The United Kingdom has from this month (January 2021), provide highly skilled Kenyans who do not have degree level qualifications, access to work permits in Britain. This is as a result of new immigration laws that have been put in place, after the United Kingdom agreed to exit the European Union (EU).
Britain’s new immigration system which is based on points, first came into effect on Friday, the 1st of January 2021. The new immigration system essentially reduces the requirements for job applicants to a minimum skill level of A Level or its equivalents, as opposed to the degree level requirement that applies in the European Union (EU)’s Bloc system.
The United Kingdom which voted to leave the European Union since as far bac as 2016, agreed on a brand-new trade deal with other European countries on the 24th of December 2020, which subsequently led to equally new rules on residency, trade, and of course work. These easier visa laws, will make it possible for Kenyan professionals to go for or pursue employment in fields like accountancy, electrical works, IT, and plumbing.
It left the European Union (EU) officially on the the 31st of December 2020 after almost four years of delays, politicking, and the political careers of two Prime Ministers; Theresa Mary (2019) and David Cameron (2016).
Britain anticipates that there will be a huge increase in job vacancies since the new immigration system after Brexit put an end to free movement of labour between Britain and the European Union (EU) after it left the Bloc earlier on.
The British government has however made it known that it will treat both European Union citizens and non-European citizens equally. It also stated that it will be looking to bring in people who can contribute to the British economy positively.
The United Kingdom’s Minister for Africa; James Duddridge while speaking to Business Daily revealed that, “People who have lived and have done a bit of work” in the United Kingdom, worked for companies with a connection or link to british firms and “have cultural appreciation of the UK society” are much more likely to score more points in the new work visa rules.
What this means is that Kenyans working for british multinational establishments like Standard Chartered Bank, Diageo which is a majority shareholder in the East African Breweries Limited, GlaxoSmithKline, British American Tobacco, De La Rue, and Tullow Oil, will have a greater advantage.
The United Kingdom’s Minister for Africa; James Duddridge said during an interview that, “It brings much greater clarity about what is required and …this is absolutely brilliant for Africa,” adding that, “That’s good news for Africans wanting to come to Britain.”
The United Kingdom has over the last couple of years, been widely criticized for its overly severe visa approval and work permit rules for africans. For example, visa applications for business take up to an average of four weeks before they are successfully processed mostly in South Africa. A large number of the applications, get rejected.
On this, Mr. Duddridge said, “It’s too difficult for people to come to the UK but applications and acceptances are growing higher. We are doing better on visas (although)… we are not doing good enough.”
Thanks to the new United Kingdom work permit rules, all foreigners will be treated equally unlike what was previously the case with the previous visa policy, where citizens of the European Union (EU) Bloc member countries had a “free movement rights” clause.
With the new visa qualification rules all migrant workers who want to move to the United Kingdom will need to attain at least 70 points. Receiving a job offer from an approved employer for a skilled assignment will guarantee an applicant 40 points. Ability to speak English, will come with another 10 points.
To attain the remaining 70 points the applicant would need to be paid a minimum of 25,600 British Pounds (around 3.8 million Kenyan Shillings) per year or around 316,500 Kenyan Shillings per month. If said applicant is however able to receive an offer for a job that the United Kingdom has a shortage of, said applicant will also be able to attain the remaining 20 points even if the job does not pay as much as 25,600 British Pounds.
Through what the British Home Office refers to as “Graduate Route” Kenyan students along with other international students will be allowed more time to stay in United Kingdom in order to properly seek and apply for jobs. It will be much more than the four months that was the case under European Union (EU) rules. The Graduate Route will kick off officially in the summer of this year; 2021.
With the Graduate Route all international students who are completing undergraduate degrees or master’s degrees will be allowed to stay in Britain for an additional period of two years. For international students completing their PhDs, they will be given an additional period of stay of three years.
According to Britain, the new Graduate Route system will “make it easier for some of the best, international graduates to secure skilled jobs in the UK and contribute to the UK’s economic growth.”
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