by Anne Morris (Davidson Morris Solicitors)

What’s happening?

We are bringing a legal action against the government against the current cap on immigration.

Lots of articles are in the press but unless a legal challenge is made, the cap will become permanent, and the problem is this coalition immigration cap ‘could threaten recovery’

 Why we object

We believe that the introduction of this cap is totally unlawful and yet another example of the UK Border Agency acting without regard to the law in order to satisfy a political imperative.

Immigration is and always will be a political hot potato with each party trying to outdo each other on how tough they will be on illegal immigrants and controlling the number of migrants entering the UK.

 However, the government cannot control the numbers of EU nationals entering the UK, nor the dependents of people already here, and the asylum seeker industry is well funded and represented – so the only way they can satisfy the tabloid press is by capping the number of less noticeable non EU people coming to the UK, people who don’t happen to have say a PhD or MSc, or chums they knew at Oxbridge with access to the media.

 Who does it effect

Applicants who fall under the Tier 2 (General) immigration rules. In plain English, this means:

• graduates who have completed their degrees in the UK (paying extortionate overseas student rates by the way) who wish to get their foot on the ladder, and prior to the cap could apply for a job and if they demonstrated that they were the best candidate would be eligible to apply for a visa
• skilled migrants applying from abroad whose skills are desperately needed in the UK
• migrants who having secured a visa can no longer automatically apply for an extension as their employer no longer has the ability to sponsor them due to the cap

The NHS is crying out for skilled labour that it cannot source here. The IT, Catering, Shipping, Construction and Oil & Gas industries are being badly affected and artists and performers can no longer obtain a visa to perform in the UK.

The current cap as been implemented across the board regardless of size of company, sector, skills shortage etc and is having a disproportionate impact on certain sectors who are particularly dependent on specialist skills.

The tabloid stance about ‘migrants taking our jobs’  is absolute nonsense. These people have specialist skills, knowledge and abilities that we urgently need. No job can be handed out unless it has been shown that a person in the UK cannot do it. The Tier 2 applicants are not cheap labour (the immigration rules for paying them comparable wages ensure that), so they are not stealing jobs – and they make a massive contribution to the British economy.

 ”Any sort of cap on immigration will be detrimental to the technology industry in India as well as the UK for skilled professionals,” Kumar Parakala, KPMG.

“This will always be a highly sensitive and politicised issue but we must ensure that immigration policy reflects the needs of the UK jobs market. REC members are already reporting an impact in high-end sectors, such as Technology and Financial Services and we have consistently highlighting the potential implications in other sector such as social care.” REC

Why appeal?

We have worked in the field of immigration for 16 years and have witnessed some of the most ridiculous rules and regulations being introduced and thankfully quashed by the courts.  Examples include – the Home Office attempt to introduce a law whereby a person wishing to come to the UK to enroll on an English language course, had to prove that they could already speak English.

Another law they tried to introduce would have resulted in hundreds of skilled applicants having to depart from the UK because the Home Office changed the rules after their visas were approved. The HSMP applicants had worked for many years, bought houses and paid all their taxes etc and thankfully the court ruled it was totally unacceptable for the government to change the law so radically once a visa was approved, that an applicant could not apply for an extension.

The cap could have a real knock on effect on your business.  If certain multi-national organisations decide to take their operations outside of the UK because they cannot recruit the skilled overseas workers they need, this could impact overall on the UK economy and unavoidably, your business.

What’s next

If the government is not challenged, they will only go on to introduce more and more limits. The next obvious target are Intra-Company Transfers and once this is capped, companies will not invest in the UK if they are restricted from moving their employees to and from the UK.

Campaign timings and costs 

In response to our initial application, we will shortly receive an Order from the Court to direct an urgent hearing.  We have already received a confirmation that the Court is very sympathetic and its swift response and agreement for an immediate rolled up hearing is incredible and indication of the seriousness of the matter.

What we need

The costs of a Judicial Review application are high and the government is relying on not enough companies joining forces.

The math’s is simple – if we have a number of companies each contributing a sum, we can submit representatives on behalf of each company and demonstrate to the court that the temporary cap has had an adverse impact across many sectors.

If you are interested in joining in the JR challenge, we need you to register your interest asap.

What happens after we register

We will be in touch and advise on the information we need from you to draft the representations for submission to the Court and you and your colleagues will be invited to come along to the High Court on the hearing days (expected to last 3 days).

Why bother – let’s leave it to somebody else!

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.’ (Edmund Burke)

 “A stand should be made by those who stand to benefit – the companies that cannot do without immigrants’ labour and skills. It is time for business leaders to speak up in the press, on radio, on television and to do it every day – not just when one of their staff is denied a work permit.”

(Michael Skapinker – Financial Times, 6 September 2010.)

Additional information

Please feel free to call Ann Morris on 0845 413 700 if you need any additional information.