South Africa is losing professionals in droves as they up stakes and move to work in other countries.
Newspapers such as South Africa's The Times are coming out with some statistics that should make the country quake: an estimated one qualified engineer is leaving every day (according to The Engineering Council of South Africa) and in a survey of 1700 health professionals, half of them hope to leave the country within five years.

Crime, career prospects, earning power, the Eskom power crunch and schooling (some students are barred entry into university because of the  race quotas) are the reasons for professionals leaving; also applications for business visas have soared, meaning entrepreneurs are taking their inspiration – and cash – elsewhere..

All this is good news for immigration consultants and removals companies, who report business is up by, in some cases, 600% over last year.
Australia is top of the list in terms of favoured destination, but professionals are apparently becoming less fussy over where they end up – and desirable countries include New Zealand, Canada, Britain and the US.
South Africa's loss is Britain's gain because, like all EU countries, it needs professionals, particularly in IT, engineering and the health services.
The EU needs an estimated 20m extra workers to fill gaps in industry, and is introducing a blue card work permit scheme to make it easier for skilled professionals to immigrate. A global survey of 750 CIOs and CEOs in February 2008 said biggest worry is staffing problems and a crisis in IT skills.

So is immigration good or bad for Britain?  Home Office statisticians say immigration has provided a £1,650-a-head boost to the economy over the last decade by helping British companies to grow faster. Immigration from eastern Europe has not depressed wages or increased joblessness among UK nationals. It also allows greater choice in the labour market and drives up skills standards.
In IT alone, the demand for skills is so great the UK can’t fill it and we need skilled immigrants to help us out. The government is also altering its immigration system to one based on points and working hard to lure skilled immigrants to our shores.

The Confederation of British Industry says British business welcomes the wider choice provided by a skilled immigrant work force. Immigrants have an exceptional reputation for being excellent employees whose work ethic far exceeds that of the average Brit.

The long anticipated launch of the points based system arrived on 29 February 2008 starting with introduction of Tier 1 replacing the HSMP scheme. The changes are being introduced in a phased manner, but what does this actually mean for the individual applying?

The Facts:

• The Tier 1 launched on 29 Feb 08 for all in-country applications.
• Out of country applications will launch in India in April 08.
• Rest of the world out of country applications will launch after India currently planned for June 08.

How does it influence you? If you are a work permit holder in the UK and want to change to Tier 1 then you are able to do so in-country and do not need to leave the UK for entry clearance. The time on both Tier 1 and work permits can still be added together to make up the period to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

If you have a Two Year Working Holiday Maker visa and are currently in the UK you cannot apply for the Tier 1 in-country, you need to apply out-of-country for an HSMP. Once the Tier 1 launches for the rest of the world the current HSMP scheme will cease to exist.

If you are currently in the UK as an HSMP holder and need to extend your HSMP stay, you now have to apply for an extension under Tier 1. The period granted for Tier 1 is an initial 3 years, followed with a 2-year extension. This is different to the HSMP that was initially granted for 2 years and then a 3-year extension application.

There are two new categories in Tier 1 that also score points, the Maintenance and the English Language requirements. Under maintenance you will need to show that you have a certain amount of money available in your account for the last 3 months.

Dependents need to be a visa dependent on the Tier 1 for a period of 2 years in order to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain with the main applicant.

 

The UK visa and permit system has changed radically. But what exactly do these changes mean to you? We are here to make life Smoother and to help you understand the changes.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the new points based system. Our advice is as follows:

The new Points Based System, being introduced over the next two years, represents the biggest change in UK immigration for the last four decades. Its aim is to make decisions much fairer and more transparent, and applications will be divided into one of five tiers.

• Tier 1, including the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, goes live in March this year, and between June and August more than 30,000 UK employers will register under the scheme. See below for more info on Tier one.
• Tier 2 includes work permit applications. There are no current plans to develop tier 3 (intended to replace the current Agricultural Seasonal Worker Scheme and Sector Based Permits). Because of this, some rather hysterical headlines have announced that there will be no more work permits for non-EU nationals, which is of course complete nonsense.
• Tier 4 will replace the current student visa system, and will place more responsibility on colleges and universities, who will act as sponsors for such applications.
• Tier 5 will include the Youth Mobility Visa, a replacement for the current Two Year Working Holiday Visa. There are no clear guidelines or timescales for this tier yet, although its scope appears set to be global and possibly industry-specific. All except Tier 1 will be sponsored, and will probably include a language requirement.

The Daily Telegraph reports that graduates are entering the toughest job market in years.

Are such dire predictions of recession – nay depression - the only side of the economic forecast for Britain? Media negativity aside, there is another view that suggests the UK might weather the impending economic storm more ably than some predict. There is still plenty of opportunity for graduates both from the UK and further afield.

Britain is Europe's leading business centre, inflation is low, and employment at the highest level for 30 years – making the thought that 195,000 students graduating this year might not step immediately into a well-heeled job seem less ominous.

The impact of this recession might even be less than that of the 1990s some experts say, because today's economy is more resilient. The demand for qualified, experienced people from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa is still strong. Whatever the economic forecast,  areas such as IT show demand is very high and growing. A global survey of business chiefs carried out just last month found that their biggest worry is staffing problems and a crisis in IT skills. Fifty-eight per cent of CIOs and CEOs are worried about an insufficient number of staff (according to a survey commissioned by the independent IT Governance Institute (ITGI). 

Also, demand in areas such as the nursing sector continues to be very strong. The NHS gets enormous support from agency nurses; the bill for their services topped a massive £1b in 2005 and these trend seems set to continue.

The fact of life is that it goes on ... recession or not, experienced people that are highly skilled will always be in demand in the UK, and people will continue to want to come here because this is stable and prosperous country.

There is no doubt that the UK and Europe needs skilled migrant workers to plug that yawning skills gap, that gets ever bigger. So anything that will put them off relocating to the UK seems, at best, unwise. This is precisely what a recent UK government ruling threatened to do.

The UK government attempted to apply changes to HSMP (highly skilled migrant programme), introduced in December 2006, retrospectively and to migrants already in the UK. Changes in the points system means some migrants might no longer score enough points, so no longer be granted a visa even though they were under the old system.

The High Court recently overturned the retrospective application of the change and said: "The terms of the original scheme should be honoured and that there is no good reason why those already on the scheme shall not enjoy the benefits of it as originally offered to them."
This news must have been greeted with a hefty sigh of relief by many sectors of industry where skilled workers are badly needed such as health care, IT and engineering.

Politicians were certainly happy about it, the liberal democrats and conservatives supported the High Court's ruling.

If you were a highly skilled migrant – say with expertise in IT – and you had an inkling the UK government would let you relocate and then move the goal posts once you were there, you might consider taking your precious skills elsewhere, like the US for example.

Already the US gets the cream of skilled migrants – 55% - while the EU gets just 5%. But the EU needs 20m skilled workers over the next 20 years.
A recent report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), found that skilled migrants in the UK at present comprise 2.5% of the workforce (715,000), by 2012 that will rise to 2.8% (812,000).

Last year the EU recently unveiled its blue card scheme, a rival to the US's green card to attract migrants. The UK is also implementing a new five tier points system and the first tier – for general highly skilled migrants – is due to be fully implemented this summer.

 

The news there is a present and growing IT skills shortage in the UK is nothing new. Nor is the notion that the gap is plugged by skilled immigrant workers. This report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, for recruiters Harvey Nash, just throws out more alarming statistics.

The UK will need an extra 19,000 skilled migrants by 2012 in IT, telecoms and transport.
A Harvey Nash report also found skilled migrants to the UK will top 800,000 within four years, making a contribution to the UK of £77b.

By 2010, jobs in industries that depend heavily on information and communication technology will account for half the total in Europe. The EU needs 20m skilled workers over the next 20 years.
To meet this demand, European eyes are turned overseas.

The EU last year unveiled a blue card for skilled migrants. It is a direct response to the US's green card. What some call the land of tax breaks and opportunity, the US, gets the lion's share of skilled labour (55%) compared to the EU's puny 5%.

But the blue card's political passage is far from smooth. Aimed at highly skilled migrant workers from Asian and African countries, they would get all the social and financial benefits of their newly-adopted country and their immigration there fast tracked.

But opponents say this has nothing to do with meeting the skills shortage, but is politically motivated to centralise Europe and give Brussels the say on levels of economic migrants.

Whether the blue card succeeds or fails, it's going to take a while to get the political nod. Opponents make another good point: they say skilled migrants are clever enough to know how to negotiate the immigration procedure and business is clever enough to know where to find them and tempt them over.

The name says it all, the Smooth Group helps people through the whole process of immigrating to the UK to live and work and ensure one of the most stressful experiences in life is as smooth as possible, and they can help you save up to 40 per cent on your airfare to the UK.

The Smooth Group was established recently by remuneration specialist Charterhouse Group International who have been involved with the global staffing industry since 1989 and so have great experience in the issues, trends and practices involved in many aspects of international employment. Adding visa and immigration services is a great value added to the group's core business.

The Smooth Group’s consultants are expert in navigating the confusing visa requirements and the complex immigration legislation involved in entering and settling in the UK, not least because many of them have already been through the experience themselves. Focus is on immigrants from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  

As UK immigration is experiencing its biggest shake up in 40 years, with the introduction of a new five tier system, the next few years are likely to be challenging at best for those wishing to immigrate to the UK  Advice covers visa advise and services, tax rebates and returns. Through Smooth Landings the company offers arrival packages in the UK including: UK Sterling bank accounts, UK national insurance registration, payroll services, accommodation assistance and UK SIM cards.

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