UK Immigration Laws Restricting Businesses from Employing Skilled Workers

Today, Turkish entrepreneur Efe Cakarel has spoken out about the lack of skills amongst individuals needed to fill vacancies. Four years ago Cakarel chose London as the base for his video streaming company because of the city’s reputation as a hub for talented people. The entrepreneur says that his company has half a dozen engineering vacancies that have not been filled for the last year. The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford published a report focusing on the highly skilled migration to the UK in 2007 – 2013. According to the report the ‘best and brightest oversea workers’ are being kept out of the UK. 

Efe Cakarel: Without the Right Workers, we can’t Expand

Cakarel has blamed the UK’s Immigration policy for making it harder for businesses like his to recruit oversea s talent. Due to the lack of skills in the UK, Cakarel has said it has cost his 7-year-old company, MUBI, subscribers and revenue. He stated:

“We’re ready to grow, but without the right workers, we just can’t expand.”

Carakarel is just one of many companies that is experiencing this type of problem. London’s situation highlights the mounting tension between the needs of city business and the political mood in the country at large. David Cameron has said that he will reduce net migration to “tens of thousands” as he believes that is what UK voters want and recently accompanied law enforcement officers on a raid on suspected illegal immigrants before holding a press conference in the suspects’ home.

A Government spokesperson has hit out at the criticism:

“It is nonsense to suggest our policies prevent companies appointing the skilled workers they need – the number of skilled people coming to work in the UK was up 16 percent last year. The UK is open for business to the brightest and best migrants and remains an attractive destination for global talent.”

In July 2014, the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford published a report showcasing the decrease of highly skilled workers in the UK.

Dr Carlos Vargas-Silva: Decline in the Number of Recent Migrant Workers in the UK

According to the report, there has been a decline of 28% in the number of non-EEA highly skilled RMW  in the UK since 2007. However, there has been a 53% rise within the EEA, with skilled migrants coming from countries such as France, Germany and Spain.

The number of non-EEA highly skilled RMW have shown to be the most effected by the Government’s policy to decrease to tens of thousands. The figures show highly skilled migration decreased by 30%, from 155,000 in 2007 to 109,000 in 2010. This number decreased by a further 39% in 2013 to 94,000, in comparison to 2007.

Dr Carlos Vargas-Silva, co-author of the report said:

“There has been a significant decline in the number of recent migrant workers in the UK who have the highest levels of education and who are in top occupations since 2007, but this decline is driven by a decrease in non-EEA migration. Since 2011 the number of these recent migrant workers who are from EEA countries has increased. Policy makers need to look at whether this has been caused by a “balloon effect” where policies designed to squeeze one sort of migration lead to another sort increasing in size.”

Are you a Highly Skilled Migrant looking to Work in the UK?

Our team of experienced and professionally qualified immigration solicitors and barristers will be able to guide you through the process of making a Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 4 or Tier 5 application step by step and limit the possibility of failure by complying with the strict letter of law.

We also undertake a great deal of appeal work before the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and have a successful track record of successful results for our clients. We have the experience and the knowledge required to take your case forward successfully. If you have had a points based visa refused, contact us to discuss your case so that we can provide you with a case assessment.

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