Want To Work In The UK As A Nurse Or Carer? Join Concept Care In Madrid 3-5 July 2014

Cynthia Barker writes...Concept Care Solutions, the London based medical recruitment specialists, will be back in Madrid this weekend - 3 - 5 October 2014 - accompanied by employers interviewing Nurses and Care Workers for UK job vacancies in the NHS.

In addition to meeting many great Spanish Nurses and Doctors, we want to reach out to the Filipino community in Spain. There are around many thousands of Pinoys in Spain, but most cannot practice their true professional and are forced to take low paid jobs as domestic helpers or private carers. 

In Spain it is very difficult for Filipinos to work as a nurse or doctor, as their Philippine Degrees or professional qualifications are not accepted without extensive retraining. I have spoken to large numbers of Filipino trained nurses and PT's struggling to make ends meet - not even receiving a regular salary, despite the fact that they are Spanish passport holders (see photo below).

I advised them that if they move to London, Concept has hundreds of job vacancies for Nurses, Live-in Carers, Doctors, OT's and Radiographers. As Spanish citizens they are free to work anywhere within the EU under free movement directives.

Concept Care, who do not charge any placement fees, help candidates with accommodation, NMC registration and offer free training.

On a recent trip to Barcelona, we were delighted that Honorary Consul General Jordi Roches who took time out of his busy schedule to visit our job stand in Barcelona  - pictured below with, from left to right, Charles Kelly, Marketing and Recruitment Manager, Cynthia Barker and Edith Fongho.

Later in Madrid, I took time out to pay my respect to the Philippine Embassy and to meet the Labor Attaché, Ma. Elvira  Ador (pictured below centre with Charles Kelly and Cynthia Barker).

If you are an EU passport holder living in Spain, Portugal or within the EEA and would like to work in the UK email me with your CV.

Concept Care Solutions Recruiting Nurses and Doctors For UK At MedPharm Job Fair Barcelona And Madrid

Cynthia Barker writes...Hola! I am in Spain today with Concept Care at the MedPharm Job Fair Barcelona and Madrid.

As I have mentioned before, the UK needs overseas nurses to fill 20,000 job vacancies in the NHS alone.

We will be exhibiting at the MedPharm Job Fair in Barcelona at the Novotel Diagonal today 13 September, and Madrid tomorrow on Sunday 14 September at the Hotel Convension.

Concept Care's has won a major from a London NHS Trusts desperate to recruit international nurses, Doctors and AHP's (Allied Health Professions) such as Occupational Therapists and Radiographers.

Medical recruitment agencies, such as Concept Care Solutions, and NHS Trusts are currently recruiting in the EU (Spain, Greece, Portugal, Romania and Bulgaria) to find nurses, care workers, OT's, PT's and doctors. EU workers can go anywhere within the EU to work, which means the UK faces stiff competition fro the best medical staff.

However, NHS employers will also need to employ non-EU nurses and staff from countries such as India and the Philippines in order to meet massive staff shortages.

Nurses needed include:

• Theatre
• ICU
• A&E
• Care of the Elderly

Non-EU Nurses must obtain IELTS 7.00, unlike those from European Union or EEA.

Many thousands of Post Study Work Visas (PSW) will be expiring in August and September. If you have a nursing or medical degree and need a Tier 2 working visa, contact me.

If you are a qualified nurse, doctor or OT/AHP in the UK send your CV to info@londonccs.com.

The NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) requirements for overseas nurses wishing to work in the UK are changing in October. An online written competence test and assessment held in the UK is being introduced from October 2014 replacing the outdated overseas nursing programme (ONP).

The new 'competence test' system will make it easier for employers, such as the NHS, to recruit non-EU nurses who want to work in the UK and fill the 20,000 plus UK nurse job vacancies.

Non-EU nurses will still need an English language level of IELTS 7.00. EU nurses have no English language requirement!

Visa overstayers should book a consultation with an OISC registered immigration adviser to look at their options for regularising their stay in the UK.

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Home Office Restricts Non-EU Students Switching To Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visas

Cynthia Barker writes...Just back from a short break, so catching up today! Hold on to your passports, the UK Home Office has announced new measures to clamp down on Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visas, after checks revealed they were being used by Tier 4 students to switch visas under questionable motives. 

The Telegraph reports that the Home Office said the number of foreigners applying for the right to stay in this country under the entrepreneur scheme rose from 118 in 2009 to just under 10,000 last year, with two thirds of the applicants – more than 3,000 people – being granted a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa. 

According to the report, organised crime gangs may have been involved in the visa scam. Immigration fraudsters charge applicants to temporarily lend the £50,000 required to demonstrate they had the capital to invest in business schemes.

A statement from the Home Office said that evidence from tax records showed that people on expiring Tier 4 student visas were transferring to entrepreneur status on the basis of setting up a business, when in reality they are working in low skilled jobs.

With the new clampdown, students will only be able to switch using funds from a government-approved source, and post-study workers will need additional evidence of their business activities.

In addition, those who have not yet started businesses and who do not have evidence of a genuine business will not be able to switch from the old post-study route onto an entrepreneur visa.

Immigration Adviser Cynthia Barker of Concept Care Solutions said the scheme has proved popular with students who often have no option but to start a business in order to remain in the UK.

“Over the last couple of years I have been approached by a number of students or post study work visa holders looking to start a business and switch to a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa.

“The visa process was not as easy as the newspapers make out, as the Home Office asked a lot of questions about the business plan and we had to appeal for one applicant, despite being a genuinely good case.

“The government launched the scheme to attract people to start businesses and invest in the UK, which is what the scheme has achieved. Just because a student is currently in a low skilled job, it doesn't mean they cannot start a business – Richard Branson was a student when he started out in business!”

Recent Home Office statistics show that 24,641 non-EEA partner visas were issued to in 2013. This as a decrease of 6,847 (22%) from the 31,508 partner visas issued in 2012.

Home Office statistics show that, in the period from 1 November 2012 to 30 September 2013, 34 settlement visas were issued to an adult dependent relative under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules.

The APPG on Migration published the final report in June of an inquiry into the impacts of the family migration rules, chaired by Baroness Hamwee. The inquiry received evidence from over 280 sources, which collectively suggested that a broad range of British citizens and permanent residents had been affected by the rules.

Source: Migrants Rights network and an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Migration, which met this month.

If you have been affected by changes or need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

NHS Free Healthcare A Great British Invention But Nurses Are Needed Now

Cynthia Barker writes...Disappointing England performance who lost 2-1 to Uruguay in the World Cup! I feel for the country, which is a big footballing nation - after all, they invented the game along with Cricket and Rugby!

The British are an ingenious and inventive race. Just take a look at the long list of British Inventions on Wikipedia. In fact you wouldn't even be reading this if Londoner Tim Berners-Lee had not invented the World Wide Web, that's right, www!

Another British innovation was the National Health Service or NHS as it's known. Unless you have lived in a country with no free national health service, like my native Philippines for instance, you cannot appreciate just how precious the NHS is!

Even in wealthy countries like America, families can go broke if they suffer a long term illness or they simply die because they have no insurance.

In the UK, if you get sick you visit your GP which is free. If you go into hospital, that's free too. The system is not perfect, so many people moan about waiting times, but in general the NHS works and saves thousands of lives every day.

In fact, an international panel of experts recently declared the NHS as the "best health service in the world"!

The NHS is the UK's largest employer and always needs staff, especially nurses and doctors. Right now, there are 20,000 nurse job vacancies in the NHS!

Qualified nurses and doctors are in short supply in UK hospitals and care homes, which is why

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Concept Care Solutions Awarded Contract Place On NHS Framework To Supply International Nurses

Cynthia Barker writes...Great news for overseas nurses! Following my blog last week: 'job opportunities for Filipino nurses', Concept Care Solutions has this week been appointed onto the LPP 'Lot 5 Framework' suppliers list to recruit international nurses for NHS Trusts.

LPP, or London Procurement Partnership, is the official body which handles the international nurse recruitment tendering process for multi-region NHS hospitals.

Commenting on the award of the new national framework agreement for the provision of nursing and nursing related staff to the NHS, the heads of four leading NHS procurement organisations said:

“We are pleased to confirm the establishment of a new framework agreement for the provision of nursing and nursing related staff, for use by NHS organisations located across England. The agreement came into effect from 14th May 2014. The agreement is the output of a ground-breaking joint collaborative initiative undertaken by four NHS procurement organisations: NHS London Procurement Partnership (LPP), North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC), NHS Commercial Solutions and East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub. We believe that by working together, and combining national buying power with our strong regional and local engagement, we have been able to deliver a highly competitive agreement that really meets the needs of the NHS. We look forward to working with the appointed supplier organisations to ensure the cost effective delivery of these services to the NHS.”      

The LPP was formed by NHS Trusts to centrally maximize its multi-billion pound purchasing power and ensure that suppliers are fully vetted and meet UK government standards.

Marketing Director, Charles Kelly, was delighted with the new contract and congratulated Concept Care team for all their hard work during the tendering process:

"This is fantastic news and well done to all the staff at Concept Care Solutions for the outstanding work in winning another contract to supply international nurses to the NHS.

"In particular, our Director Edith Fongho, has spent endless hours and sleepless nights working on the Lot LPP Framework bid for international recruitment.

"This means that as an approved supplier the Concept Care has been thoroughly vetted can help NHS Trusts all over the country recruit nurses from EU countries, such as Spain or Romania, as well as non-EU countries like the Philippines and India where there is an abundance of highly qualified nurses waiting for a chance to work abroad."

In a former life, I started a company in 1998 which went on to recruit thousands of nurses and senior carers from all over the world including: The Philippines, India, Africa, Middle East, China, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain and many others.

Like now, the NHS were desperately short of nurses and care assistants and the only way to fill those vacancies quickly, and ensure patient safety, was to recruit from overseas.

Within a few years thousands of nurses were boarding flights to work in the UK, with their NMC Decision Letters, Work Permits and dreams of a better life in the west.

The bonanza eventually came to an end around 2007, when the government started to restrict immigration from non-EU countries following mass immigration from Eastern European countries such as Poland and Romania.

But everything comes in cycles and once again the NHS and care homes will be recruiting qualified nurses from abroad to help fill nurse job vacancies in UK hospitals.

I will be going through the requirements for working as a nurse in the UK next week, so keep reading Diary of an Immigration Adviser and check out Concept's website for job opportunities in care.

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.

Deportations, overstaying students and the mystery of the Home Office website

Cynthia Barker writes...So sad to read about the death of Peaches Geldof yesterday, another tragedy for Sir Bob. My condolences and prayers go out to Peaches and her young family.

Last week, Mauritian student, Yashika Bageerathi, was deported  from the UK by the Home Office despite widespread protests and the fact she was about to take her A Level exams. So sad for her family who live here, however, she came here on a visitor visa and her subsequent asylum claim had been rejected.

What I don;t understand is why her parents brought her in on a tourist visa, when she was under 18, when she could have come in as a dependent or even on a student visa to study in the UK. Had she had proper immigration advice, she would have entered the UK under the correct visa and would most likely still be here.

Although in this case, the decision to remove the gifted student was technically correct, the fact is, the British government seems to put so much effort into deporting foreign students who are paying billions in course fees to study in the UK, not to mention taxes when they work in the UK.

Wow, busy day ahead! Full diary...another consultation for my team with n overstayer student who, thank God, happens to have an EEA partner.

So many overseas students have been branded as overstayers due to the fact that their student visas had expired during the time their applications for further leave to remain were being processed and later refused - in some cases after almost a year!

Talking about the Home Office, what have they done to the immigration website? Finding forms and guidance is now a nightmare!

For advice on EU or UK immigration law, phone Cynthia Barker on 020 8731 5972 or email her your details and number – Immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is an OISC registered Immigration Adviser with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.