Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the time it will take for (a) a veterinary practice and (b) other SME registered with her Department to employ under the new immigration system a (i) vet and (ii) other employee from overseas to fill a vacancy that cannot be filled by settled workers.
Under the current immigration system, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are already able to apply as Tier 2 employers and sponsor highly-skilled migrant workers.
On the 19 February, the Government published a policy statement on the UK’s Points-Based Immigration System, for introduction from January 2021. For employers sponsoring skilled migrants, the visa process will be streamlined to reduce the time it takes to bring in a skilled migrant worker by up to eight weeks and we will abolish the Resident Labour Market Test.
A programme of engagement will begin this month to raise awareness of the new system, focusing upon those sectors most impacted, including SMEs.