Immigration restrictions damage curry houses

Keith Vaz, the Labour MP for Leicester East, has criticised the UK government’s immigration policy. Restrictions on Tier 2 general visas which will restrict skilled chefs from entering Britain from outside the EU will be a problem for curry businesses, thought to be worth £3 billion a year.

Visa Changes

Tier 2 general visas are being changed so that the earning requirements for chefs from non-EU countries are going to be increased to £30,000 a year. Keith Vaz is reported as saying,

This is far too high and the restriction has badly hit Indian restaurants in the UK … Indian cuisine is very popular in the UK. It is an ancient and traditional cuisine and finding skilled chefs from outside the Indian subcontinent is very difficult. Even if chefs from India start training locals in the UK, it would take some time. Till then Indian chefs should be allowed into Britain for the sake of the curry industry.

The rules only allow the top 5% of chefs into the UK from outside the EU. Inevitably without access to the labour market abroad it will be more difficult for curry houses to run their businesses short-term. And this was noted as a problem when the Points Based System was first introduced.

The other change is to the requirements for permanent residence now have increased salary levels, which may result in chefs who have been here for five years not being able to apply for permanent residence because their salaries are too low.

Employer Fines

People who employ workers illegally face fines of up to £10,000 per illegal immigrant employed. The UK Border Agency recently released the figures for fines issued in the July – September quarter of 2011. The highest single fine was for £45,000 and the average fine per employer was £8,580.

Employers who are worried about following the correct procedure can read our Employers’ Guidance.