FOI request draws government on STEM immigration problems

An FOI request reveals the number of visa application refusals affecting STEM

We have talked much about immigration in our column over the last few months, particularly the issues surrounding UK organisations recruiting skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). We knew that due to the cap on the number of skilled workers that can arrive in the UK on a Tier 2 visa, many applications had been refused simply because of the Government’s arbitrary limit on numbers. However, following a period of investigation CaSE have been able to reveal the full extent of the problem that these restrictions have caused.

Following multiple failed attempts to request data on the Tier 2 cap via Parliamentary Questions, we submitted a Freedom of Information request asking to detail the number of visa applications that were refused in each month from December, to be broken down by occupation of refused applicants. When our request was finally answered, it revealed that over 6,000 visa applications had been refused between December and March, only because the Government-imposed cap had been reached in each month. This meant that organisations had wasted time and money in recruiting someone for a role that nobody from inside the UK or EEA was suitable for, only to be refused.

These visa refusals affected people across STEM disciplines and all sectors of the UK. Over 400 engineering & scientist roles were refused a visa, over 1,200 IT roles were held up and over 1,500 roles that would be taken up by doctors were caught up in the chaos. Even a handful of applications to recruit STEM teachers were refused, people who wanted to come to the UK to help train the next generation of scientists, engineers and doctors.

We have long said that this Government policy is damaging the UK. Not only does it cause problems for organisations but also paints the UK as a place that is not welcoming to skilled workers. This in turn undermines any confidence that the Government can deliver a sensible post-Brexit migration system that benefits the UK. We are calling for the Government to make changes to the current Tier 2 visa system, asking that roles requiring a PhD and shortage occupation roles be exempt from the cap, meaning the cap has more room to breathe. Ultimately, we believe that this cap should be scrapped altogether and that numerical caps on migrant numbers should not feature in any immigration rules. We hope that you will help to support our message in our drive towards policy change, through social media or becoming a CaSE member.