---

UK Government extends visa for overseas workers

The UK Government leans to industry pressure over post-Brexit labour market scarcities.

On Friday, the UK government reacted on two fronts to relieve labour market shortages, permitting thousands of social and agricultural care workers from outside the UK to fill gaps left by a shortage of British staff.

In two declarations slipped out on Christmas Evening, ministers said British fruit and vegetable growers will be capable to hire foreign national workers to assist bring in harvests over the next three years, while foreign care staff will be permitted into the UK under a special visa from early in 2022.

The UK Home Office had been disinclined to offer exclusions to tough new UK immigration rules on low-skilled workers launched after the EU’s free movement of people requirements terminated to apply in the UK at the start of the year 2021.

It is noteworthy that the extension of the UK seasonal agricultural workers’ visa scheme for another three years ensues burden from farmers who cautioned that cutting the foreign national labour force would lessen domestic food production.

On Friday, the UK Home Office mentioned that it would permit 30,000 foreign national workers to come to the UK for up to six months for harvesting in the year 2022, the same figure as this year, but with the ability to upsurge that number by 10,000 if obligated.

It further mentioned that the seasonal agricultural workers scheme, which was initiated in the year 2019, would be prolonged for a further two years after that, but with decreased numbers from the year 2023, as ministers seek to force a switch to domestic labour and a “high-skill, high-wage economy”.

Priti Patel, the UK Home secretary stated that, “The care sector is going through unparalleled challenges prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the modifications we have made to the health and care visa will support the workforce and assist alleviate some of the pressures presently being experienced.”

The UK government made clear the add-on of care workers to the UK list of shortage occupations would be reassessed when the Covid-19 pandemic pressures had settled.