Brexit

The Post-Brexit Points-Based Immigration System

22 December, 2019

The first details are emerging of the Government’s post-Brexit points-based immigration system

The first details are emerging of the Government’s post-Brexit points-based immigration system, set to be introduced from January 2021.

As far as economic migration is concerned, there will be 3 categories of visa under the new points-based system:

Exceptional talent/contribution
Skilled worker
Sector-specific rules-based

The “Exceptional talent/contribution” category

The “Exceptional talent/contribution” category will be available to:

Migrants who have received awards in a qualifying field or otherwise been endorsed as a recognised leader or an emerging leader in their field
Sponsored entrepreneurs setting up a new business in the UK
Investors who want to invest in the UK. There will be no requirement to have a job offer and the category will lead to indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

The “Exceptional talent/contribution” category will include the fast-track visa route for top scientists announced by the Government in August 2019. Designed to attract elite researchers and specialists in science, engineering and technology, this sub-category of the exceptional talent route will not require an offer of employment and will provide an accelerated path to settlement after 3 years. Set criteria will confer automatic endorsement and there will be no cap on numbers.

The ‘Skilled worker’ category

The ‘Skilled worker’ category will, post-Brexit, apply to both non-EU and EU nationals. Employer sponsorship will remain a key requirement for the vast majority of migrants, meaning that they will need both a job offer and to score points. However, the sponsorship process for skilled workers will be streamlined to reduce the time it takes to bring in a migrants to meet labour demands. This category will also lead to indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will advise annually on whether caps or incentives are required based on whether there are shortages or an excess of migration via the skilled worker category.

Some special types of skilled worker visas, such as the NHS visa, will also receive fast-track entry and reduced fees. Qualified doctors, nurses and Allied Health Professionals coming to fulfil acute job shortages in the NHS will be awarded extra points. There will be no cap on the number of qualified applicants who can migrate to the UK with an NHS Visa.

The “Sector-specific rules-based” category

The third category, the “sector-specific rules-based” category, will be made up of specific temporary schemes such as for low-skilled labour.

Designed to fill specific labour shortages, these schemes will be revised on an ongoing basis based on expert advice from the MAC. The rules for each scheme will vary but they will all be time-limited and will not provide a path to settlement.

One example of a “sector-specific rules-based” category is the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ scheme. The Government has pledged to raise the cap for the next year of this pilot scheme from 2,500 to 10,000 places in 2020-21.

Youth mobility and short term visits (i.e. touring and work assignments) will also fall within the “sector-specific rules-based” category.

Will the UK be open for business?

The Government’s plans have already been criticised by business groups including the British Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses for their lack of clarity on how the proposed points-based system will actually work. Among their concerns are that firms do not currently know who they will be able to hire next year and recruitment decisions could effectively be left to bureaucrats rather than businesses.

Australian Style Points Based Immigration' Explained

Thinking Of Moving To The UK To Work In The NHS? – It Might Be Good Timing

12 December, 2019

The Tory’s Have A Plan To Attract More NHS Staff From Abroad

The Conservatives say they will make it easier for doctors and nurses from around the world to work in the UK after Brexit, if they win the election.

The party would introduce an “NHS visa” as part of a promised “points-based immigration system”. But Labour said the policy was “full of holes,” with nothing to say about low-paid nurses and other hospital staff. And the Royal College of Nursing said “more ambitious” plans were needed to address NHS staffing shortages.

The Conservatives plan to end free movement of workers from EU countries when the UK leaves the EU – something they have promised will happen on 31 January if they are returned to power on 12 December.

The party would introduce a “points-based system” for migrant workers from EU and non-EU countries. It has yet to spell out in detail how this will work – but it has announced that extra points will be awarded for coming to work in the NHS.

The cost of applying for a visa would also be reduced from £928 to £464 for medical professionals, and they would be guaranteed a decision within two weeks, under Tory plans. Those granted an NHS visa would also be allowed to pay the annual £400 compulsory health insurance charge out of their salary.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the proposals would make it easier for “talented” medical staff to get visas.

The Conservatives have already announced a fast-track visa route to attract specialists in science, engineering and technology. They have also previously said they will scrap the cap on the number of skilled workers, such as doctors, from the EU and elsewhere, after Brexit. The party is considering scrapping the minimum salary requirement of £30,000 for skilled migrants seeking five-year visas.

When asked if there would be more people from overseas working in the UK under a future Conservative government, Home Secretary Priti Patel did not answer directly but said the public wanted “controlled immigration”.

Finding staff from outside the UK to come to work in the health service is as important as ever. But those who wish to do so are often surprised at the fees they have to pay for the privilege. To address this, the Conservatives plan to halve the £928 visa cost for NHS staff and their dependents. But the £400 surcharge to cover their healthcare costs if they are from outside the EU won’t be reduced, nor will the levy paid by the NHS and other employers if they hire foreign workers. So it may be a move in the right direction, but if the health service badly needs trained doctors, nurses and others from abroad, it might be asked why they should pay any fees for visas or healthcare?

The Cavendish Coalition, representing a range of health and care organisations, says any steps towards tackling the high vacancy rate are welcome, but by not covering social care the policy is not ambitious enough. These groups want any incoming government to recruit and employ any necessary workers from outside the UK “without criteria”. The Royal College of Nursing said a failure to train enough nurses was forcing the NHS to “recruit overseas in the short-term”.

RCN chief executive Dame Donna Kinnair said she wanted to see a fairer immigration system that valued skills and did not fixate on “arbitrary targets” and “There are tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs and we need more ambitious plans than this to address it.” She added it was “immoral and heartless” to continue to make nurses contribute towards “the same services they keep running” through the health insurance charge. “It should be abolished, not spread out every month,” she said.

Labour also attacked the lack of detail in the Conservative plans. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: “The Tories are tying themselves in knots over immigration. They use dog-whistle anti-migrant rhetoric but are forced to accept we need migrant workers for key sectors, not just the NHS, but many more besides. “This policy is full of holes, with nothing to say about the nurses earning below their income threshold, as well as all the cooks, cleaners, hospital porters and others who are vital to hospitals, and nothing at all about their right to bring family members here. “Labour’s immigration policy is rational and fair and will prioritise attracting the people we need, and treat them as human beings.”

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine said that, even with the visa application costs reduced for medical professionals, the £464 charge still amounted to a “nurse tax”.

More than 12% of the NHS workforce reported their nationality as not British, according to a report published last year.

The biggest group of foreign NHS workers are from the EU – 56 in every 1,000 – but, the report added, the number of new staff coming from the EU is falling, and that this decline particularly applies to nurses.

For more information see the below videos.

We have representation on the ground in the UK so contact us for a confidential discussion.

Austerity, racism, the NHS and Brexit: Corbyn and Johnson clash in BBC debate

Brexit and the NHS - explained in 4 mins by a doctor on the front line

The Brexit Conundrum – Should I Stay Or Should I Go??

5 December, 2019

Whether You’re In the UK Or Elsewhere, The Same Question Applies!!

See if you can work this out, we’ve tried and we can’t.

So far in the UK election campaign, migration has largely bubbled under the surface of public debate, given the overriding focus on the parties’ spending plans and the ongoing clashes over Brexit. But a study of the party’s manifestos suggests that, despite this lack of focus, the election is almost certain to be a turning point for migration policy. The main parties are pledging a new direction on migration, signalling a difference in approach from Theresa May’s punitive and restrictive agenda. Yet while the direction is broadly positive, the detail is sorely lacking.

The Conservatives say they will make it easier for doctors and nurses from around the world to work in the UK after Brexit, if they win the election. The party would introduce an “NHS visa” as part of a promised “points-based immigration system”. But Labour said the policy was “full of holes,” with nothing to say about low-paid nurses and other hospital staff. And the Royal College of Nursing said “more ambitious” plans were needed to address NHS staffing shortages.

The Conservatives say they also plan to end free movement of workers from EU countries when the UK leaves the EU – something they have promised will happen on 31 January 2020 if they are returned to power on 12 December 2019. The party would introduce a “points-based system” for migrant workers from EU and non-EU countries. It has yet to spell out in detail how this will work – but it has announced that extra points will be awarded for coming to work in the NHS.

Furthermore this time round, there is a new liberal tone to the agenda, the much-derided net migration target has been jettisoned and there are a range of proposals intended to liberalise the system, from a fast-track visa for NHS professionals to a post-study work route for international students and a start-up visa for entrepreneurs.

The manifesto promises a new ‘Australian-style’ points-based system. This is a popular idea with voters, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that this is more a slogan than a policy – one intended to symbolise a hard-line approach to immigration while simultaneously offering reassuring signals to business. How this plays out in practice is less clear.

On the one hand, a points-based system could signal a shift towards introducing faster pathways to settlement, greater powers for nations and regions to determine their own skills needs, and new visa routes that prioritise the personal characteristics of applicants over stringent salary requirements – all hallmarks of the Australian model. On the other hand, it could signal a more selective approach, heaping on additional requirements for migrants to make it harder to enter the UK for work.

The Liberal Democrats propose to replace visas for skilled workers with a ‘more flexible merit-based system’. But this leaves open a whole host of questions relating to how such a policy should work in practice – and how indeed it differs from the Conservatives’ proposal for an ‘Australian-style’ points-based system.

There is a welcome recognition that arbitrary numerical targets have failed. There is a renewed focus on developing an immigration system that supports the UK’s economic ambitions. One thing for sure is there will be plenty of blanks to fill in for future immigration policy, no matter who wins on the 12th of December.

Don’t discard the concern of British expats either. There has been a surge in expat voter registrations which is now around the 40,000 mark, which could see a record number of expats voting in what is being termed the Brexit election. The outcome of the election could have a significant impact on their lives. See the below video.

So whether you are in the UK wondering whether you should stay or go, or outside the UK wondering whether you should stay where you are, or go to the UK, all we can say is you be the judge and if you can work it out with some clarity, then please let us know. We think the best advice at the moment is to wait and see. See the below links to add a bit more confusion.

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