Government clamps down on entrepreneur visas
11 July 2014
The government has tightened up on entrepreneur visas, after checks showed they were being used under false pretences.
Fri, 11 Jul 2014 | By Nicola Sullivan
The government has tightened up on entrepreneur visas, after checks showed they were being used under false pretences.
A statement from the Home Office said that evidence from tax records showed that people on expiring student visas were transferring to entrepreneur status under the pretext of setting up a business when they are actually working in low skilled jobs.
With the new clampdown, students will only be able to switch using funds from a government-approved source, and post-study workers will need additional evidence of their business activities.
In addition, those who have not yet started businesses and who do not have evidence of a genuine business will not be able to switch from the old post-study route onto an entrepreneur visa.
Andy Hogarth, chief executive at Staffline, said he had no experience of people trying to join his agency with ‘entrepreneur’ visas.
He told recruiter.co.uk: “Obviously we do check as I’m sure everybody else in the industry does, so there is no way that we would offer employment to anybody on that sort of visa. If they are [operating under false pretences] they won’t be doing through a recruitment agency business for sure. The industry is very aware of the rules and regulations and I’m sure we all abide by them.”
He added: “We have about 1,800 and 2,400 people a week applying for work with us and on average two people a month have forged visas – it is a tiny proportion.”
A statement from the Home Office said that evidence from tax records showed that people on expiring student visas were transferring to entrepreneur status under the pretext of setting up a business when they are actually working in low skilled jobs.
With the new clampdown, students will only be able to switch using funds from a government-approved source, and post-study workers will need additional evidence of their business activities.
In addition, those who have not yet started businesses and who do not have evidence of a genuine business will not be able to switch from the old post-study route onto an entrepreneur visa.
Andy Hogarth, chief executive at Staffline, said he had no experience of people trying to join his agency with ‘entrepreneur’ visas.
He told recruiter.co.uk: “Obviously we do check as I’m sure everybody else in the industry does, so there is no way that we would offer employment to anybody on that sort of visa. If they are [operating under false pretences] they won’t be doing through a recruitment agency business for sure. The industry is very aware of the rules and regulations and I’m sure we all abide by them.”
He added: “We have about 1,800 and 2,400 people a week applying for work with us and on average two people a month have forged visas – it is a tiny proportion.”
