By Mason Alexander
20/04/2017
'We're putting jobs first, we're putting Australia first' says Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, which has a striking resemblance to Donald Trump's 'America first, America first.'
It seems most places you turn are making it more difficult for highly skilled expats to add tremendous value to countries economy and growth. Donald Trump aims to change and restrict the H1B visa which will hit the Silicon Valley hard and many superpower Tech companies on the West coast of America:
http://fortune.com/2017/04/18/h1b-visa-donald-trump/
This Is an H-1B Visa. And Here's How President Trump Wants to Change It
With his "Buy American, Hire American" executive order
In addition only today the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull outlined plans to restrict allocation and number of jobs on the 457 Visa (possibly eventually scrap all together):
What you need to know about the 457 visa changes
PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull said changes to the 457 visa system would put Australian workers first, but there was one statistic he didn’t mention.
Some of these restrictions include IT areas such as web development with Australia looking to promote Aussie workers trying to find work. On the IT front 70% of H1B visa's granted to work in America are for India professionals, thus where will these skilled candidates look to turn now?
The UK could be the answer for such skilled IT professionals. In a separate article we will look at the latest Home Office changes from 6th April 2017 and one interesting update is the shortage occupation list for certain IT areas.
Data scientist employed by a qualifying company, in a role which requires five years of appropriate experience, as well as proven experience of team leadership
Senior developer employed by a qualifying company, in a role which requires five years of appropriate experience, as well as proven experience of team leadership
This means that there would be no requirement for the Resident Labour Market Test and having to advertise for 28 days on 2 national publications to allow settled workers to apply. This is definitely favorable for UK businesses trying to attract the best talent and also for skilled IT workers from many countries to consider the UK.
Not only is this easier to attract the best talent but also quicker relative to H1B or 457 Visa's as often these come with large waiting and application times.
In summary, always do your homework regarding your career and the latest updates when considering working and living abroad. The message here would be that the UK is still strict regarding visa's and sponsorship however other countries are far more so. With Fintech & Technology companies on the rise in London especially the UK is a definite sweet spot for IT professionals and techies alike. Do follow us for more blog posts and general information and thank you for reading.
Many Thanks
Mason Alexander
www.mavisas.co.uk