NEW DELHI : In view of new immigration rules on Indian nurses working in UK, Union Government has said Indian Mission in UK is in touch with the local government to redress the grievances of Indian immigrants.
Union Government has said changes and strictness in the immigration policies and in labour laws have taken place in several countries in the recent days.
As per information received in this regard from Indian Missions/Posts in July 2015, in UK, due to change in immigration and labour laws, nurses of non-European Economic area countries cannot stay in UK after 6 years unless they have an annual income of 35,000 pounds, an official from Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs said.
Over 30,000 nurses from India and other non-European countries employed with Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) could be forced to leave the UK under new immigration laws.
“The High Commission of India is in touch with the UK authorities to ascertain the impact of the changes in immigration rules on Indian nurses in the UK,” Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs VK Singh said.
Under the new immigration rules, the Tier-2 category of migrants from non-European countries – which includes nurses and chefs – must fulfill a higher salary threshold to be able to work in the country. The new immigration rules will come into effect from April 6, 2016.
The official said, in Iceland, entry of immigrants has been made tough due to change in labour laws and immigration policies. In Bhutan, there are instances of cancellation of business licenses, non renewal/issuance of work permits/ dependent cards, restrictions on movement, salary disputes etc. In South Africa, immigration policies have been changed recently with the objective to promote local skilled employment which has made work visa norms stringent to foreign skilled workers there. Indian Missions in these countries are in touch with the local governments appropriately to redress the grievances of Indian immigrants there. (UNI)
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