Immigration Matters: Train More British Nurses Says UK Prime Minister A...

Immigration Matters: Train More British Nurses Says UK Prime Minister A...: Marking 100 days since the Conservatives won the General Election, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron was interviewed by Justin Webb for...

Train More British Nurses Instead of Importing Foreign Staff Says UK Prime Minister As International Recruits Ease NHS Staffing Crisis

Marking 100 days since the Conservatives won the General Election, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron was interviewed by Justin Webb for BBC Radio 4 this week. One of the questions he was asked was how he felt about the rising number of non-EU nurses coming to work in the UK to cover staff shortages in the NHS.

The RCN nursing union estimates that there are 20,000 nurse job vacancies in the NHS and warns of a staffing crisis as thousands of nurses retire in the next few years.

 Mr Cameron said we should be providing more nursing training for our own UK citizens for healthcare jobs that are currently growing within the economy.

Specifically on international nurses, Cameron added that the international nurses coming to work in the UK make a huge contribution to the country and the NHS, but called for better at workforce planning.

Knowing how many NHS nurses are needed, Cameron wants to encourage more young people to take nursing degrees at UK universities and promised help to provide the training places to meet the unmet demand.

In the meantime, thousands of job vacancies and shifts are being filled by expensive agency staff, which is why NHS hospitals are flying teams of managers all over the world to recruit international nurses. To add to their pressure, the government has also told NHS bosses to cut back on the millions spent on agency nurses.

Commenting on UK migration levels he stated that immigration controls go hand-in-hand with controlling the welfare system.

New immigration laws coming into force will mean that by April 2017 up to 30,000 non-EU nurses on Tier 2 Work Permits will have to leave the UK if they are not earning more that £35,000 per year. A Band 5 NHS nurse earns £25,000-£26,000, but could top this up with agency temping work.

Ironically, British trained nurses can easily earn well over £35,000 pa by taking up nurse jobs in America or Australia, prompting many of our best nurses to leave the UK each year, which only adds to the staffing time bomb in the NHS.

Bearing in mind that there are not enough places on nursing degree courses at British universities to meet current demands, and that it takes 3-4 years to train a nurse, it will be interesting to see how the NHS copes with UK nursing shortages over the next couple of years.

International nurses who want to work in the UK as a nurse should check the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) website for the requirements, such as an overall band score of 7.00 in the English language IELTS test, and new competency tests. Last year the NMC changed the old ONP scheme to a two stage test, which many nurses are failing.

For full details on the new registration process and working in the UK for non-EU trained nurses or midwives, visit the NMC website, or email me your CV if you are interested in migrating to the UK and working as a nurse or need a Tier 2 Work Permit and Home Office working visa sponsorship for a UK job in the NHS.

Immigration Matters: Petition to rescue 30,000 nurses being kicked out ...

Immigration Matters: Petition to rescue 30,000 nurses being kicked out ...: An online petition, set up by Jac Berry, to prevent up to a 30,000 nurses being forced out of the UK under new Home Office Immigration R...

Petition to rescue 30,000 nurses being kicked out of Britain under New Immigration Laws

An online petition, set up by Jac Berry, to prevent up to a 30,000 nurses being forced out of the UK under new Home Office Immigration Rules, has received over 56,000 signatures.

New Immigration Rules being introduced will threaten the UK status of thousands of non-EU nurses, recruited since 2011 from outside the EU, who earn less than £35,000 a year after six years.

Affected nurses citizens will be sent back to their country of origin, depriving them and their families of their livelihood and the NHS of their nursing services.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the Home Office action will cause chaos in the NHS, which ironically is currently recruiting nurses in the Philippines.

The online petition explains that the new law would leave NHS hospitals with a critical shortage of nurses, and could have a serious effect on care provided to an aging population especially when combined with social care cuts.

As many as 30,000 nurses currently working in the UK could potentially be affected as early as April 2017 when the rules starts to bite.

The NHS has thousands of job vacancies at a time when thousands of nurses are retiring or leaving the country for higher paid nursing jobs in America, Australia and the Middle East.

We are recruiting EU and non-EU nurses for the NHS, which has a severe shortage of nursing and medical staff. My advice to nurses working in the UK and potentially affected by the new law is firstly sign the petition and secondly remember that with your UK experience you will be highly appreciated in The USA, Middle East and Australia.

To sign the petition, go to: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/464/576/180/

Immigration Matters: EU Migrant 4 Year Residency Test For Benefits Will...

Immigration Matters: EU Migrant 4 Year Residency Test For Benefits Will...: New government plans to tighten the rules of EU migrants includes a four year residency test for to qualify for benefits. However, the st...

EU Migrant 4 Year Residency Test For Benefits Will Hit Young Britons

New government plans to tighten the rules of EU migrants includes a four year residency test for to qualify for benefits. However, the stringent new test could also mean young Britons losing the right to claim benefits for four years.

Lawyers claim that applying the rule to migrants alone would breach EU laws, so the government is considering applying it to all UK benefit applicants from the age of 18. 

In a speech last year Prime Minister David Cameron said:

“Changes to welfare - to cut EU migration - will be an absolute requirement in the negotiation that I'm going to undertake."

Cameron has urged EU leaders to agree to his “reasonable proposals”, one being migrants arriving in the UK have to wait four years to access certain benefits.

Such a proposal could be deemed discriminatory and breach EU law.

 Britons may be affected as even if they have been a UK resident all their lives, from their 18th birthday would be ineligible for the benefits for four years until they reach 22. The plan is estimated to affect about 50,000 UK citizens under the age of 22, most with children.

The lawyers' assessment said: "Imposing additional requirements on EU workers that do not apply to a member state's own workers constitutes direct discrimination which is prohibited under current EU law."

British Labour Party politician Stephen Timms assumed that the EU negotiations were "not going well" and ministers were beginning to realise that they were not delivering their promises.

The former Tory Leader has pushed for the proposal of EU nationals to have been working in the UK for four years before they become eligible for benefits.

Some of the EU countries have strongly opposed the plans for a tougher benefit rule for EU migrants, including the Polish government. The government has already been taken to court over its habitual resident test by the European Commission.

"We've already taken action to protect the benefits system and ensure that EU migrants come to this country for the right reasons and to contribute to the economy.” said a government spokesman’s.

"Now we're focused on re-negotiating our relationship with Europe and getting a better deal for Britons, and we won't speculate on other options."

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Immigration Matters: Illegal Working Crackdown Announced By Minister – ...

Immigration Matters: Illegal Working Crackdown Announced By Minister – ...: In the latest government crackdown on illegal working, Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire, has warned that b usinesses employing i...

Illegal Working Crackdown Announced By Minister – Employers Risk £20,000 fine

In the latest government crackdown on illegal working, Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire, has warned that businesses employing illegal migrants face "the full force of government machinery" and risk fines of up to £20,000 per worker. However, at the current Home Office removal rate it will take 4000 years to find and deport all illegal overstayers from the UK.

The Minister said that “rogue employers” who give work to illegal immigrants and visa overstayers were denying UK citizen’s jobs.

Immigration officers are specifically targeting raids on cleaning firms, building sites and care homes according to The Times.

A study carried out by the London School of Economics estimates that there are 618,000 "irregular" residents in the UK, however, campaign group Migration Watch said the figures is closer to 1.1 million.

In 2006 the ippr think tank estimated that it would cost £5 billion and take 20 years to remove 500,000 illegal immigrants and overstayers thought to be in the UK at that time.

Figures published in the Daily Mail this week claimed tha that last year Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams arrested around 700 people and removed just 132 overstayers. At this rate it will take 4600 years to remove the existing illegal immigrants from the UK! Removal figures are probably closer to the thousands per year, but it still means it will take 600 years to remove 600,000 visa overstayers.  

Almost 10 years on from the ippr report, despite numerous measures to tighten the Immigration Rules and reduce grounds on which to appeal against a refusal, the Home Office has an even bigger task on its hands as hundreds of migrants attempt to enter the UK illegally through Calais.

Make sure your employee files comply with the law or face a £20,000 fine

The Conservative government have made progress and more raids being launched by Immigration Enforcement teams, HM Revenue & Customs, the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority and Health and Safety Executive to tackle the problem.

Other measures to deter overstayers, brought in under the 2014 Immigration Act, include forcing landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants and a reduction in the number of immigration appeals.

Employers can be fined up to £20,000 for employing each illegal immigrant, and, if they knowingly employ the worker they could spend up to two years in prison.

NHS Trusts are still short of nurses and doctors and are recruiting overseas. Tier 2 work permits and working visa sponsorship are being offered to qualified international nurses with IELTS 7.00 and the first stage of NMC registration.

If you need immigration advice of a full file audit service for employers, drop me an email. 

Immigration Matters: Tier 2 Work Permits for Nursing jobs in London ava...

Immigration Matters: Tier 2 Work Permits for Nursing jobs in London ava...: Are you UK NURSING GRADUATE looking for a permanent job in an NHS hospital in London? A leading agency are now recruiting a limited n...

Tier 2 Work Permits for Nursing jobs in London available for limited time

Are you UK NURSING GRADUATE looking for a permanent job in an NHS hospital in London?

A leading agency is now recruiting a limited number of nurses for an NHS hospital in the London area and need qualified RGN's with NMC PIN's for interview in August.

NON-EU NURSES IN THE UK

Tier 2 Sponsorship or UK Work Permits and Visas also available for nursing jobs in the London area for nurses with UK nursing degrees, NMC PINS (or in process) and IELTS 7.00.

The hospital wants nurses who are currently in the UK either as a Tier 4 students graduating or a nurse on an existing Tier 2 Working visa. They can also help you to transfer your UK visa and permit from a Nursing Home job to an NHS employer.




 The hospital are offering a Band 5 salary and London allowance (£24900) and will also throw in a £500 relocation allowance if you have to move to London.

This is a permanent job, so you will enjoy the full NHS benefits, such as a pension scheme and paid holidays, as well as excellent training and career opportunities within Britain's largest employer.

NO PLACEMENT FEES

No fees charged for work placement.

This would also suit a Croatian nurse who requires a work permit to work in the UK.

Contact me now if you are interested or email your CV as these job vacancies will be filled very quickly.

Immigration Matters: Care workers needed for UK migrant worker research...

Immigration Matters: Care workers needed for UK migrant worker research...: The UKHCA reports that researchers at  older people's charity  Independent Age are carrying out research with the International Longevi...

Care workers needed for UK migrant worker research as employers look to Croatia and EU to fill staff shortages

The UKHCA reports that researchers at older people's charity Independent Age are carrying out research with the International Longevity Centre. researchers hope to identify the risk of future staff shortages in the care workforce and the role of migrant care workers in the UK in the light of current immigration policy. 

The report will make recommendations to the UK government and to the care sector about workforce strategies.

Independent Age are seeking care workers in London, who have come to the UK in the last 10 years, and who would be willing to take part in a 45 minute interview about their motivations to work in social care and their plans for the future. Interviews will be confidential and people will be given a thank you payment for taking part.

Do you know any staff who would be interested? If so, please get in touch with Sue Arthur of Independent Age for more details on 020 7605 4262 or sue.arthur@independentage.org. The researchers will be happy to send a copy of the research report to anyone who takes part. If any employers are particularly interested in, or want to find out more about this research, please contact Sue.

Work Permits for new non-EU care workers or Senior Carers have not been issued for many years prompting employers to look to Eastern European countries, such as Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, for staff they cannot recruit from within the UK.

Whilst there is no 'official' shortage of care workers on the Home Office Shortage Occupations list, care providers have struggled to recruit staff for years. Following large scale recruitment in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, some employers are recruiting Croatian care workers.

Unlike other EU members, Croatians need permission to work in the UK under the 7 year restriction imposed when Croatia joined the European Union on 1 July 2013. However, the Home Office do not consider the job of a care worker to be sufficiently skilled enough to qualify for a Work Permit under Tier 2 of the Points Based System.

Croatians can apply for a 'yellow card' permit and work full time whilst studying a for a vocational qualification (e.g Health and Social Care). For information and UK jobs in care and nursing, see the Croatians in the UK Facebook page.