The current economic downturn in the UK has lead the number of Eastern Europeans applying for UK working visas to drop to it’s lowest since 2005. This, along with the new Points-Based System (PBS) placing stricter rules on employing migrant workers is making the void of skilled workers in the UK even bigger.

This is likely to make life increasingly difficult for businesses in the UK who are already struggling through the financial storm, and in particular SMEs. According to figures from the federation of small businesses, 48% of SMEs in the UK are currently employing non-UK workers.

However, one of the major benefits of the UK’s new PBS is its flexibility. The PBS was specifically designed to be able to adapt to the needs of the economy at any given time. For example, If the Polish and other A8 citizens (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia) return to their own countries, the UK might be faced with a shortage of low skilled workers. In that case, Tier 3 of the PBS, which is specifically designed for that group, could be developed.

Given the current situation, to make up for the departed highly skilled Eastern Europeans, the bar can be lowered on Tiers 1 and 2 to allow more non-EU workers to enter the country and fill the void. Another option would be to even up the quota on the Youth Mobility Scheme allowing more working holidaymakers into the country.

The PBS can be utilised to combat the current skills shortage caused by the departure of Eastern Europeans, meeting the needs of the UK economy during the downturn and making life much easier the businesses, in particular SMEs.

The launch of Tiers 2 and 5 of the new points based system has been a hot topic over 2008 and was recently opposed by the Tories as it was thought many employers were not sufficiently prepared. However, last night the UK Government voted in favour of these changes, meaning the launch went ahead as planned yesterday.

Under Tier 2, employers will need to be registered as a sponsor to employ new non-EU nationals and to extend work permits of current employees. Employers will also have reporting duties, although the government has assured that minor breaches or honest mistakes shouldn’t be "immediately" punished.

Under Tier 5, the Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) will replace the current Two Year Working Holiday Scheme. Nationals from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan can take part. British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) also qualify. However, many employers may have to source their candidates from different countries. These Non-EU Migrants under the YMS can work unrestricted for two years.

We also see changes to the current visitors visa. There are now six different kinds of visitors visa, the business visitor being the most controversial at the moment.

Although there is bound to be some teething problems, by end of next year the new system should be in full swing and we'll see a more structured and transparent application process and an immigration system that can be adapted to meet the needs of the UK economy.

This week, the BBC reported the UK Government’s controversial ID card scheme is now live. The first people to receive the cards will be non-EU students and husbands, wives or partners of permanent residents who apply to extend their stay. Officials say these two categories are those who are most likely of abusing immigration rules. The cards will include the individual's name and picture, their nationality, immigration status and two fingerprints.

However, the new scheme has faced tough opposition with shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve who branded the ID cards “a gimmick with a price”. He has also been quoted saying the cards “won’t stop illegal immigration or terrorism but will land the tax payer with a multi-billion pound bill.”

It seems this may not be entirely true. Although the scheme is costly, extra charges will be incorporated in the already expensive visa application process meaning the scheme will actually be financed by foreigners not the taxpayer.

In addition to this, there are some very obvious benefits to employers. The new points based system places the responsibility of ensuring migrants are entitled to work on employers and hefty fines are imposed on those who employ illegal workers. The new ID cards will make it much easier as well as time and cost-efficient for employers to check work entitlement, as they clearly show the individual’s immigration status.

The week has also seen immigration minister, Phil Woolas resort to calling mayor of London, Borris Johnson, 'a nincompoop' over his decision to commission a study into the impact of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Mr Woolas may want to reconsider; Mr Johnson is proposing nothing more than a study into the impact of an amnesty. Such a study actually might have been a good idea before the current launch of the Tier 2 system for which many UK employers were not prepared.

Last week saw some interesting, useful and rather arrogant UK immigration stories emerge.

The first of these was reported on iol.co.za and looked at the efforts of the Home Affairs Department in South Africa to stop the UK Government imposing visa requirements on SA residents in the future.

Earlier this year, the UK Border Agency conducted a visa waiver test on all non-European countries to assess the threat they pose in terms of illegal immigration, crime, security etc. Along with eleven other countries, South Africa was identified as ‘high-risk’ and was given until the end of the year to prove they could take the necessary steps to lower their risk to the UK or face the prospect of strict visa regulations.   

Some of the steps being taken to avoid this include reducing the time frame of the late registration of birth process, introducing airport liaison officers to increase inspectorate at major airports and introducing new passports as well as the ID smart card. The authorities in South Africa are also doing their utmost to ensure their youngster don’t miss out on opportunities in the UK due to the new Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) which is based on reciprocity of participating countries.

Negotiations are also being made with regard to the returns agreement linked to both the visa waiver test and the YMS.

The second story was published in the New Zealand Herald and focused on New Zealanders cutting short their traditionally popular ‘Overseas Experience’ due to the current economic downturn in the UK. In the story it was stated that Helen Clark, prime minister of New Zealand had secured an exclusive visa-free agreement with Gordon Brown that allows Kiwis to holiday in the UK for up to six months. Oh Please! What absolute rubbish! New Zealand is simply a non-visa national country. Residents of these countries, which also include South Africa and Australia among others, are not required to apply for visas before they travel to the UK, provided it’s not for more than 6 months, and receive their visas at the airport. This is not an exclusive agreement between New Zealand and the UK!

Finally, CPA Australia has reported an error on the UK Border Agency website. The points-based system (PBS) calculator allows users to check their eligibility using drop down menus but two menu errors have been made resulting in miscalculation. Members of CPA Australia have been told they need to inform caseworkers of their CPA designation as changes to the site cannot be made until the next scheduled update in March 2009!
 

APAnews.net has reported that the UK Government is implementing a programme that will see the number of high commissions around the world granting UK visas reduced from 100 to about 50 in the next few years.

The new programme is the reason behind the recent announcement that Tazanian UK visa applications need to be sent to Kenya to be processed. It will also mean that most of the countries in Southern Africa will have Pretoria as a hub for processing visas.

There's been a lot of discussion online about the Government’s claims there are now 200,000 fewer jobs available to non-EU migrant workers, thanks to the cuts to the 'shortage occupation list'.

This list identifies the jobs for which there is a lack of UK resident workers and forms part of the criteria for the approval of visa applications of skilled workers under Tier 2 of the Points System being launched on 27 November 2008.

However, the Government’s claims that cutting this list will reduce the number of non-EU migrant workers coming to the UK could be nothing more than a smokescreen devised to ease the worries of those who fear immigration to the UK is getting out of control.

First of all, just because a job description doesn’t appear on the shortage occupation list, it doesn’t necessarily mean non-EU skilled migrants can’t fill the posts. When recruiting for these positions, employers are obligated to first advertise the position to UK and EU workers. However, if they can prove that the position can’t be filled by resident workers, a non-EU worker can still step in. This is known as a resident labour market test. Occupations that appear on the shortage occupation list are exempt from this test. Ultimately, any position can be filled by a non-EU migrant worker, provided they are approved in all other aspects of the visa application process. The list does act as a barrier to a certain extent, but it's not a brick wall.

Furthermore, the shortage occupation list was recently revamped. Some occupations were removed and other new ones were added. Even if the UK has filled their need for skilled migrants in one particular field, they still need them in another. For example, if the need for teachers had declined by 200,000 but there is demand for 200,000 social workers, the figure would remain the same.

So in reality, some of the pieces of the puzzle are different, but the resulting overall picture is largely unchanged. 

How 2 Come to the UK
Ang OFW Ngayon, 17/11/08

James Bond style spy gear used to cheat immigration test
Telegraph.co.uk, 14/11/08

White, British, need a job?
NorthWestNationalists, 16/11/08

'Economic benefits of mass immigration are close to zero',  Lords told
Mail Online, 15/11/08

‘Sneak’ plan for mandatory ID cards
Times Online, 16/11/08

Five suspected illegal immigrants arrested in raid on Exeter
thisisexeter.co.uk, 16/11/08

By resisting the repression of migrants, we defend the freedom of everyone.
No Borders South Wales, 11/11/08

UK rules on immigration fuel concerns for seafarers  
Lloyd's List, 14/11/08

Chinese restaurant owner faces £15k fine
EADT, Suffolk & Essex, 13/11/08

Home Office rules means 200,000 fewer jobs for migrant workers
LONDRA Gazete, 13/11/08

INDUSTRY BODY CLAIMS THAT RULES WILL CAUSE SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS
Caring Business, 13/11/08

Migrant builders threat to Olympic 'skills legacy'
Evening Standard, 13/11/08

College welcomes fingerprint plan
THE SHIELDS, Gazette, 12/11/08

Migrants and the UK's shortage occupation lists: legal dilemma
personneltoday.com, 13/11/08

How SA expat taxes stack up with the rest of the world
MONEYWEBTAX, 13/11/08

The UK Border Agency has announced that the retired persons of independent means route to enter the UK will be no longer be available as of 27 November 2008.

This route to the UK is seldom used, figures from the UK Border Agency show that less than 20 applications are received in this category each year.

In February 2008, UK immigration regulations began enforcing a new regime of fines on employers found to be employing migrants without official permission to work.  UK Border Agency officials may now issue on-the-spot fines to employers of up to £10,000 per unauthorised worker – a measure which has been accompanied by a series of highly publicised immigration raids on workplaces. The new regime has led to a huge increase in demands on the part of employers for passports and other identity documents from their workers.

PAPERS PLEASE is the first attempt to look at the impact of this new regime on migrant workers themselves.  Based on interviews with migrants affected by the changes, trade union officials, and employer associations, it identifies worrying trends towards discrimination and an increase in tensions in workforces where migrant workers are present.

PAPERS PLEASE relates these developments to wider concerns about increases in the vulnerability of migrant workers to exploitation and the erosion of basic employment rights.  It calls for civil society organisations to better engage with the range of problems emerging in this troubled area, and for determined efforts to counter the effects of discrimination and the abuse of power.

Download a free copy of PAPERS PLEASE from MRN’s website

For a free copy of the published report, within the UK, send an A4-size SAE with a 56p stamp to ‘Papers Please’ report, Migrants’ Rights Network, 253 Upper Street, London N1 1RY.

For delivery outside the UK, or to inquire about receiving multiple copies of the report, email info@migrantsrights.org.uk to inquire about terms of delivery.