The government has varied the Immigration Rules in relation to the Christmas period for HGV food drivers and poultry workers.
Employers within these sectors will now be able to request overseas workers from four named recruitment agencies, who will charge fees for their services. Those agencies will be able to sponsor suitably qualified individuals. The employer will not need to have a sponsor licence themselves.
The individuals who are sponsored will be able to apply for a Seasonal Worker visa. The applicants may need to show that they have savings to cover the first month of living in the UK. They won’t need to pass an English language test. The UKVI expects that it will take 3 weeks to process this type of application.
This route will be open to:
(b) the poultry production sector, which means in one of the following
roles:
(i) Butcher (occupation code 5431);
(ii) Bird/game dresser (occupation code 5433);
(iii) Killer and plucker (occupation code 5433);
(iv) Plucker (occupation code 5433);
(v) Poulterer (occupation code 5433);
(vi) Poultry processor (occupation code 5433);
(vii) Poultry sticker (occupation code 5433);
(viii) Trusser (occupation code 5433);
(ix) Food operative (occupation code 8111);
(x) Poultry catcher/handler (occupation code 9111);
(xi) Poultry vaccinator (occupation code 9119);
(xii) Poultry meat packer (occupation code 9134), or
(c) haulage driving involving transportation of food goods (occupation code 8211).
These schemes are time limited. For the poultry production sector the deadline for the application will be the 15th November. For the haulage and transportation of food goods the application deadline will be the 1st December.
The duration of the stay in the UK is also time limited:
• Visas for Poultry production workers will expire on 31st December;
• Visas for food haulage drivers will expire on 28 February 2022.
Fuel Drivers
The government previously introduced a concession to the immigration rules to allow 300 fuel tanker drivers to bypass current immigration restrictions and to enter the UK on a temporary basis without any visa by, instead, obtaining an endorsement letter. This scheme was only open between 1 October and 15 October 2021 and was limited to 300 drivers from the EU and other non-visa national countries. The scheme is now closed.
A visa for Christmas?
The take up of the HGV fuel concession has been reportedly low. This might indicate that the take-up of the poultry / HGV food routes under the Seasonal Worker scheme will be similarly low. The role of the recruitment agencies in the Seasonal Worker scheme may make a difference. They will have a commercial interest in encouraging overseas workers to apply. But it will not be an easy sell, particularly for skilled HGV drivers.
We assist with immigration applications for both businesses and individuals so if you have any queries or questions in relation to an immigration matter please do not hesitate to get in touch.
