Skilled professionals seeking asylum now have a greater chance to work in the UK – but the fight for real, viable working rights for everyone seeking safety goes on.
From March 26, people granted permission to work after waiting over 12 months for an asylum decision will be able to take up roles which appear on the Appendix Skilled Occupations list and are categorised by the Government as degree-level roles (RQF 6 or higher).
It means some skilled professionals including doctors, nurses, solicitors, architects and engineers seeking asylum will be able to seek work in the UK.
The previous immigration salary list (and before that, the shortage occupation list) significantly limited the number of roles open to those people seeking asylum with permission to work, and recently faced a legal challenge on behalf of two asylum-seeking doctors who’d been denied the opportunity to use their specialist skills.
It’s always good to see more occupations open to people in the asylum system, and to know that talented professionals will have more opportunity to share their skills. But the high skills threshold expected could prevent many people from finding work while they wait for a decision. The reality remains that the majority of people seeking asylum in the UK remain banned from working. The ability to work and rebuild your life with independence and dignity shouldn’t be an exception granted to a few people – it should be the rule.
There’s one clear way for the Government to benefit refugees and communities, and boost GDP by £1.6bn: extend the right to work to anyone who has waited six month for an asylum decision. Lifting the ban would benefit local economies and cut the cost of the asylum system, ensuring proper support is available for those people seeking asylum who need it.
We need to make sure the Government hears this argument. That’s why we’re bringing experts in economics, business and employment rights together with those with lived experience of the asylum system to a roundtable event with the APPG for Migration in Parliament on the 27th April, to present the overwhelming evidence for a real end to the ban.
Take action
Use this easy letter-writing tool to invite your MP to the event. It only takes a few minutes, and will help make sure our leaders understand why it’s time to Lift The Ban for good. The tool also asks them to sign EDM 2908 that opposes another nonsensical policy which will make it harder for people seeking safety to integrate and find employment.