Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to speed up the process of visa applications for classroom language assistants.

With the introduction of the Skilled Worker route on 01 December 2020 we suspended the limit on overseas visas to work in the UK, and removed the Resident Labour Market Test. These changes have reduced the length of the process to recruit a worker from overseas by up to eight weeks in comparison to the former Tier 2 (General) route.

These reforms are part of a wider transformation to make the points-based system streamlined and digital. Enhancements for sponsors, combined with those for applicants, mean a faster end-to-end process from a sponsor getting a licence to an applicant coming to the UK. We have introduced Chip Checker functionality for a fully digital application system for EEA nationals applying through the new points-based system, allowing a fully online application process, reducing the time it takes an applicant to get a decision by up to one week.

The Home Office published its Sponsorship roadmap in August 2021 outlining its plans to deliver further reforms to the points-based system. These planned changes will make it easier for users to navigate the system and further reduce the processing times for employers to bring someone to the UK to work. Further details on the planned reforms can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-points-based-immigration-system-sponsorship-roadmap