Filipino nurses face deportation in Cambridge, UK

suzanne4, RN · Jul 28, 2007

They are not facing deportation as such, they did not do anything wrong. It is just that they are not getting their temporary work permits renewed. And this happens all over the world.

Any why I have been against the H1-B for nurses for a long time, for this very reason. It is not a law that a temporary work visa needs to be renewed, it is only done so when there is still a shortage of that classification of skills.

Refusing to renew a work permit is not deportation. Who ever wrote that article should have made a better choice of words.

And the same thing can happen to those that think that they can just come over on the H1-C visa and everything will be just fine. This just proves what I have been stating over and over again. Temporary work visas can even be cancelled at anytime, they are not even guaranteed for the length of time that they are issued for.

And notice that they were on temporary work permits, they did not have permanent residency status there. Big difference as well.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 28, 2007

and it isn't just Phillipine nurses I have seen cases of South African nurses not getting their work permits renewed and they have worked in the UK for over 5 years. This is all because of new immigration regs that have come out stating employing from said country then EU before rest of world. Saying that I do feel if they already have a job in the UK and have been here a couple of years I think they should be allowed to renew their visas due to the fact they was here before the changes.

Just my opinion

suzanne4, RN · Jul 29, 2007

They are on temporary work permits and do not have permanent residency status. That is the big issue here. And the main reason why I have always been against the H1-B for nurses for years in the us, glad that our government put a stop to it three years ago. Same thing could happen here as well.

The above are not being deported, they are just not getting a temporary work permit renewed. And this happens all over the world, and all of the time.

In the past, nurses and other workers got their H1-B visas cancelled in the US when there was not a need for them anymore. Any jobs always must go to citizens first, and they should have been under the understanding that if things change, then their status changes.

I think that the bigger issue is with the writer and their choice of words in the title. Immigration has not changed any of their requirements there, or the wording that goes with the temporary work visas, they are temporary. And that only.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 29, 2007

Why did none of these nurses ever attain permanent residency status or apply for citizenship there? That would be my first question to anyone involved.

pinoy_guy · Jul 29, 2007

they are not facing deportation as such, they did not do anything wrong. it is just that they are not getting their temporary work permits renewed. and this happens all over the world.

one of the reasons i shared this news article.

to show how news can be (and usually is) skewed.

imagine the indignation filipinos will feel, after reading how "these...qualified and hardworking nurses who came to this country at our request...are now simply being discarded. this is not the way to treat people doing a very important and difficult job."

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 29, 2007

Why did none of these nurses ever attain permanent residency status or apply for citizenship there? That would be my first question to anyone involved.

looking at the website they can't apply for permanent residency for 5 years and these have 4 years residency. I understand about them only having tempory work visa but think it is a shame that they came over here at the drive of hospitals, still working and then told after 4 years they can't stay and visa not being renewed.

mayflower2000, RN · Jul 29, 2007

Why did none of these nurses ever attain permanent residency status or apply for citizenship there? That would be my first question to anyone involved.

One has to be here for five years before anyone can apply for permanent residency and can apply for citizenship after one year of permanent residency status.

Those who are working in the hospitals are also uncertain if their work permit would still be renewed.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 30, 2007

This is exactly my point, and may serve as an eye opener for many. The nurses signed contracts for temporary employment, there was never any guarantee that they could continue to renew their contracts over and over again. They were temporary work permits and always marketed as that. Same thing if I were to go to the UK to work, there in no guarantee that I could keep renewing my contract.

And that is how it was in the US until just a few years ago when the green cards became expedited for nurses. For most other professions, they need to be in the US about five years before they can get permanent residency, they do not get it at first by any means. And the H1-B visa that everyone in nursing used to come to the US with, was a temporary work permit, and we still see it with people that are under that, their contracts get cancelled for what ever reason, and then they must leave the US. This is why I have been against these contracts for some time and people thought that I was crazy. I was just proved that I was correct.

Most countries do not issue permanent residency when someone first arrives there. That is definitely not the norm for most. Nurses are lucky now in the US so that they can get the green card, for those that immigration accepts.

-----------------------------

But definitely wrong of the author to use the word deported. Just is not so, they did not commit a crime or get their visa revoked because of some issue. They are just not getting their visa renewed. Not the same as deportation at all.

pinoy_guy · Aug 15, 2007

uk allows pinoy caregivers to stay

. . .
charles kelly, an immigration adviser at the home office, said caregivers with existing work permits will be allowed to stay but strict guidelines will be implemented for those who would want to seek jobs. the home office approved the directive on monday, aug. 13, 2007.
"such a concession has not been seen since the domestic worker concession in 1998," kelly said.
earlier, kelly said that "up to 20,000 senior carers faced the possibility of deportation following the government's get tough campaign on senior carer work permits."
. . .
in recent months and without any notice, the home office suddenly raised the standards required for senior carers who must now have a national vocational qualification level 3 or nvq3 before they could renew their work permits and get permission to stay in the uk.
as a result, many carers were suddenly unable to extend their work permits and were kicked out of the country together with their families, although they may have worked and lived there for two, three or four years.
. . .
the government imposed the new requirements because they expected such caregivers to be sourced from the new members of the european union from eastern europe.
"since january of this year when immigration matters first highlighted this problem we noticed that senior carers were being refused for new jobs and more importantly existing senior carers were being sent home or had already gone home," kelly said.
. . .
because of this concession, those who have been sent home and have been trying to apply to come back to the uk as sandwich course students in order to study and obtain the required nvq level 3 qualification, may now re-apply for extension so they could return.
though the deportations have stopped, the home office, however, has raised the minimum salary rate for senior carers from £5.90 to £7.02 (p535.20-p636.80).
as a result, the british government transferred the burden to employers to choose whether they would continue to employ senior carers at the higher rate, or simply recruit the cheaper carers from eastern europe.
. . .

they're leaving the decision to market forces...and eastern european labor is cheap.

i don't think our nurses can look forward to a career in the uk.

work extension for pinoy caregivers in uk seen

a ray of hope shines on thousands of filipino senior caregivers after the government of united kingdom has reportedly reversed its previous position with a new set of guidance from the borders and immigration agency, formerly known as work permits to give them extension to work in said country.
. . .
geslani quoting an update from the bia, said the extension of their work permits will also mean that their employers will have to meet the new annual salary rate of £4,600 british or the hourly rate of 7.02.
"with the new criteria our filipino senior [caregivers] monthly salaries have been raised to £1,217 or at current exchange rate p115,000 plus overtime time," he added.
. . .

good news for the nurses who had been working there, bad news for nurses who want to go there.

pinoy_guy · Aug 30, 2007

pinoy carers in uk continue fight vs new visa policy

08/30/2007 | 08:57 pm

after the september 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the uk in accordance with eu rules, restricted the employment policy of citizens from non-eu countries starting 2004.
this includes the granting of five-year work permits to senior carers, who can apply for permanent residency in the uk.
the british government now refuses to grant the renewal of the filipino carers' visas.
* * *
last week, a conference of filipino carers and care home owners was held to set out a plan to exert more pressure to the government in allowing the non-eu staff to remain.
***
aside from the non-renewal of visas, the increase in the pay of overseas non-eu workers also posed a problem.
although it sounds like good news, the £7.02 per hour minimum pay for senior carers will be too steep for most british employers and might therefore consider hiring workers from neighboring eu states at a cheaper rate.
"wages could be a problem as some care homes just might not be able to afford them. local authorities are unlikely to increase their pay to care homes if wages go up. they haven't done it in the past," ward said.
* * *
a group of care home representatives and staff from south west england will also coordinate demands to help filipinos in their plight to remain in the country.
another conference of care home owners was held last week and led by former unison branch secretary peter frier to discuss the legal actions to prevent the deportation of many filipino workers.
they agreed to bombard the british parliament and the home office with demands to lower the criteria for the permit renewal of the filipino workers to the same level when they first arrived.
* * *
"the government brought over the cream of the talent in the philippines , loyal, caring and conscientious workers who love their job. they offered the carrot of being able to apply for residence after four years, but now the goalposts have changed," he added.
meanwhile, members of parliament, including east devon 's hugo swire, have criticized the government for the non-renewal policies and even asserted that this will only hurt its own health department by rejecting much-valued and needed carers.
frier also said that the government is "turning down visa applications with the excuse they have got new [qualifications] criteria. we may not need to bring more new workers into the country, but to remove people who have been here for years is simply people-trafficking."
hundreds of filipino carers in the united kingdom who have settled there with their families are facing deportation after their applications for work visa renewal were denied because of the policy that encourages priority employment for jobseekers from eu-member states.