Mr Green also announced that he wanted to break the link between temporary and permanent migration and look at the way courts interpret the human right to family life, which he said has led to a “ridiculous and damaging situation” and risks a “dangerous” stand off between parliament and judges.

The government is also proposing to set a minimum income level for any sponsor seeking to bring in a foreign spouse – and said the recommended level was between £18,600 and £25,700.

The news will be of grave concern to the thousands of skilled workers on Work Permits and Tier 2 Working Visas who are earning less than £31,000.

Whilst the UK has never guaranteed working migrants permanent residency under the terms of their work permits, most were expecting to one day qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after working in Britain for 5 years.

The Minister has not announced any transitional arrangements for those already here. But if the new rules are applied to all existing migrants, the minimum threshold would not be reached by most nurses, senior carers, chefs, care managers and many other occupations where the basic pay rate is less than £31,000.

Some of the questions being asked are:

• Will the new earnings test apply to all existing work permit holders or new entrants after a certain point?
• Does my dependant husband’s income count towards the minimum salary requirement?
• How long do I have to be earning £31,000 for or is it my current salary level that counts?
• If I cannot qualify for ILR will I be able to extend my work permit after 5 years?
• If I have children born in the UK do I have a right to stay under Article 8?

The answer to most of these questions are only known to ministers and Home Office officials at this stage because full details of the reforms have not yet been revealed.

The government is committed to reducing net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’ by 2015 and major reforms to the immigration points based system will be needed to reach these targets.

The changes do not affect EU migrants from Eastern European countries such as Poland and Slovakia, or Bulgarians and Romanians exercising Treaty Rights to obtain Yellow Cards.

See also:

Settlement in UK to be linked to a minimum salary of £31,000 says Immigration Minister

Human rights decisions led to ‘ridiculous and damaging’ situation, says UK Immigration Minister

Romanian workers offered UK jobs while 2.7 million claim benefits

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

A recruitment agency in Bucharest is advertising 2,434 vacancies for British jobs according to the report.

The Romanian agency ‘tjobs.ro’ revealed that many of the UK-based posts were for medical staff, tourism workers and skilled staff.

And 25% of the unfilled roles on offer were for labourers and unskilled workers. The news comes as the number of jobless Brits hit a record 17-year high of 2.68million.

And yesterday Sir Andrew Green, chairman of campaign group Migration Watch UK, said: “One has to ask why employers feel the need to go abroad to recruit for these jobs.”

Unemployment in Britain currently stands at 8.4%, the worst figure since 1994.

The Daily Star revealed this month how 23 British jobs were lost for every 100 migrants let in.

A hard-hitting report by the Migration Advisory Committee showed 160,000 UK-born workers had missed out on employment since 1995 as a result of immigration.

The study looked at the problems immigration was causing for Britain’s stretched public services.

Researchers found average earnings have remained the same, but wages at the bottom have fallen. Source: Daily Star.

The question we should be asking is why British firms are advertising jobs in another EU country when so many unemployed workers are supposedly available to work on their doorstep?

The newspaper article does not point out that there are hundreds of thousands of job vacancies in the UK being advertised on a regular basis, and not all of these jobs vacancies are filled by local workers.

For instance, despite high UK unemployment healthcare support workers or care assistants are still desperately needed by employers who cannot fill vacancies locally.

Even though millions of British people are unemployed and the country’s economy in the doldrums, the care industry still has massive problems in finding care or support workers for the 20,000 plus homes. 

A recent search on one Government Job Centre Plus website, Job Seekers Direct Find a Job Now, revealed over 300 job vacancies within a 75 mile radius of central London region alone. 

Some employers are offering as much as £10.50 per hour, £4.57 above the national minimum wage, for a Health Care Assistant for a dementia care unit in London. 

The website quoted in the article offers jobs all over Europe. They appears to be mainly advertising vacancies for Au Pair, baby sitting and care jobs in the UK, all of which are hard to fill locally.

The news that employers are recruiting in Romania will surprise many as, despite being members of the European Union, Romanians cannot work in the UK as employees without permission.

Employers wishing to hire a Romanian, or fellow EU2 member citizens from Bulgaria, need to apply for a work permit and low skilled jobs do not normally qualify.

However, in the case of temporary low skilled workers, such as seasonal agricultural workers where there are always shortages, employers or agencies can apply to the UK Border Agency for a six month SAWS (Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme) permit.

SAWS allow farmers and growers in the UK to recruit low-skilled overseas workers to do short-term agricultural work only. The scheme works on a quota basis. Farmers and growers who participate in the scheme can employ a fixed number of overseas workers though the scheme each year. In 2010 and 2011 the quota is 21,250 places.

To be able to apply to come to the UK under the SAWS, you must be a national of Bulgaria or Romania. Workers get a work card which gives them permission to work in the UK under the scheme for a maximum of 6 months.

There is also a scheme for Au Pairs coming from Romania and Bulgaria, but this type of work is low paid and traditionally taken by students wishing to learn English.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can study and work full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care or customer service by exercising their Treaty Rights under Article 39.  They can also apply for a self employed yellow card, but the application must be supported by a genuine case for setting up a business.

UK work restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals were recently extended until the end of 2013 by Immigration Minister Damian Green.

See also:

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

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 

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

The agency said:

‘As part of our strategy to move our services online, we are replacing our phone line for postal applicants in the UK who want to book appointments to enrol their biometric information.’

From 1 February 2012, postal applicants will only be able to book these appointments online.

Before you can book an appointment online, you must register by creating a ‘customer account’ on the ‘Apply online’ service.

You will need a valid email address. The UKBA will then send you password details, which will allow you to access your account and book your appointment.

For more information, see the UKBA Booking an appointment (postal applications) page.

The UKBA also announced that from 1 February, an email service will replace thier biometric residence permit helplines (0300 123 2412 and 0300 123 4699). You will need to email:

• BRPDelivery@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk if there is an issue with the delivery of your biometric residence permit;
• BRPError@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk if there is an error on your biometric residence permit;
• BRPLost@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk to report the loss or theft of a biometric residence permit; and
• employerBRPverification@ukba.gsi.gov.uk if you are an employer or sponsor and you want to confirm that a biometric residence permit is valid.

If you do not have email access, you will be able to send your enquiries by Freepost to:

Freepost RRYX-GLYU-GXHZ
Returns Unit
PO Box 163
Bristol
BS20 1AB

You can still use the phone services until 31 January. Source: UK Border Agency.

See also:

Bulgarian and Romanian applications – UKBA issue new application form and guidance

Immigrants on benefits figures revealed

Immigration critic calls Canada “Super Visa” a sham

New procedure announced for Arts Council England endorsement under Tier 1 Exceptional talent applications

7 tips for completing a Yellow Card BR1 application to work and study in the UK

With Yellow Card student applications for Bulgarians and Romanians taking 3 to 6 months to process, getting it right first time is vital. Bulgarians and Romanians exercising treaty rights as students under Yellow Card registration certificates are reporting that their applications are taking between three and six months to be processed and approved by the UK Border Agency Full story…

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

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Senior Care Workers fight for the right to settle in the UK

JCWI is acting for a number of overseas care workers – senior carers, as they are known in the various Home Office policies which relate to them.

We understand that there are around 20,000 non-EEA migrant workers currently working as senior carers in the UK. Many of them were recruited by agencies, particularly in the Philippines, in the early years of this century, at a time when the UK Government was desperate to fill vacancies in the nursing homes, retirement homes and hospices throughout the country. JCWI understands that it had been hoped that the many vacancies in this field of employment would be filled by the opening up of Europe to the so-called “A8″ nationals (mainly from Eastern Europe) in 2004. However, these vacancies were apparently not filled and it was necessary to spread the net more widely.

Courting care workers

There are a number of reasons why efforts were made to recruit such workers from the Philippines in particular. Their nationals are well-educated, many of them qualified as nurses, physiotherapists etc in their home country; furthermore many of them are English-speaking, having studied on courses in which English was the medium of instruction, and have a tradition of working abroad to support their families at home. They came to the UK to do jobs which most British and European workers are unwilling to do, working long hours, often on night shifts, for minimal rates of pay.

Most of those currently working in care jobs in our nursing homes were recruited abroad, granted work permits and brought to the UK with the promise that, after four years (later raised to five years) of hard work, they would have the right to settle in the UK. They resigned from their jobs, sold their property and gave up everything on the basis of a promise of a better standard of living, a good education for their children and the chance to settle.

Legal changes

On 6 April 2011 the UK Government changed the legal requirements for those who come to the UK for work (either on work permits or, more recently, under Tier 2 of the Points Based System) to settle after five years’ continuous work. A new requirement  that the person applying to settle had to be earning “at or above” the “correct” rate, as set out in the UK Border Agency’s Standard Occupational Classification Codes of Practice, was introduced. In the case of the senior care workers that rate is £7.02 per hour. However, many senior care workers are not earning this much.

One of the biggest employers of these care workers, Southern Cross, has this year gone into administration, and it has become clear that these homes are not able to pay their employees the expected rate of £7.02 per hour. Furthermore British workers are often not earning as much as this, and it is clearly not possible for the care homes to pay their foreign workers more than the local work force.

Successful Appeal

A large number of these care workers have been refused settlement since 6 April 2011 because of this rule change. JCWI has now successfully represented two of these care workers in their appeals before the First Tier Tribunal, and is in the process of acting for a number of others.

In summary our appeal was allowed on three grounds:

Firstly, the Tribunal held that SSHD’s decision to refuse settlement on the basis of the new income threshold was unlawful on Pankina grounds. In short, the income levels contained in the codes of practice imported substantive criteria into the Rules. This was exactly what Pankina considered impermissible.

Linked to the above, we argued that there was a breach of legitimate expectation. When the Appellant first came to the UK as work permit holder, she had understood that provided she remained in work permit employment, doing the same or similar work under similar conditions, she would be in a position to apply for settlement. There was no suggestion at that time that she would need to earn a particular wage.

In relation to Article 8 ECHR, it was accepted that Article 8 ECHR was engaged and that there would a breach in the light of the frustration of the Appellant’s legitimate expectations- the decision could not be in accordance with the law. Even if this was incorrect, policy points we had raised about the new threshold being a backdoor means of bringing in the skills threshold NVQ3/SVQ3 (the revised salary was linked to that skill level) had been waived for care workers could be taken into consideration in proportionality arguments.

We are actively looking to assist foreign migrant workers who have been refused settlement for the reasons mentioned above. If you would like to speak to a legal advisor about this please call 020 7251 8708. Ends. Source: JCWI.

Cynthia Barker, Immigration Adviser for Bison UK, welcomed the ruling and was delighted for the Senior Carers. She said:

‘Bison UK has helped thousands of Filipino and Indian Senior Carers come to the UK on Work Permits.

‘Hundreds of these hard working carers were badly affected, through no fault of their own by changes to the Immigration Rules on Senior Carers. In some cases whole families had to leave the UK losing everything, at a time when employers could not afford to lose them.

‘We hope this ruling will bring an end to the nightmare these workers have been through and finally give them peace of mind.’

Despite high UK unemployment healthcare support workers or care assistants are still desperately needed by employers who cannot fill vacancies locally.

With millions of British people unemployed and the country’s economy in the doldrums, in theory the care industry should have no problems in finding care or support workers for the 20,000 plus homes. 

That’s the theory, but in practice care home employers are still desperate for staff, especially outside the main cities. 

Care homes find it increasingly difficult to employ Tier 4 students when many are only allowed 10 hours work per week.

And students renewing their visas with private colleges after 4 July 2011 will no longer be allowed to work at all or sponsor their dependants.

In fact only students (applying or renewing visas after 4 July) who are studying at post graduate level or above at a government university will be allowed to work and sponsor a dependant. 

European workers 

Workers from A8 accession countries such as Poland have full ‘free movement of Labour’ rights to work in the UK, however, many care home owners say that they are not that keen on care work either and are looking for higher paid work.

As the newest members of the European Union, Bulgarians and Romanians also have ‘visa-free’ access to enter the UK, however, they do not enjoy the same rights to work as the earlier ‘A8’ Eastern European EU accession countries.

Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who exercise their Treaty Rights (under Article 39) and apply for an accession card as students taking vocational or sandwich courses (e.g. NVQ/QCF in Health and Social Care), are allowed to work full time, as stated on their Yellow Cards.

See also:

Health care workers needed in UK now

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Raising the amount husbands must earn to £26,000 would disqualify two thirds of immigrant brides, according to government watchdog MAC

UK Border Agency issues new policy guidance on age 21 marriage visas following Quila and Bibi judgement

Court overturns UK Government’s non-EU under 21 spouses ban

JCWI and ILPA update on Zambrano case

EctHR Judgment Bah v UK

UK Border Agency announce further changes to the student visa system

‘Pet cat Human Rights Appeal’ overstaying student was a shoplifter

Mandatory English tests for immigrant spouses are fair, High Court rules

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

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

Within the next three months employers will have online access to verify that the details contained on a foreign employee’s biometric residence permit (BRP) are correct.

Damian Green said:

‘It is vital that we work with employers to give them the tools they need to meet their obligations.

‘Our new online checking service will also turn up the pressure on those who wish to live and work here illegally. The message is clear – the UK is no longer a soft touch for illegal workers.’

The Government also announced that from 29 February 2012 BRPs will be issued to more categories of foreign nationals, including refugees and those granted permission to settle in the UK.

BRPs, which contain data such as fingerprints and photograph on a secure chip, are issued to non-EEA nationals with permission to remain in the UK for more than 6 months.

BRPs are simplifying the process of checking an individual’s right to work by replacing the wide range of documents currently in use.

Around 600,000 BRPs have been issued since November 2008. From next year they will cover all those applying from inside the UK to remain here for more than 6 months.

To meet increased demand and provide foreign nationals with more locations around the UK where fingerprints and photographs can be taken, the immigration minister has today announced that a contract for the collection of this information has been awarded to the Post Office Ltd, which will offer a network of around 100 locations. Source: UK Border Agency.

Employers will welcome the new system as it will make their lives easier when trying to decide whether or not a person can work legally or not, as well as avoiding a massive fine of up to £10,000 per illegal worker.

Following an unprecedented number of major changes to the Immigration Rules in the last five years, there is widespread confusion over who can and cannot work in the UK.

For instance, the number of hours a student or their dependant can work, yellow cards, blue cards, purple cards and EU citizens exercising EC treaty rights.

Non-EU Tier 4 students are a minefield for employers who are not always sure of the hours they can work and, with so many colleges closing down, whether or not they are even studying.

The situation with workers from the European Union is not as straightforward as you would imagine. Employers are often unaware of the distinct difference between ‘A8’ nationals (Polish, Latvian, Slovakian, Czechs, Hungarians, Slovenians Lithuanians and Estonians), who joined the EU in 2004 and more recent members from Bulgaria and Romania. Although both groups have the same rights to freely enter the UK, they do not enjoy the same rights to work, or free movement of labour.

Even though they are EU members, when it comes to employment Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can work and study full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care.

UK work restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals have been extended until the end of 2013.

See also:

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

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

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) writes:

450 colleges had their ‘trusted sponsor’ status revoked in the past year. This affects around 11,000 overseas students. Much is being said in the media about the immigration abuses of student visas, but the coverage forgets the real victims of this headline figure – the students.

Colleges who have their licences revoked are not all ‘bogus’, as the red top papers would have us believe. There’s been a constant scrutiny of such institutions for a number of years now. Colleges denied the chance to recruit international students face financial oblivion, and many close leaving students stranded in the middle of their studies.

I’ve had a couple of meetings with a group of students who have been left high and dry by two main factors. Firstly, they studied at a college run by rip off merchants who were happy to take large amounts of cash in the form of tuition fees, who then filed for bankruptcy. Secondly, they’ve been let down by an immigration system that offers no support or protection to students in this situation.

Academic scrutiny

Immigration law generally limits permission to stay to 60 days if a student’s course ends earlier than expected. As such, this means that a student has 60 days to find another college after their one closes.

Whether a college is licenced to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) certificates  is decided by UKBA on three criteria: the human resource systems of the college, the civil penalties, and criminal convictions of the staff and any non-compliance by the organisation. There is no academic scrutiny of the college and no financial safeguards offered to students who choose to study there.

Perhaps an example best explains the situation.

Zara (not her real name) from Bangladesh came to study in the UK. Like so many students across the world, she was keen to improve her understanding and language skills by studying in another country. She’d seen adverts about London Trinity College, knew about the quality of education in the UK and applied. On the college website, it stated that the institution was a recognised sponsor in the eyes of the UKBA, which she found reassuring. The college was indeed listed on the UKBA website as a sponsor. They issued her with a CAS and was issued with a student visa.

Fees

Zara paid fees of £8000 to cover tuition for her ACCA qualification in accounting. But the financial demands weren’t quite so simple. She had to prove to UKBA she had enough money  in her bank account to maintain herself for a year –  £9600 to be precise. Borrowing the money from her parents and a little more from her extended family, she arrived in the UK, found lodgings and started her course in accounting.She was disappointed to find her ‘college’ was set up in a closed down grocery store. But, they taught the course and she thrived as a result of her hard work.

One day Zara turned up to college one day to find it closed. Meeting other students outside they did some quick research and found the college had gone into voluntary liquidation. None of the students were able to get their money back.

On seeking advice Zara and the others discovered that unless they found a college that would accept them within 60 days, paid the fees to the new college and reapplied for a visa, they would be in the country illegally.

Zara and her family could not afford a second set of fees. Additionally, few colleges are willing to accept international students mid-course as they have to use up their valuable CAS allocation for less money than a student studying a full year.

The Government and media stoked hysteria on ‘bogus’ students and ‘bogus’ colleges does wonders for helping to massage the figures on net immigration and appeasing public perceptions on immigration, but it does nothing to help the real victims of the situation – overseas students left in the lurch by colleges and the UKBA.

Financial benefits

Overseas students bring billions of pounds of trade and education revenue to the UK each year. Cuts in funding mean that universities and colleges are more dependent than ever on the fees paid by international students to keep courses open and education provision intact.

A stamp of approval from the UKBA has helped thousands of students decide to study at institutions which have dubious academic track records. Revoking trusted status may stop further abuses in the future – but what about those left in limbo now? Source: JCWI.

The UK Border Agency has implemented significant changes to the Tier 4 student route of the points-based system, which came into effect on 4 July 2011.

The Government implemented major changes to the Immigration Rules relating to Tier 4 students who want to study at private colleges in July.

The changes:

• restrict work entitlements, by only allowing students sponsored by higher education institutions (HEIs) and publicly funded further education colleges to work part-time during term time and full-time during vacations;
• restrict sponsorship of dependants to those of students sponsored by HEIs on postgraduate courses lasting 12 months or longer, and of government-sponsored students on courses lasting longer than 6 months;
• require institutions to confirm that courses represent genuine academic progression from any previous courses studied by the student in the UK; and
• create a streamlined application process for low-risk nationals sponsored by Highly Trusted sponsors.

The Home Office recently revealed a drop of 11,000 overseas students since tougher measures introduced this year. UK Universities warns that not only is the government’s action damaging Britain’s reputation, but was also responsible for 400 private colleges effectively opting out of the new Tier 4 sponsoring system.

The Universities UK action issued a warning about Britain’s reputation in education after new figures revealed that the government’s curb on overseas students had reduced their numbers by 11,000 and led to more than 450 colleges pulling out of the market, the Guardian reported earlier this month. 

A spokesman for UK University Services (UKUS) said that ‘unfortunately many international students are being deterred from choosing British colleges and universities due to rule changes, the abolition of the PSW post study work visa as well as all the rumours and stories of the bad experience suffered by their fellow countrymen whilst studying in the UK’. 

English UK, an association representing 450 language colleges, demanded an apology from the Home Office claiming their remarks implied institutions were fronts for illegal immigration.

The Home Office has been threatened with legal action amid claims it mistakenly implied that 22 colleges were bogus or sub-standard.

The combination of new UK Border Agency ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ regulations introduced this year and the new Tier 4 student visa rules, has increased costs whilst wiping out the market for smaller private education providers – hence the 400 closing their doors or simply opting out of the new Highly Trusted regime.

Last month more than 650 Tasmac College students were left stranded without a college when the University of Wales (UoW) accredited college went bust.

Students affected by the closure of their college should remember that new Tier 4 visa rules apply to students applying to private colleges after 4 July 2011.

Bison UK Immigration Adviser Cynthia Barker said:

‘This means that if you renew your visa for a private college or change college after 4 July 2011, you will not be able to work and you will not be able to sponsor your dependant.’ 

The new rules do not affect Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits to work and study on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care. 

See also:

New Tier 4 student visa rules now in force

Tackle visa abuse, but not at the cost of genuine students say Universities UK

Student visa crackdown damaging our reputation abroad, Universities UK warns

‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ says bankrupt Tasmac College director to the 650 students who have lost £7500 in fees

MORE CHALLENGES FOR TIER 4 STUDENTS AS ‘3-YEAR RULE’ APPLIED

HIGHLY TRUSTED PRIVATE COLLEGE STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME RIGHT TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SPONSORED INSTITUTIONS

New Tier 4 sponsor guidance published for Highly Trusted Sponsorship – will your private college qualify?

Post Study Work Visa to be abolished April 2012 as part of student visa clampdown

For free immigration news updates, please visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk  or email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk 

Looking for a Tier 4 college or University or need advice?

UKUS is a free University and College Admissions and advice service based in London, UK. Students interested in studying abroad can complete the Online UKUS Registration Form for more details.

At this time last year, the job-loss figure stood at 27,000 and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned the cuts will have ‘potentially disastrous consequences for patient care’.

Chief executive Dr Peter Carter said: ‘These figures reveal the deeply worrying acceleration in NHS post losses in recent months. It is only 18 months ago that we were concerned about losing around 5,000 NHS jobs. Now it is more than 10 times that figure.’

However, Health Minister Simon Burns dismissed the RCN numbers, saying: ‘This is typical trade union scaremongering. We do not recognise these figures.’

‘Official government statistics show only a one per cent drop in nurses since May 2010.

This is only 500 less nursing staff than there were in September 2009.’ Source: Metro

Care homes are facing a staffing crisis following a government clampdown on non-EU immigration and changes to Tier 2 work visa rules.

Care industry employers looking for staff are increasingly turning to EU member workers from Eastern European countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

However, not all EU members have the same rights to work in the UK and getting it wrong could result in a hefty fine for the employer.

Employers are often unaware of the distinct difference between ‘A8’ nationals (Polish, Latvian, Slovakian, Czechs, Hungarians, Slovenians Lithuanians and Estonians), who joined the EU in 2004 and more recent members from Bulgaria and Romania. Although both groups have the same rights to freely enter the UK, they do not enjoy the same rights to work, or free movement of labour.

Even though they are EU members, when it comes to employment Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries. See: Free Movement of EU nationals explained.

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can work and study full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care. 

See also:

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

Health care workers needed in UK now

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

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

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

500 foreigners landed a job in Britain every day over the past year while the number of UK-born workers fell. But many employers, such as Greengrocer Keith Abel, were forced to employ foreign-born workers because his popular firm, which delivers organic groceries, struggled to find young British people to fill vacant positions.

Raising the amount husbands must earn to £26,000 would disqualify two thirds of immigrant brides, according to government watchdog MAC

As many as 40,000 foreign wives, husbands and partners were granted visas to join their family in the UK last year, but new minimum salary proposals would mean that two thirds of foreign wives could be banned from the UK under plans to stop immigrants becoming ‘a burden on the state’.

Former UK Borders Chief Brodie Clark defends his position saying ‘I’m no rogue’

The former head of the UK Border Force Brodie Clark has told MPs he is “no rogue officer”…

UK Immigration Officer illegally issued visas for cash

A UK Border Agency immigration officer has admitted to illegally issuing visas to non-qualifying immigrants allowing them to stay in the UK. Samuel Shoyeju, 53, of Namur Road, Canvey, Essex, worked as an entry clearance officer in Croydon for the UK Border Agency, part of the Home Office.

Tier 2 Shortage Occupations List changes start today

The UK Border Agency has announced that Tier 2 changes will come into effect from today.

Rents level out as more students start, but numbers of overseas applications for UK universities down

Rents for new student tenants appeared to drop across the UK, including London, last month – but seasonal variations were entirely responsible, Landlord Today reports.

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 

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Official figures this week reveal that 500 foreigners landed a job in Britain every day over the past year while the number of UK-born workers fell and unemployment hit a 17-year high.

The Office for National Statistics said the number of British-born workers has crashed by 311,000 in a year, equal to more than 850 a day. But in the same period, the number of foreign-born employees jumped by 181,000 – or 495 a day.

Ministers admitted the situation was ‘unacceptable’, although bosses warned that many young British workers were too lazy and too bad at basics such as punctuality to be worth hiring. But experts said the latest figures highlight the urgency of tackling the immigration problem.

Earlier this week Chris Grayling, the Employment Minister, was asked about why one branch of the sandwich chain Pret A Manger appeared to be staffed entirely by foreigners.

He told Sky News: ‘It is certainly a situation that I find unacceptable. Of course, this country has benefited from people coming in from other countries to work.

‘But I want to see more young people in positions in this country and I want … to see them getting jobs that become vacant, rather than people coming into the UK.’

It comes as unemployment among those aged 16 to 24 has ballooned to its highest level on record, topping one million for the first time.

Overall unemployment is currently 2.62million, its highest since 1994. The number of employees has dropped by 305,000 between July and September, the largest fall since 1992. Last month, however, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose by just 5,000, indicating, that many of those out of work refuse to claim because they expect to find a job again soon.

Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said the general picture meant it already felt like a second downturn had begun for millions of workers.

‘This is a miserable time for UK workers as well as the jobless,’ he said ‘The anaemic “jobs-light/pay-tight” recovery itself feels just like a recession.’

Sir Andrew Green, of the Migrationwatch think-tank, described the figures as ‘stunning’.

He said: ‘The immigration lobby can no longer pretend that these massive levels of immigration have no significant effect on the job prospects for British workers who are now unemployed.’

The crisis facing British-born workers comes after business leaders and lobby groups have warned they prefer foreign workers. The British Chambers of Commerce said many school leavers and graduates with ‘fairly useless’ degrees are unemployable because they lack basic skills.

Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the fault does not lie with the young person, but their education. ‘There may be a course in underwater basket weaving, but that does not mean anybody will actually want to employ you at the end of it,’ he said.

A report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, meanwhile, said bosses preferred foreign workers because they had a more ‘positive’ attitude.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, warned recently that Britain was in ‘the last chance saloon’ if it wants to get British people off benefits and into the workplace.

Ministers in his department are understood to be ‘concerned’ at the figures. ‘It’s not a pretty picture,’ said one source. ‘It makes it very difficult to do welfare reform when there are so many people coming in.’

A new Government scheme, announced yesterday, will offer a £1,500 cash incentive to small firms who hire an apprentice for the first time. Under the proposal, companies will be forced to educate the young person in English and maths to a level at which they would be able to pass a GCSE in both subjects.

Why bosses hire foreign staff

The number of foreign employees at a leading firm of plumbers has doubled over the past two years because British workers lack the right work ethic.

Charlie Mullins, the 52-year-old founder of Pimlico Plumbers, said Britons would ‘rather be footballers than do an honest day’s work’.

Mr Mullins, whose firm has 200 staff, said he was forced to employ foreign-born people because they work harder than their British counterparts.

‘We’re increasingly employing foreign workers. They have the right attitude and are prepared to work harder,’ he said.

‘The younger British generation who come in for interviews are often sent by the benefit people and have no desire to work.

‘It’s a case of “won’t work”, not “can’t work”. They feel as if the country owes them a living.’

Organic Greengrocer Keith Abel was forced to employ foreign-born workers because his popular firm, which delivers organic groceries, has struggled to find young British people to fill vacant positions.

He said some young Britons were trapped in the benefits system and did not want to get up early to do a job for £7-an-hour when they could rely on Government handouts.

Mr Abel, who started Abel and Cole more than 20 years ago, said: ‘We’ve got a fantastic workforce, we’ve got extremely hard-working people.

‘It’s just a bit of a tragedy that a considerable and significant number of them are from Eastern Europe and not the local communities given the rates of unemployment in the local area.’

He said his company could not recruit young British people to work for £7.25-an-hour as delivery drivers and that some young British people on benefits would rather receive handouts than work.

‘People who are in the benefits system struggle with the concept of getting out of bed at 5.30 to do a six o’clock until three o’clock shift on £7 an hour when the actual additional income they’d be taking home is initially very small,’ he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

‘The point is, the better-paid work comes for the people who start on the lower-paid work. There must be a solution whereby the Government is able to wean people off benefits rather than shut them off completely when somebody goes into a job.’

Mr Abel, 47, whose company turned over £30million last year, also said there was a reluctance among young people to start at the bottom and work their way up.

He said: ‘People are not prepared to start with what they deem to be menial jobs. Terry Leahy, the head of Tesco, famously started stacking shelves. Everyone starts at the bottom.’

He said he would happily find roles for young British people who were out of work. ‘If people who are on the unemployment register want to ask us for jobs, we’d interview them in exactly the same way we interview anyone else,’ he added.

‘Business people are in there to do business. Politicians are in there to solve problems like unemployment.’

Hotel owner Terry Rodgers said that while he is horrified that more than a million young people in Britain are unemployed, I’m afraid I’m not at all surprised. After working in the catering industry for 16 years – many of those as a manager seeking to employ staff – I have come to the sad conclusion that many young people simply do not want to work.

Of course they say they want a job. They send off job applications and turn up for interviews. But when it comes down to hard graft, they are simply not interested.

The truth is that young people think the state owes them a living.

Underpinning everything is a welfare state which creates a culture where no one worries whether they have a job or not because there’s always free money from the Government to fall back on.

Also, brought up in school and home environments where criticism is practically non-existent, when they face the tough, challenging world of work, they are unable to cope.

To hear them complain about the shortage of jobs you would think they are desperate to work, willing to walk over hot coals to get a job. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

During my career, I have interviewed and employed many young people. And it shames me to say this but it was often easier to teach English to foreign applicants than it is to try to instill the right work ethic in our own English-speaking youth.

Time and again I see young people turn up for interviews wearing grubby jeans or tracksuits. They smoke and talk on the phone to their friends.

Many of them come with their partner or a parent (some even send their parents on ahead while they have a lie-in). What’s more, a lot don’t seem interested in the post at all – having turned up just so I can sign their Jobseekers’ Allowance form which means they can continue to receive welfare benefits.

Of those who do inquire seriously about the jobs, they often demand preposterous conditions. Many say they don’t want to work weekends or evenings because they want to go out with their friends. One applicant said the half-hour walk to work was too far.

One wretched soul told me he couldn’t work on Friday nights or Saturday mornings because he would be out with friends on Friday evenings and hung-over on Saturday morning! And they expect me to reward their commitment with a job?

Rather than interviewees doing their best to persuade me that I should employ them, the roles have become absurdly reversed with me having to persuade them to take the job.

Already I have had to let eight people go – and we have only been open since March – because they didn’t have the right attitude. One phoned in sick on his second day and never came back. Another lasted two weeks then she said the job was not for her because she missed Friday nights out with friends.

Another youngster was training for an NVQ qualification in our fine-dining team but lacked any ambition and decided life would be easier if she returned to her old job at a pub, where food was just heated in a microwave.

And I sacked one employee for phoning in sick, then posting pictures of herself at a social event on the same day on Facebook.

How then have we got ourselves into this ridiculous position?

Schools must take part of the blame. They teach subjects such as media studies, which give them false hopes about the type of jobs they can secure. There is a limit to the number of people who can work on The X Factor.

The tragedy is that so many youngsters seem devoid of real-life experience. This is where parents are at fault. From what I have seen, many parents have the same disengaged, uncommitted and welfare-sodden attitudes as their children.

Among many, there seems to be an utter absence of any sense of responsibility, work ethic or pride in contributing to society.

I recently gave a talk to a careers night at a local college. The youngsters stood slouched, hands in pockets staring up at the ceiling, some of them whistling under their breath. Not a single parent present chastised them for such unacceptable disrespect to an adult who had given up their time to address them.

There are those, however, who will do anything to secure a job.

I once interviewed a young man in Staffordshire. He had taken a ferry, train and bus from the Isle of Man to make the appointment. He was wearing a suit and tie.

I gave him a job as a waiter and he’s now an events manager for a university. You’ve probably guessed – he is foreign (having been born in Indonesia).

One of the best employees I ever had was a young Turk who barely spoke any English. He was so keen that I gave him a backroom job.

After infuriating weeks when other British employees had called in sick or turned up late, I put the Turk on the frontline. He was polite and friendly, happily juggling the job with two afternoons of English classes each week. He now manages one of the bars in Dublin Airport.

Job opportunities are certainly here and I want to give them to young people in my local area, but I’ve hit a wall. In desperation this week, I asked friends in the catering industries in Spain, Morocco and Holland to recommend any staff.

The first step to raise standards in our home-grown young is to admit that, for many, unemployment has become a personal choice to avoid hard work – and not an inescapable trap. Source: Daily Mail.

This year government introduced a cap on non-EU migration and has restricted students in private colleges from working.

Employers looking for staff, for instance in the care industry, are increasingly turning to EU member workers from Eastern Europe.

However, not all EU members have the same rights to work in the UK and getting it wrong could result in a hefty fine.

Employers are often unaware of the distinct difference between ‘A8’ nationals (Polish, Latvian, Slovakian, Czechs, Hungarians, Slovenians Lithuanians and Estonians), who joined the EU in 2004 and more recent members from Bulgaria and Romania. Although both groups have the same rights to freely enter the UK, they do not enjoy the same rights to work, or free movement of labour.

Despite the fact that they are EU members, when it comes to employment Bulgarian and Romanian citizens do not have the same rights as other Europeans, for instance from Poland, Slovakia or other A8 Accession countries. See: Free Movement of EU nationals explained.

British businesses would like to recruit Romanian, Bulgarian and other European workers, as the Government’s cap on migration, combined with newly imposed restrictions on Tier 2 and Tier 4 routes, has made it increasing difficult to recruit non-EU staff (on work permits and student visas).

Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits can work and study full time on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care. 

Leading NVQ and vocational course provider Majestic College has seen a large increase in the number of students from Bulgaria and Romania this year. The college helps students through the yellow card process and arranges work placements for NVQ/QCF Health and Social Care learners.

Majestic College administrator Joanna said they have no problems arranging paid work placements for Bulgarian and Romanian students as care sector employers are desperate for staff. Joanna said:

“As soon as a student enrols on the course we are able to arrange a job subject to yellow card.

“Employers are willing to take them on because they cannot find enough local people to do the work.”

See also:

Health care workers needed in UK now

HOW TO FIND APPLICATION FORMS FOR A ‘YELLOW’ OR ‘BLUE’ CARD REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ON THE UK BORDER AGENCY WEBSITE

Free Movement of EU nationals explained

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

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

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

Mr Clark was suspended following claims that he relaxed passport checks at UK borders beyond what Home Secretary Theresa May had agreed to in a trial.

MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Committee also questioned the UK Border Agency’s Chief Executive, Rob Whiteman.

He said Mr Clark dropped fingerprint checks without telling ministers, even though they had rejected such a move.

Mr Clark stepped down after the relaxation of border checks was revealed, saying his position had been made “untenable”.

But he told MPs he “did not extend or alter” the pilot scheme “in any way whatsoever” and was “meticulous” in ensuring senior staff were briefed on it.

The committee’s chairman, the Labour MP Keith Vaz, says he is “determined to get to the bottom of this serious breach of security”.

Mrs May says she authorised the relaxation of some checks on children from the European Economic Area (EEA) and some extra checks on EEA adults under “limited circumstances” at peak times – but claims Mr Clark allowed officials to go further, without ministerial approval.

But Mr Clark told MPs: “I introduced no additions to the Home Secretary’s trial, neither did I extend it or alter it in any way whatsoever.

“I was meticulous in ensuring that my top operational team and my senior port managers had complete clarity on the Home Secretary’s requirements.”

He said he “reported weekly to the Home Secretary as she had required” and insisted the trial had “delivered exactly as she had wished”.

He added: “I am no rogue officer. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Mr Clark said the pilot was “overlaid” on top of “long-standing contingency arrangements” in place since 2007, which allowed staff at ports to relax certain checks at particularly busy times.

Asked whether ministers knew about this option, he said: “I would be surprised if they did not know these policies or understand them.”

He added: “I made no connection between business as usual under these circumstances and the pilot operation.”

The 2007 guidance does not permit the relaxation of fingerprint checks – indeed, they were not introduced until after it was written – and does not allow any reduction in checks for non-EEA nationals.

The guidance does allow border staff to forgo checks on EEA passengers against the warnings index of terrorists and criminals when queues become dangerously long.

But Mr Clark told MPs he believed the warnings index was more important, so he chose to relax fingerprint checks instead without asking ministers.

He acknowledged that the Home Secretary had ruled out doing this as part of the pilot scheme, but said she had made no mention of being against it being done for health and safety reasons at busy times.

“I did it to preserve the safety of the UK, not to weaken it,” he said.

Mr Whiteman said it was “disingenuous” of Mr Clark not to give ministers the “full picture” of other policies that were in use when they were setting up the pilot.

“Ministers had been clear that they did want that check [fingerprints] to take place,” he said.

Giving his evidence after Mr Clark, Mr Whiteman said ministers were “not aware of an older policy that was being used” to justify scrapping some checks.

He said it was “disingenuous” of Mr Clark not to give ministers the “full picture” of other policies that were in use when they were setting up the pilot.

“Ministers had been clear that they did want that check [fingerprints] to take place,” he said.

Mr Whiteman said that in a meeting he had with Mr Clark, the ex-border force chief was “clear that ministers had no knowledge of health and safety provisions under which he was suspending secure ID [fingerprint checks]“.

He added: “From what I see the 2007 guidance has been stretched. It’s being used on more occasions than in really dire health and safety circumstances.”

Mrs May said last week that officials had been able to relax border checks for several years “in order to ensure flows through” arrivals, but she insisted the 2007 guidance “does not allow a decision to be made to significantly change the checks at the border”.

Mr Clark added: “Over 40 years I have built up a reputation and over two days that reputation has been destroyed and I believe that has been largely because of the contribution made by the Home Secretary.”

He said he was initially suspended and offered retirement by Mr Whiteman, with a “good package” and “a good reference”.

But after he had decided to accept, he was told the following day there had been a “change of mind”, the offer was withdrawn and there would be no package.

Mr Whiteman told MPs that retirement was discussed, but the permanent secretary at the Home Office had intervened and made clear it would not be appropriate, given that Mr Clark could face disciplinary proceedings.

Earlier, in a response to a written question from Mr Vaz, the Home Secretary revealed that the pilot applied to 28 ports and airports.

They included Heathrow, Gatwick, Calais, Coquelles, Glasgow, Harwich, Manchester Airport, Aberdeen and Cardiff.

She also disclosed that more than 10 million people entered the UK in August when the pilot scheme was operating.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said there had been a “borders fiasco” as she asked an urgent question in the Commons on the situation.

Home Office Minister Damian Green replied to the question, saying that any changes made had been to toughen up border controls.

Mrs May has announced three inquiries into what happened, the main one led by the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, John Vine. Source: BBC.

See also:

Official statement by Rob Whiteman, UK Border Agency chief executive on the Brodie Clark border control affair

UK Border Force Chief Brodie Clark quits claiming constructive dismissal against Home Secretary

UK border force head suspended

English UK seeks apology from Home Office over ‘bogus colleges’ claim

Restrictions on Romanian workers in the UK labour market are ‘discriminatory’, says Keith Vaz MP

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