The ads, running in English, French, Urdu, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, and Punjabi, warn that consultants cannot guarantee that immigration applications will be approved, cannot make an application fool-proof or ensure your spouse will get into or be able to migrate to Canada.

The ads urge people to ensure their immigration consultant is honest and refers viewers to a government website.

“The ads portray all immigration consultants as fraudsters or charlatans without drawing the distinction between unlicensed ghost agents and Certified Canadian Immigration Consultants,” said Imran Qayyum of the Canadian Migration Institute.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney defended the ads as showing what prospective immigrants should avoid.

“The problem with the consultant in our ads is that he is promising things he can’t deliver like guaranteed jobs and visas. People should take care to select a consult that is licensed and has a good reputation,” Kenney said.

“We recognize that there are bona fide consultants, but there are others that exploit the dream of living here.”

The ads will run on television in Canada and have been posted on YouTube and the website of the immigration department. Kenney also said that signs have been posted in Canada’s immigration offices overseas stating that there is no need to use a consultant.

Immigration fraud from crooked consultants is a major problem for Canada’s immigration system. Recent busts have uncovered offices selling fake wedding photos, fake diplomas and “guarantees” of admission into Canada. Source: Toronto Sun

As in the UK, legally certified immigration consultants must be qualified to operate in Canada and their activities are strictly regulated.

If you need UK immigration advice, make sure you use an OISC registered immigration adviser or a specialist immigration lawyer. OISC qualified immigration advisers must be competent before they can practice and remain competent by undertaking annual CPD and training.

Some advisers, such Bison UK, offer a free initial consultation where you can sit down and discuss your problem with a qualified adviser.

See also:

U.S. conman duped British families’ out of £3m in American immigration scam

MIGRATE TO CANADA

For more information on how you can LEGALLY migrate to Canada check out ‘My Immigration Consultant’ , an easy and cost efficient program designed to guide you *step By Step* towards successfully migrating to Canada.

For more information see link.

John Vine, an independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency (UKBA), said the visas of migrants whose permits had ended were not being cancelled.

He also found insufficient checks were being carried out on companies which sponsor overseas workers.

Immigration minister Damian Green said the system was being improved.

The report comes as the government announced non-European Union workers earning more than £150,000 a year and some scientists were to be excluded from the government’s immigration cap.

Mr Green said the UK had to attract the brightest and the best to promote recovery.

Mr Vine’s report examined the government’s points-based system for skilled workers who want to come to the UK.

It found there were 150 cases where the visas of migrants who had finished jobs and were required to leave the UK were not cancelled.

And there were likely to be many more because of a backlog of 3,000 potential cases as yet unprocessed, it added.

Mr Vine said he was concerned the agency was not visiting the firms who hire or sponsor migrant staff.

He told the BBC:

“The Border Agency needs to do the appropriate checks on the sponsor, and satisfy itself of course that they are a bona fide employer and that their employment exists.

“And that’s why I was concerned about the visit to the premises not having been carried out in all cases.”

Profits before securing UK’s borders

His report also found inconsistent approaches to decision-making, with some applicants refused because of minor omissions, and others given extra time to supply the missing information.

The agency had put profits before securing the UK’s borders with an emphasis “always on income-generating work first”, Mr Vine added.

And he called for the agency to act promptly to return those living in the UK illegally.

“If people no longer qualify to stay in the UK according to their visa conditions, then they must be required to leave the country,” he said.

“Many staff perceived that quality of decision-making and controlling immigration were not as much of a priority for the UK Border Agency as generating income and providing customer service.”

Shadow immigration minister Gerry Sutcliffe said ministers were cutting 5,200 jobs at the agency at the “very time we need to improve enforcement and tackle illegal immigration.

“As the independent chief inspector’s report today makes clear, UKBA faces a resources challenge and the government is intent on making it worse,” he said.

Immigration Minister Mr Green agreed changes needed to be made to ensure the system was effective. He said:

“We do regulate sponsors properly, but obviously I’m very interested in what the chief inspector has to say and, if we do need to improve the UKBA systems, we will do so.”

He said communication among agency staff and the IT systems had been improved to ensure the system was moving “in the right direction”. Source: BBC.

Immigration Matters Comment

This report confirms what most immigration advisers already know: Employers are making serious errors when issue certificates of employment (CoS) to migrant workers.

Cynthia Barker of Immigration Advisers’ Bison UK wrote last August:

‘UK employers are risking fines and the loss of their Tier 2 sponsorship by issuing a COS or ‘Certificates of Sponsorship’ (formerly known as work permits) to unqualified migrant workers. 

‘During consultations with candidates and employers, we have noticed a lot of misunderstanding of the rules, which means that employment certificates are being given to Filipino workers without the proper checks being made on their experience and or qualifications.’ 

Immigration Adviser Evelie Padadac said:

‘Employers issue the certificates directly to the candidates who then consult us for further leave to remain. However, when looking through the paperwork, I frequently find that the candidate does not qualify under the Tier 2 rules.’

Under the old work permit scheme, replaced in 2008 by Tier 2 of the points based system, employers had to apply for each individual permit which was closely scrutinized by Home Office case workers.

But when Tier 2 was introduced the Government handed employers a years supply of CoS certificates - effectively a Work Permit - to issue as and when required.

No further checks on the validity of the application or whether the applicant was qualified or not, it appears, were carried by UKBA staff unless glaring errors were spotted by the Leave to Remain team when processing the applicant’s visa.

The Tier 2 working visa system is a disaster waiting to happen.

This week the Home Office has unveiled details of a proposed major overhaul to the Tier 2 working visa route scrapping many of the procedures brought in by the previous Government.

Under the new system, employers will have to apply for a certificate of sponsorship from the UK Border Agency for a specific post (as they used to under the previous Work Permit scheme) if they wish to bring someone to the UK – an about-turn on the current Tier 2 system under which businesses were given an annual allocation.

Employers and their prospective workers are urged to take advice from a qualified immigration adviser before issuing employment certificate and applying for further leave. Even if the worker obtains the Tier 2 working visa, it could later be revoked if errors come to light or indefinite leave (ILR).

We also recommend an annual health check or file audit to ensure that work permit holders and workers on student visas are still legal and avoid fines of up to £10,000.

Evelie Padadac is an OISC registered immigration adviser with Bison Management UK specializing in work and study related visas as well as a file checking audit service for employers.

See also:

CYNTHIA BARKER SAYS EMPLOYERS WHO ISSUE TIER 2 CERTIFICATES IN ERROR SHATTER MIGRANT WORKERS’ LIVES

YES, SENIOR CARERS ARE HAVING PROBLEMS OBTAINING ILR UNDER 5 YEAR RULE

Tier 2 Working visa reforms announced by UK Border Agency

Immigration visa cap grounds Airbus UK recruitment plans

71 shortage occupations to be removed from Tier 2 visas in points-based shake up

MAC’s new list of graduate level occupations for Tier 2

Immigration cap on foreign staff will compromise patient care says NHS

London Mayor’s new attack on UK Immigration Cap

Interim Immigration Cap unlawful High Court Judges Rule

Australia to speed up skilled migrant applications to boost economy

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Doug Hall was paid over £3million by British families seeking to move to Florida after claiming he was an immigration expert.

The 61-year-old promised his clients they would be issued with visas to allow them to work in the U.S., but instead pocketed the cash.

Hall, who ran his immigration business from Lakeland in central Florida, offered to help families go through the complicated visa process.

Many of his victims handed over more than £150,000 after being assured that they would get the necessary work permits to set up a new business in Florida.

A total of 27 people all from the UK were duped by Hall, according to prosecutors.

A court heard his Central Florida Visa Group failed to correctly complete the visa applications and they were rejected by the U.S. Embassy in London.

Hall had told his clients their money would be returned if the visas were not issued.

But his victims were shattered to learn Hall had spent the money a luxury home in Florida and other properties abroad.

Among those who lost out was golf club worker Darren Houghton who lost £150,000, which he had given Hall to help by a scuba diving business in southern Florida.

He had sold his home in the hope of starting a new life in America but lost all his money in the visa scam.

Prosecutor Nicole Orr said: ‘Mr Hall created the illusion that the victims would be approved for an immigration visa and that the money was safe.

‘Sometimes a portion of the money was given back. Sometimes none of the money was given back.’

Hall had attracted many of his clients by attending trade shows for people seeking a new life abroad.

Hall pleaded no contest on Friday to 16 counts of grand theft at a court in Bartow, Florida, and he was sentenced by Judge Mark Hofstad today.

As part of a plea deal he will be jailed for nine years and six months and serve 20 years probation. He will also have to pay back more than £750,000 in restitution. Source: Daily Mail.

The U.S. authorities imposed tough sentences for fraud, whether it be immigration related or not, whereas in the UK the police refer immigration linked scams to the OISC (which regulates immigration advice in the UK) to prosecute the fraudster. With the OISC’s limited resources, an investigation can take years and the offender invariably gets off with a slap on the wrist and a non-custodial sentence.

Meanwhile, the fraudster is free to continue taking money under false pretences from unsuspecting migrants.

If you need UK immigration advice, make sure you use an OISC registered immigration adviser or a specialist immigration lawyer. OISC qualified immigration advisers must be competent before they can practice and remain competent by undertaking annual CPD and training.

Some advisers, such as Evelie Padadac at Bison UK, even offer a free initial consultation where you can sit down and discuss your problem with a qualified adviser.

MIGRATE TO CANADA

For more information on how you can LEGALLY migrate to Canada check out ‘My Immigration Consultant’ , an easy and cost efficient program designed to guide you *step By Step* towards successfully migrating to Canada.

For more information see link.

The facilitated returns scheme offers cash and support as an incentive for prisoners to cooperate with returning at the earliest opportunity.

Mr Green explained that the package helps keep UK streets safe and saves money in the long run.

He said:

‘Every day that a foreign national is held in prison costs the tax payer money – that is why I want to see them removed from the UK at the earliest opportunity.

‘The facilitated returns scheme is a practical solution that not only saves the taxpayer money in the long run, but also means foreign criminals are removed as soon as possible denying them the opportunity to re-offend or drag out the removal process with frivolous appeals.’

Changes to the facilitated returns scheme were introduced in October this year.

Due to the current economic situation, the overall support package was reduced dramatically.

Previously, up to £4,500 was given for re-integration – to be invested in training or a small business – with an extra £500 given in cash.

Under the new scheme, up to £1,500 cash is given, the majority of which should be spent on reintegration. Source: UK Border Agency.

See also:

UK Government to Scrap Earned Citizenship

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The Home Secretary has outlined the government’s approach to reform of the settlement rules, including a decision not to pursue the ‘earned citizenship’ policy.

Earned citizenship concerned the path to settlement and British citizenship, and was planned to come into force in July 2011. It will now not be introduced.

Outlining the government’s approach to settlement reforms, the Home Secretary said:

‘It is too easy, at the moment, to move from temporary residence to permanent settlement.

‘We will not implement Labour’s policy of earned citizenship, which was too complicated, bureaucratic and, in the end, ineffective.

‘If people enter this country saying that they will only stay here temporarily, then it is obvious that they should only stay here temporarily.

‘Working in Britain for a short period should not give someone the right to settle in Britain. Studying a course in Britain should not give someone the right to settle in Britain.’

The Home Office announcement continued:

“We will make further announcements in due course. In the interim, the current rules and requirements for obtaining settlement and citizenship will remain in place.”

The new regime for settlement in the UK was due to come in to force next year and would have seen migrants wanting British nationality having to go through a “probationary” period.

The length of the probation would depend on whether they show willingness to participate in the country, including community activities such as volunteering, fund-raising or working as a school governor.

It would extend the current period before a migrant can apply from five years to at least six years and could be as long as eight.

But the programme, drawn up by the last Labour Government, has come under criticism because it would not stop petty criminal earning citizenship and activities such as standing on picket lines or political canvassing would count towards it.

The new Conservative led Coalition government has no secret of the fact that it plans to reduce net migration and cutting the numbers of people who settle here permanently is high on the agenda.

Evelie Padadac of Immigration Advisers Bison UK fears that thousands of work permit holding migrants may lose out on ILR, and those on ILR on Citizenship because they are unaware of the changes or can’t be bothered to apply. She said:

“The message is clear to those who could now qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain or ILR (permanent residency) or for British Citizenship – you’d better apply now while it’s on sale!”

If you are applying for naturalisation as a British citizen or for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), you need to show that you know about life in the UK.

If you live in the UK, you can do this in two ways: by taking the Life in the UK Test or by taking combined English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and citizenship classes.

The test is compulsory if you are applying for naturalisation as a British citizen or ILR (settlement) and your level of English is ESOL Entry 3 or above (or, in Scotland, Intermediate Level 1 or above). If your level of English is lower than ESOL Entry 3 (or lower than Intermediate Level 1 in Scotland) and you wish to apply for naturalisation or indefinite leave to remain, you will need to attend combined English language (ESOL) and citizenship classes instead. Local further education and ESOL accredited colleges run these courses.

See also:

YES, YOU NEED TO TAKE THE LIFE IN THE UK TEST OR ESOL BEFORE APPLYING FOR BRITISH CITIZENSHIP

Life in the UK Test – Journey to British Citizenship

Cap on immigration won’t cut numbers sufficiently say MP’s 

UK Immigration Cap may be relaxed 

Former Immigration Minister Woolas in disgrace

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

This guidance is intended to help employers understand the law on illegal working and what the steps the must take to comply and avoid fines of up to £10,000 per illegal worker.

The new document is an update of the original comprehensive guidance, which was published in February 2008 at the start of the illegal working civil penalty regime. It includes details of document checks that employers are advised to undertake, and provides up-to-date images of the documents, stamps and endorsements that may be presented by migrant workers as evidence of their right to work in the UK.

The main changes include:

• confirmation that employers can accept evidence of status in expired passports and travel documents (with the exception of the certificate of entitlement to the right of abode) – pages 20 and 32 refer;
• updated images of documents, stamps and endorsements;
• 2 new appendices – Appendix B (‘Employing asylum seekers and refugees’) and Appendix D (‘Employing students’); and
• updated contact details for further support and information.

You can download the updated guidance from the preventing illegal working – guidance and documents page on the UK Border Agency website.

For general enquiries regarding illegal working, contact the Sponsorship and employers’ helpline on 0300 123 4699.

Evelie Padadac, an OISC registered immigration adviser with Bison Management UK who specialises in work and study related visas as well as a file checking audit service for employers, hopes the new guidance will help employers. She said:

“Many of our employer clients are confused by the rules on employing EU and non EU workers, for instance those on student or dependant visas, or Romainian and Bulgarian EU citizens who do not enjoy the same rights as all other Europeans.

“Tier 2 Sponsors can effectively issue their own work permits and mistakes are being made which may not come to light until a UKBA insepction or when the migrant worker applies for indefinite leave to remain.”

See also:

CYNTHIA BARKER SAYS EMPLOYERS WHO ISSUE TIER 2 CERTIFICATES IN ERROR SHATTER MIGRANT WORKERS’ LIVES

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

For free immigration news updates, please visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The government’s recent decision to lift the ban on the deployment of au pairs to Europe should be accompanied by efforts to protect them from abuse, said Migrante Europe coordinator Grace Punongbayan.

An au pair is a young man or woman who helps in looking after the children of a host family.  The phrase is French for “on par” or “equal to.”

Au pairs do light housekeeping work and learn the host country’s culture. They are given free board, lodging, and an “allowance.” Au pairs generally stay with their host family for a year. 

They are not supposed to be treated as domestic help, Punongbayan said in a press statement. 

She said poverty and the unemployment in the Philippines force many young women and men to avail of the au pair program 

Many help their families by remitting their small allowances back home. 

Punongbayan, however, said they have recorded cases of Filipino au pairs in Europe who were treated as domestic workers and made to work long hours.

Some who stayed in the Netherlands and Belgium were physically and mentally abused, and even raped, she said. 

Punongbayan said some au pairs were locked inside the house of the host family while their passports and other documents were confiscated from them. 

The Philippine government responded by simply banning the deployment of au pairs to these countries, while doing practically nothing to address the abuses, she claimed.

“The banning was the Philippine government’s way of washing its hands off the abuses suffered by [our] compatriot au pairs. The Aquino government should now start initiating a monitoring system and concrete programs to protect [them],” Punongbayan said.

”It should regulate agencies in the Philippines extorting unjust fees from au pairs, propose a magna carta for Filipino au pairs, and seek bilateral talks with countries… including asking European governments such as the Netherlands to sign the European Convention on the Protection of Au Pairs,” she stressed. Source: ABSCBN.

Filipino cannot work in the UK as Au Pairs, but may qualify in other European countries. There are, however, over 12,000 Domestic Workers working in Britain who are given the same employment rights as resident workers.

The The UK and all EU countries have strict employment and human rights laws, which cover ALL workers, whether on a Domestic Visa tied to an employer, Working Visa under Tier 2 or a student visa.

Filipino Domestic Workers earn £25,000 or Pesos1,700,000 per annum including benefits

Domestic Workers usually enter the UK with their employer having worked for them abroad. As a further right, Domestic Workers are allowed to change employer once in the UK under the ‘Domestic Workers Concession’ brought in the nineties to protect workers from abusive employers.

Whilst there are cases of bad treatment, the vast majority of Filipino Domestic Workers in the UK enjoy higher than average salaries (you will not get a Domestic Worker in London for less than £300/£350 per week NET of taxes – a salary package equivalent to over £25,000 per annum or 1.7 million Pesos) and free board and lodging in the best parts of town.

So good are the benefits that many stay with their employers long after gaining UK residency, or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), at which point they are free to do any kind of work for any employer.

I recently met a Filipina Domestic Worker who had been here since the 1980’s who was helping her daughter come to the UK to study.

When looking at her assets she owned two properties in the UK and five in the Philippines! Her daughter got the student visa!

Each year immigration advisers deal with a number of what is commonly known as ‘runaway domestics’. Evelie Padadac, an adviser for Bison UK said:

“It starts around May or June when wealthy Arab employers arrive with their teams of domestic staff.

“Many flee with only the clothes on their back, leaving belongings and passport behind. They seek refuge with other Filipinos’ and usually manage to regularise their stay with a new employer.

“We have had many a tussle with former employers who try and hold on to passports, which are not their property. But even without their passport it is still possible to regularise your stay if you have run away from an abusive employer.” She stressed.

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

In line with, the agency blamed the fee increases on ‘budgetary pressures’ and government cuts in public spending, and said the ‘proposals for in-year fees increase will help to offset some of these pressures alongside efficiency savings’.

The implementation date of the fees hike will be published shortly.

Examples of the fee increases include:

• Settlement visas from £644 to £750 (apparently they “offer an extremely generous package of benefits to applicants”, which sounds like Time Share speak to me)
• Tier 1 visa from £690 to 750
• Tier 1 in-country from £840 to £850
• Tier 2 visa from £270 to £350
• Tier 2 in-country from £475 to £500
• Tier 4 visa from £199 to £220
• Tier 4 in-country held at £357
• Tier 5 from £128 to £130
• Short term visit visas from £68 to £70
• 2, 5 and 10 year visit visas to £245, £450 and £650 respectively
• Increase in dependent fees to 20-30% of the principal applicant fee

The agency said that the ‘proposals to increase fees continue to strike the right balance between maintaining secure and effective border controls and ensuring that our fees structure does not inhibit the UK’s ability to attract migrants and visitors who make a valued contribution’.

Immigration adviser Evelie Padadac was surprised by the mid-year increase saying:

“They normally increase fees once a year in April and this is the first time I have seen a second increase in the same year.

“However, the increases are quite small, as little as two pounds in some cases, and the in country Tier 4 student visa will remain at £357.”

See also:

Minister to announce crackdown on student visa numbers today

Smarter immigration controls needed says Minister Damian Green

Government adviser says dependant visas must be cut as part of immigration cap

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

UK employers are risking fines and the loss of their Tier 2 sponsorship by issuing a COS or ‘Certificates of Sponsorship’ (formerly known as work permits) to unqualified migrant workers. 

During consultations with candidates and employers, we have noticed a lot of misunderstanding of the rules, which means that employment certificates are being given to Filipino workers without the proper checks being made on their experience and or qualifications. 

Immigration Adviser Evelie Padadac of Bison UK said:

“Employers issue the certificates directly to the candidates who then consult us for further leave to remain. However, when looking through the paperwork, I frequently find that the candidate does not qualify under the Tier 2 rules.”

The UK Border Agency will not pick errors up because the two part process is separate: 

• TIER 2 SPONSORSHIP CERTIFICATE (WORK PERMIT) – The employer’s checks to ensure the migrant worker is qualified under the immigration rules 
• FURTHER LEAVE TO REMAIN – It is the Home Office/UKBA’s responsibility to check that the migrant qualifies for further leave to remain. 

Should it later be discovered (e.g. during a routine UKBA inspection of employer files) that the certificate should not have been issued to the worker, for instance because they did not have the required experience, the employer will have been employing the worker illegally and they could lose their sponsors licence. Your employment certificate and visa may be cancelled by the UKBA if it is found that a certificate was issued in error. 

What happens to migrants if the UKBA withdraws your employer’s licence?

The UKBA could ‘immediately end the permission to stay’, which means you will have to leave the UK, or reduce the length of permission to stay to 60 days, which means you will also have to leave or face enforced removal if you cannot find a new sponsor.

Employers and their prospective workers are urged to take advice from a qualified immigration adviser before issuing employment certificate and applying for further leave. We also recommend an annual health check or file audit to ensure that work permit holders and workers on student visas are still legal and avoid fines of up to £10,000.

Evelie Padadac is an OISC registered immigration adviser with Bison Management UK specializing in work and study related visas as well as a file checking audit service for employers.

For free immigration news updates, please visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Cynthia Barker is an OISC registered immigration adviser with Bison Management UK.

UK immigration advisers must are regulated by the:

Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) (OISC).

According to the Report on Jobs, published this month by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and audit, tax and advisory insight group KPMG, while permanent placements continued to decrease over the course of the month, it was the weakest drop in over a year.

Furthermore, demand for staff also declined at a slower pace, while a further drop in staff pay was noted.

Commenting on the findings, Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, said the UK jobs market was showing “signs of life”.

“Flexible working options will provide a crucial way back into work for a number of jobseekers which is why we must ensure that the new regulations covering agency work do not limit these opportunities,” he advised.

This may be particularly important, after the Trade Union Congress recently reported that job losses will continue until autumn 2010 as businesses put any expansion plans on hold. Source HR Review.

Immigration Matters Comment

The availability of jobs in the Care Industry and Customer Service sector remains strong according to the people on the ground – i.e. those who place candidates in jobs and those who find and do the jobs.

Healthcare recruitment and immigration specialist Evelie Padadac, of Bison UK, said she has no problems in finding jobs for qualified NMC registered Nurses and Care Assistants in Care Homes throughout the UK.

“We are still seeing a strong demand for nursing and care staff and I have placed candidates, some of them overseas students taking NVQ courses, in jobs within a day or so of them arriving to see me.

“In some cases, student candidates find two or three alternative positions themselves whilst waiting to be interviewed or for their CRB check!”

The recently published UK Border Agency’s approved shortage occupation lists for Tier 2 of the points-based System, includes for the first time Care Assistants and Home Carers at a reduced qualification and experience threshold.

Under the Work Permit scheme, which was replaced by Tier 2 last November, a skilled Senior Care Worker had to be qualified to NQF (National Qualification Framework) level 3 and have three years relevant experience. 

But following recommendations by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)  The Government have that the qualification threshold for overseas Social Care Workers be reduced to NQF Level 2, the relevant experience to just two years and the minimum salary cut from £8.80 to £7.80. 

Other shortage occupations on the new official list include: Maths and Science Teachers at secondary level, Medical practitioners in certain specialist areas, specialist Nurses and Pharmacists.

Do you agree with the REC?

Do you think the job market is improving in your area?

Add your comments to this post - express your views!

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Related articles:

New Government-approved shortage occupation lists for Tier 2 of the Points Based System

Tier 2 Certificate of Sponsorship from an employer does not guarantee you a working visa