According to the London Chamber of Commerce, increasing immigration costs might usher in a skills gap in the labour market of UK.
If employers in the UK would want to recruit a non-EEA citizen, they face steady increase in the Home Office fees. And with the number of small and medium businesses currently striving to hire immigrant talent, any impending changes to immigration legislation of UK would only aggravate their straining budgets.
April 2017 onward, employers will be requested to remunerate new Tier 2 migrant recruits, with 44% additionally than they presently do. What is more important is the introduction of the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) in April. This new tariff will cost the companies in UK, a fee of £1000 in advance, for each non-EEA recruit – as per the total years for which their employment visa is valid.
As stated by a new survey, only less than a quarter (21%) of businesses in London would be able to meet the expenses of the new ISC. And around 45% feel that the new cost would cause a skills gap in their firms, in case the resident labour market fails to meet the needs of their businesses. On the contrary, just 36% of business decision makers in London conveyed that the new tariff would urge them to recruit and train more British talent. However, it is also suggested that many UK firms may actually try and absorb these extra prices.
Most entrepreneurs in the UK are advised to be on the lookout for such various changes, which will be introduced to the Immigration Rules of the country in two stages over the next six months, and prepare their institutions appropriately.
The first volume of amendments will arrive in October 2016, followed by a second batch in April 2017.
