May mga pagbabago sa Immigration Laws ng UK at ito ay may malaking suliranin sa ating mga kababayan lalo na sa mga nurses na dumating before 2012. Maraming nagtatanong kung kasama daw ba ang ibang profession like domestic workers or nanny, or other medical professions.
According to ABS-CBN source online,
From April 2016, the government will introduce minimum salaries as follows:
Gross annual salary required for Indefinite Leave to Remain (source: Home Office)
From 6 — April 2016 — £35,000
From 6 — April 2018 — £35,500
From 6 — April 2019 — £35,800
From 6 — April 2020 — £36,200
However if a nurse was given work permit or sponsored employment back in 2012, it is possible that they entered a category given six years of visa and will need to leave the country to apply to work here again.
In previous immigration rules, there were no income threshold and no time limit to apply for ILR. Therefore if you arrived here before they changed the rule regarding salaries, once you have completed five years on work permit or sponsored employment, you should apply for ILR as quickly as possible. Of course, you will still need to pass the two tests required: English and Life in the UK.
Some of the things they could do are as follows:
– Transfer to another job category, particularly one in the shortage occupation list, because this would be exempted from the salary requirement and time limit;
– If they have family here, for example a spouse/partner or a British child, they could change their visa category to family member;
– If they have a European relative working in the UK, with whom they reside, and who supported them even while back in the Philippines, they could try to apply as a European family member;
– If they have already spent 10 years in the UK always with a valid visa, they could apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain based on long residence;
And if there are no other options, then look at the possibility of transferring to a country more welcoming of migrant nurses such as Canada, USA, Australia and others.
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