projects in the UK are facing barriers due to the strict new immigration rules from the Home Office, a lawyer at a top international legal firm has warned.
The concession ended in April, and Gravelle has wanted that major disruption for the industry could follow, given that the majority of offshore crews are made up of non-British and Irish nationals. Gravelle further said that employers’ sponsoring costs can run into “thousands of pounds per person” in visa fees and other charges for workers – who may only need to enter the UK for a few weeks a year on a specific project.
She suggested that a solution could be a sector-specific route, as was previously brought in to address shortages of workers such as HGV drivers.