Tough new limits on immigration, predicted to have “potentially disastrous” consequences for Asian and Oriental ethnic restaurants in particular, come into force today.
The new rules mean employers can only bring 20,700 people from outside the EU to work in skilled professions. This is along with another 1,000 visas for people of “exceptional talent”, although this is unlikely to include the leisure and hospitality sector.
Prospective workers must have a graduate-level job, speak an intermediate level of English and meet specific salary and employment requirements.
The Intra Company Transfer route (ICT), which is not part of the annual limit, will also be changed in three ways.
1) The job will have to be in an occupation on the graduate occupation list
2) Only those paid £40,000 or more will be able to stay for more than a year. They will be granted for three years with the possibility of extending for a further two
3) Those paid between £24,000 and £40,000 will be allowed to come to the UK for no longer than 12 months, at which point they must leave and will not be able to re-apply for 12 months.
Also, from today, Tier One of the Points Based System will be restricted to all but entrepreneurs, investors and people of exceptional talent. The previous points system has been abolished due to “widespread evidence of abuse”.
Immigration minister Damian Green said: “The annual limit will not only help reduce immigration down to sustainable levels but will protect those businesses and institutions that are vital to our economy.”
Last November the British Hospitality Association (BHA) wrote to the Home Office warning that the new rules effectively disbar non-European chefs from entering Britain as skilled workers in specialist restaurants.
BHA chief executive Ufi Ibrahim said the announcement that only graduate occupations will be allowed in Tier Two makes it unlikely any of these essential chefs will be able to come to work in the UK.
“This is potentially disastrous for those restaurant businesses offering quality specialised ethnic dishes of Asian and Oriental origin. Some may have to close, with the loss of UK residents’ jobs,” she said.
Ibrahim said the new rule would prevent the sector from creating jobs. “For every specialised chef a further 11 other jobs are created but these will be lost if this rule is introduced.” she added.
