UK’s expensive visa fees 'could deter NHS staff and scientists'

[Northerner]

The UK’s “sky-high” visa fees could deter vital NHS staff and the “brightest and best” scientists that Boris Johnson wants to attract with his new immigration policy, experts have warned.

Nurses, lab technicians, engineers and tech experts who currently flock to the UK from the EU may not be able to afford to do so if the prime minister’s proposed immigration overhaul becomes law.

At £1,220 per person, or £900 for those on the shortage occupation list, the fees are among the highest in the world – and this is before charges for using the NHS and costs for sponsoring employers are taken into account.

Comparisons with fee structures in other countries, published by the Institute for Government (IfG) thinktank, show that a family of five with a five-year work visa for one individual would have to pay £21,299 before they could enter in the country.

UK’s expensive visa fees 'could deter NHS staff and scientists'

High cost of entry under immigration overhaul will put off applicants, says thinktank

www.theguardian.com

 

[trophywench]

Well nowt has changed much in my lifetime really. In the 1950s it was known as looking after the Armstrong Joneses instead of the Joneses.

 

[Drummer]

My daughter married an American, and it was quite a strain financially for them to return to the UK but they did it, and obtained citizenship for him just before the fees went up even higher.
Adding in all the trips to the various offices they needed to visit, the legal documents which had to be obtained and verified on top of the fees charged made things difficult, even though we assisted where we could.
They work as software engineers for a US company as they needed to maintain their income, which is rather ironic as a UK firm could benefit from their expertise if it wasn't for the cost of settling here.
When my husband visited the US his passport was stamped with a visa allowing him to go and work there when his profession - electronic design engineer - made the system flash an alert. There was some uncertainty about his leaving date, as he was there on business - that will not be a problem Sir was the response. They also pointed out that the visa was for his lifetime, so retain the passport even after it expired.
Putting up barriers to immigration in a country where there are skill shortages seems very short sighted.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Putting up barriers to immigration in a country where there are skill shortages seems very short sighted.

Apparently the policy overall polls well. (I can imagine ways of presenting it that probably wouldn't: "Badly paid British jobs for British Workers", for example.)

 

[Ralph-YK]

If you make it hard to come to a country (or Expensive), then those that manage it will stay. ("Now I'm here I'm stopping!") (Less likely to move on to America or another European country too.)
If you make it easy, then people are more likely to go back, to visit family etc.

Personally I don't care about the ethnic balance. I still get to eat roast beef & Yorkshire pudding, and treacle sponge & custard.

 

[trophywench]

The NHS would be in an exceedingly parlous state indeed if it lost all employees 'of colour' wouldn't it? Been a very long time since I had a pale skinned diabetes consultant or DNS, not to mention GPs and other staff. Just to reiterate that my diabetes was initially diagnosed by a 'swarthy' GP in 1972 - not in my birth town of West Bromwich where there were thousands of them or in Birmingham where I worked, but in the semi rural Worcestershire town of Kidderminster where we moved on marriage and they were still in a huge minority in those days.

 

[Drummer]

I suspect that not only will there be a skill shortage, there will be a labour shortage for bringing in the harvest - up until the early 60s I was aware of the local farmers taking on casual labour to pick potatoes, apples, gooseberries and other soft fruit, and pulling leeks, cauliflowers and cabbages - but when I went back to visit there were gangs from the EU doing the work as local people did not want to.
Most of the clothing factories have closed, so getting workers for them is no longer a problem, the steel mills in Sheffield are long gone, but are those who are so eager to get us all eating vegetarian foods going to be able to persuade people to go out and gather in the crops?

 

[Andy HB]

Is there a special reason why Britain cannot train enough Drs and nurses to meet long term NHS demand?

No, but there is an inbuilt lag before any new Drs and Nurses come online and it costs money to train them

In many recent years, I haven't seen any government of any hue willing to do that. I remain unconvinced that Boris and his minions are willing to do it either.

As for low paid seasonal jobs? Well, it remains to be seen whether or not we can provide the so-called homegrown labour to meet the need.

 

[Northerner]

It works both ways as well. When I left University and couldn't find a job I went with some friends to pick grapes in Southern France. It was a fantastic experience, bother physically and culturally, and I'm sure that many Europeans used to come here for the same reasons - no better way to understand your neighbours than to live and work alongside them 🙂 The government are proposing 10,000 special visas for seasonal workers, but agricultural organisations say we need 70,000 - that's a helluva gap to fill, and more likely to lead to an increase in undocumented labour - possibly increasing modern slavery, as undocumented workers can be more easily exploited 😱 Huge amounts of extra bureaucracy too

 

[grovesy]

No, but there is an inbuilt lag before any new Drs and Nurses come online and it costs money to train them

In many recent years, I haven't seen any government of any hue willing to do that. I remain unconvinced that Boris and his minions are willing to do it either.

As for low paid seasonal jobs? Well, it remains to be seen whether or not we can provide the so-called homegrown labour to meet the need.

They have not been training enough for years. I dont know about Drs, but some nursing courses have a high drop out rate.

 

[Ralph-YK]

They have not been training enough for years. I dont know about Drs, but some nursing courses have a high drop out rate.

I'm sure I heard of not enough people going into this area years ago. Long term planning!

 

[Northerner]

They have not been training enough for years. I dont know about Drs, but some nursing courses have a high drop out rate.

Plus, of course, the pay and working conditions have deteriorated badly since the cuts started, so many have been opting for early retirement, or for other professions. Bear in mind that the government have pledged to retain 20,000 nurses to get them to their 50,000 figure, but there seems to be no real incentive for that to happen Jeremy Hunt promised 5,000 new doctors back in 2015, but actually over 1,000 left! 😱 Now they are promising 6,000 by 2025, byt which time they will probably be promising 7,000 by 2030 ad infinitum 🙄

I was amused recently by a tweet from David Schneider that, because Matt Hancock had retained his job as Health Secretary, under the government's calculation rules that means we now have 2 Health Secretaries 🙄

 

[mikeyB]

It is possible to run a health service without understaffing in every department. Scotland does it. Because they never removed student nursing bursaries, there isn’t the same shortage. They do have different problems such as GP provision in the Highlands and Islands, but that’s because of the mindset and problems of living outside Tesco delivery range rather than an actual doctor shortage. There’s always somebody with the right mindset - my first GP on Mull was Dutch. He used to have a practice on Sark.🙂

 

[Andy HB]

Aha! So he was a Sarky GP! 🙂