This new year will witness new laws that will change the way you live, work and relax. Some of them made the headlines when they were announced, while some went unnoticed. However many of them could have a permanent, lasting impact on the lives of people living in Britain.
From April 2016, Non-EU migrants who have spent more than five years working in the country will be required to earn £35,000 per year or else face deportation.
This will hit the nursing industry the hardest. One may think that a nurse who has spent the last decade looking after a terminally ill British citizen could be considered an asset to our society, but according to the new legislation, if you come from outside the EU and you’ve been working here for more than five years, you must be earning more than £35,000 a year, or else you will be shipped off back to your country of origin.
The policy, announced in 2012 by the home secretary Theresa May, has been criticised by the Royal College of Nursing. It predicted chaos in the health service, and urged the Home Office to add nursing to the list of occupations exempt from the rules and reconsider the salary threshold.
According to the Royal College of Nursing, nearly 3,500 nurses could be kicked out of the country under the legislation, in a move which could end up costing us nearly £200million. The threshold is far above the average national wage of £22,000.
In an attempt to reduce immigration the Migration Advisory Committee will particularly focus on Tier 2 visas for skilled migrants, including making it available only to those who come under 'skill shortages and specailists', limiting a sector, claiming the skills shortage, introducing a skills levy on busiuness who recruit foreign workers and increasing the salary threshold.
The release of the tier 2 visa report immediately prompted the Institute of Directors (IoD) – a business group with a membership consisting mainly of company directors – to call for a complete review of UK immigration policy. They accused the government of setting unrealistic targets that made it impossible to put in place an immigration system that works to the benefit of UK business and the economy.
Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, said that a sudden decision to make it easier for nurses to enter the UK, by adding the occupation to the shortage occupation list, by Home Secretary, Theresa May, demonstrated that the Tier 2 Visa system is simply not fit for purpose.
Mr Vaz said: "Having hit the monthly cap in June this year, we witnessed the twisted effects of the system, as the cap gives preference to job roles with higher salaries. In June, nurses were prohibited from working in the UK, which prompted the government to temporarily ease restrictions to allow recruitment to continue."
"Although the temporary measures were welcomed, it's clear that the Tier 2 Visa system could have caused a staffing crisis across the NHS this winter. A system that prompts rushed adjustments in order to remain functional is not fit for purpose. Quite simply, nurses should remain on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL)," Mr Vaz added.
According to Vaz, the government imposed annual cap is not doing much good; in fact he labelled the cap 'counterproductive.'
What British Asians have to say
Joseph John: It's the prerogative of any country to choose which people it wants to host. So no this is not unfair. I think before anyone can call the UK unfair, should look at how friendly their own country is to migrants. India makes any foreign citizens life in India a bureaucratic nightmare. The terms of the EU don't allow Britain to do the same for EU citizens. The nurse story has been well publicised on tv and radio already, therefore I'm sure what will happen is that exception to their profession will be applied as they are desperately needed in this country.
Major (Retd) Tikendra Dewan: Outrageous and total discrimination. The policy must be fair and transparent n definitely can't be based on a cherry picking principle.
Sana Siddique: UK has been very good with offering permanent residence to immigrants and make it there home, but circumstances are changing and it has to look into people who are living here and how can they benefit them. Putting a salary clause as a part of getting permanent residency is a hands on idea. We get people who contribute to the economy and grow by themselves. This is a very good approach in getting people seriously thinking of hardwork and that you have to earn it to become citizen to this lovely Kingdom.
Sarojini Ellis: I think the hospitals will be very short-staffed if the nurses earning under the threshold are deported or not given the permanent residency. This will be bad news for everyone and waste of money used in training them. Other industries will experience this problem as well.
Ragasudha Vinjamuri Immigration and permanent settlement seems to be a double edged dagger for the UK. One one hand, it is proving costly (figuratively and literally) to receive several thousands of EU migrants continuously for settlement, including those with less qualifications/skills, on the other, the heat is turned on non-EU migrants who might be richly contributing to the economy and service industry, but whose pay mostly may not touch the said benchmark. Though the think tank may have weighed some consequences, it is still myopic of long term impacts on sectors like health. The government is probably aiming at improving skills and technical expertise on home front to reduce external dependency and to shield opportunities for the domiciled.
Pritha Sathish: It is really unfair. They have already introduced tough entrance exams, English language tests for nurses, while there isn't any test for Europeans and we all know, we speak English better then Europeans then why this discrimination? And this rule will make their condition worse...I think govt can straightaway say we don't want immigrants instead of giving false hopes to people.
Amrita Joshi: These migrants have to prove that they can be a part of the British society before they can come here. At the time of their application, interview or arrival they were not told that they might not be able to gain permanent settlement after 5 years if they do not earn more than £35k. To enforce such rule now seems unfair to the people who are already here. If it was enforced to all people applying for work visa after this legislation then that will be fine. However in this case the process to come here should be made easier.
Debashri Mitra: The rule is discouraging. People come to the UK thinking of all that motivates them, one of them being the standard of living and the fact that they might be able to be part of this community on a long term basis. The new rule does not help a majority of the migrants especially nurses who are part of one of the most unappreciated professions. A low salary and a law like this will definitely steer them away from here. Why would one want to stay here long term knowing that there are chances that the family will be asked to leave and won't be provided PR.
Permanent residency is security of some kind and when that is not part of the package, I don't think it's motivation enough for the highly qualified, not adequately paid professionals. For some even if the profession doesn't pay enough, it's the quality of life and the security aspect of being part of the community in the long term - a good enough motivation. This law has definitely made some people think twice whether this is going to be any good for them to think of UK as a destination to further their long term dreams.
