up checks for non-EEA nationals with ones to coincide with the expiry of permission to be in the country;
Simplifying the operation of the scheme and the guidance for employers; and
Helping prevent undercutting by rogue employers.

The government’s consultation on these proposals will run for six weeks, until 20 August 2013. It follows two Home Office consultations which launched on July 3 looking at reducing access to free NHS care and rented accommodation for illegal migrants.

The Immigration Bill, to be introduced later this year, will tighten immigration law, strengthen our enforcement powers and clamp down on those from overseas who try to abuse our public services. By reducing access to free NHS care and rented accommodation for illegal migrants, we will make it more difficult for them to stay in the country leading to more returns and removals. This Bill is the next step in the reform of the immigration system which has led to a reduction in net migration – now at its lowest level for a decade.

CHANGES TO THE IMMIGRATION RULES – MARCH 2012

On Thursday 15 March 2012, a written ministerial statement has been laid in Parliament outlining a number of changes to the Immigration Rules.

Most of the changes will come into effect on 6 April 2012. Some of the changes to Tier 2 will affect those who were granted leave after 6 April 2011.

The changes include:

Changes to the Immigration Rules – March 2012