Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support businesses in the fish processing industry to employ staff on short-term contracts from outside the UK.

The Points Based System provides for some roles within the seafood processing industry. The job of a fish processor, under Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code 5433 (Fishmongers and poultry dressers) is on the eligible occupations list, meets the skills threshold and so it is eligible to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa, subject to the other criteria under the Route being met.

Beyond the Points Based System, firms can also engage with the domestic labour market which includes UK workers and non-UK citizens who have general work rights and who do not have to meet the skill, salary or English language requirements of the Points Based System.

We would encourage employers to invest in our domestic workforce for the long term, rather than relying on temporary workers in the short term. Nonetheless short-term contracts can be accommodated on this route as there is no minimum length of sponsorship and those migrants sponsored for less than 6 months do not need to pay the Immigration Skills Charge or the Immigration Health Surcharge.