UK immigration points based system may lead to sheep shearing shortage
April 14 2009 by Liam Clifford
The UK’s new points-based system (PBS) for skilled work visa applicants is expected to lead to a shortage in sheep shearers who temporarily move to the UK from New Zealand and Australia to work the shearing season.
Some 500 professional shearers usually move to the UK each year to help shear the 25 million sheep in the British Isles. Many of the shearers are from New Zealand where the season is slow during the UK summer. Young shearing experts are encouraged to live in the UK for a few months to offer their skills.
However, the new system means the application process for a work permit takes longer and many applicants will not receive their visas in time.
The sheep shearing seasons runs from May until the end of July, but many UK visa applicants have been told they will have to wait up to nine weeks to receive their visas, which now include complex biometric information. Previously, applicants received their visas within three to four weeks. Members of the National Association of Agricultural Contractors claim the situation is critical.
Contractor Robert Morris says, “unless all 500 of the shearers are allowed into the country, we can't shear a national flock in time and we will lose thousands of sheep to diseases and other problems."
See the latest Immigration News
