UK clamps down on non-EEA immigrant chefs

[Richard Hakluyt]

I wouldn't say that immigrant chefs were a huge problem in the UK 

UK Border Force informs me that takeaways harbour a lot of illegals, but this is targeting the merely under-qualified

Yeah, but they are illegal already so nothing will have changed...........perhaps the Daily Mail and the Express are in ecstasy over these measures.......got to be some reason why the government thinks they are worth doing.

[Warspite]

Interesting, I was hoping that they wouldn't be so foolish as to prevent foreign experts from working here. We have too many low-skilled Pakistanis and Eastern Europeans coming in, clearly the solution is to prevent highly-qualified Yanks, Canadians and Aussies coming over.........I think I need one of those face-palm pics..........

Well, if your pay is very high it is still easy to come over. But a lot of firms are dependent on hoovering up talent before they are highly paid. And I believe that the two-year work permit scheme that used to be given to non-EEA people who studied here is now closed to new joiners.

There was an interesting point in the Economist, or perhaps FT, a while ago that rich people don't come to the UK to start new business and explore new wealth-generating opportunities: no one sees Britain as that kind of place. They come here to consume luxury goods and buy houses in posh areas of London. So the whole government shtick of 'we'll attract rich entrepreneurs' was bunkum - those guys head to Silicon Valley (and, curiously, Canada).

[DontSayBanana]

Illegals coming in and doing jobs anyway are quite a different thing to people being officially allowed in and granted visas to do the jobs.
We do, and will even after this (more so probally), get lots of illegals in these jobs too.

That's a good point.  Given the way you Brits are all saying the qualifications for migrant workers in the skill shortage areas are unrealistic, it's just extra incentive for the business to take the risk of dealing with an illegal alien.

[The Brain]

OMG America is racism!!!!

[Sheilbh]

Interesting, I was hoping that they wouldn't be so foolish as to prevent foreign experts from working here. We have too many low-skilled Pakistanis and Eastern Europeans coming in, clearly the solution is to prevent highly-qualified Yanks, Canadians and Aussies coming over.........I think I need one of those face-palm pics..........

I've seen the same problem as Ark.  In my company a Chinese statistician (degree in maths, fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese) who'd worked in the UK for 2 years after her degree had her visa extension refused.  Apparently maths graduates with Chinese aren't useful and there's plenty of English-born ones around

Similarly I've got a friend at Uni doing a PhD in Electrical Engineering.  She's also fluent in Mandarin but because she's from Thailand she doesn't expect to be allowed to stay and is looking at moving to the US

[Josquius]

You should have married one of them. That would help their staying in. And be a humerous situation.

[Warspite]

I've seen the same problem as Ark.  In my company a Chinese statistician (degree in maths, fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese) who'd worked in the UK for 2 years after her degree had her visa extension refused.  Apparently maths graduates with Chinese aren't useful and there's plenty of English-born ones around

Similarly I've got a friend at Uni doing a PhD in Electrical Engineering.  She's also fluent in Mandarin but because she's from Thailand she doesn't expect to be allowed to stay and is looking at moving to the US

If there's one thing that will kill London as a financial centre, it will be this, and not clamping down on bonii.