Work Permits gone, replaced by a new visa system, a critical analysis

By: Amjad Malik

From 25 November 2008, a new visa system is coming into force where by an old work permit scheme which will be scrapped & replaced by a new system in which an employer shares the responsibilities by seeking a licence if he wishes to sponsor a foreign skilled work force. On top of that non EEA skilled workers who come from abroad will need to meet the minimum 70 points to secure entry visa to work for a specific employer in UK. This new regime will be divided into 5 categories, tier 1 deals with highly skilled migrants, and tier 2 deals with skilled workers and it will replace Work Permits scheme, and will change the law towards Minister of Religion, Airport based operational and ground staff, overseas nurses, sabbatical posts, seafarers, researchers, training and work experience scheme, Jewish agency employees as well as overseas news and media representatives who will all be required to successfully secure 70 points. We will focus on tier 2 in this article.

Any British Employer and or organisation which seeks foreign skilled workers will have to apply for a four year licence by making an application which will attract a fee of £300 to £1000 subject to size of the business. If an employer secures a band "˜A' he will be able to issue a "˜certificate of Sponsorship' akin to work permit himself to a foreign skilled worker who will in return applies for an entry clearance visa from abroad. Securing "˜B' category will make the employer ineligible for such exercise however they will have 3 months to re attempt to secure Category "˜A' otherwise they will not be able to sponsor foreign workers. Employer will be required to furnish the required documentation with an application such as company listings, business plan, audited accounts, employer liability and other insurances, certificate of registration with VAT and HM Customs and revenue, bank statements, relevant licences and lease documents and so on to show that they have the capacity, in built system and viability to sponsor and fund a foreign employee. With registration Britain based employers undertake to monitor the system themselves any change in the migrant worker's professional activity at the place of their business within 10 days as well as authorising UK Border Agency to monitor, audit and do spot checks.

On Second stage, all Foreign Employees in the above categories will have to secure minimum 70 points to be able to come to UK to work. There are 3 main categories in which tier 2 skilled workers may come which are 1) intra company transfers if they have worked for 6 months or over in the similar company and or discipline, 2) shortage occupation category list of which will be compiled any time soon by the "˜Migrant Advisory Committee' which advises to the Home Office Ministry and 3) if the skilled worker meets the 'esident labour market test' whereby genuine vacancy exists and an advertisement is placed for 2 weeks to recruit a potential employee from the existing labour market, the requirement will be reduced to 1 week if the salary is over 40,000. They will also have to meet language and maintenance requirements which will be compulsory and carry 10 marks each. Now the chart for any potential foreign skilled worker who is seeking 70 marks is as following :

·         Certificate of Sponsorship Category, (any one) : 1) ICT(Intra Company Transfers 30 marks), 2) Shortage occupancy (50 marks) and 3) RLMT(Resident Labour Market Test: 30 marks);

·         Section B: Maintenance (10 Marks) if you have minimum amount in your bank which is £800 a month for 3 months per applicant;

·         Section C: Language, A1 of council of Europe scale or equivalent , however no requirement of stringent language condition if it is an intra company transfer (10 marks);

·         Qualification (any one): NVQ level 5 marks, Bachelor or Masters 10 marks and PhD: 5 marks;

·         Prospective earnings: 17,000 plus  5 marks, 20,000 plus :10 marks, 22,000 plus:15 marks and 24,000 plus will carry 20 marks.

Looking at the above stringent conditions attached to this new system, it will have a huge impact on hospitality and catering industry as Chef's and cooks rarely get a pay of £24,000 and they may not be classed as shortage occupancy which will deprive the food industry of the opportunity of tasting one of the best Indian curry and Chinese food which in true sense made the revolution in changing attitudes towards food culture. It replaced the fish and  chips culture to "˜chicken tikka masala' which was voted as one of the best selling dish of the country.

Having said that there is no harm in applying a robust approach towards eliminating scrupulous employers who make applications without thinking and there were numerous complaints about impropriety in the past in that culture at the hands of gang masters or organised crimes criminals and trafficker mafia. Government's un thoughtful policy of seeking thousands of migrant workers under a "˜sector based scheme' failed bitterly and there are no concrete figures as to how many returned.  In March 2006 the Home Secretary suddenly announced that the Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) would close by the 31 December 2006. Whilst immigration remains on agenda on most of the political parties in UK, a thoughtful approach to tackle the problem is the dire need of the time and if curry chefs are not included in the shortage occupancy, then Britain will lose the taste of one of the finest Indian, Chinese and Bangladeshi cuisine which is a hall mark of modern day Britain as everyone may not afford to go to Gordon Ramsey's.

A word of wise to thousands of British employers, Mosques, temples, airlines, news channels, agencies and newspapers and all those who seek foreign employees must act quickly as after 25^th of November they may not be able to bring their foreign skilled workers as desired if they are not licensed. Though there will be transitional arrangements in place to accommodate existing foreign work force, however thousands of work permit holders who are already in the country working in different sectors must seek advice in order to properly continue to stay in UK upon expiry of their current work permits, visas and or permit free employment or training as the goal post will change all of a sudden without notice. Time is short and both employer and foreign workers need to act promptly before its too late.

Amjad Malik is a Solicitor-Advocate of the Supreme Court (England) , has done LLM and a Member of Immigration Law Committee of The Law Society of England & Wales