Nurses, Doctors, OT’s In Ireland, Spain And Portugal – UK Wants YOU!

Cynthia Barker writes...Concept Care Solutions, the London based medical recruitment specialists, has been to Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, Zagreb, Sofia, Dublin, Sligo, Cork and Galway in the last few months recruiting Nurses, Doctors, AHP’s and Care Workers for UK job vacancies in the NHS!

I was with Concept Care’s international team at the weekend attending the MedPharm Recruitment Job Fair for Nurses, Doctors, AHP's and Carers in Barcelona and Madrid - and the roadshow rolled on to other EU countries.

In addition to meeting many great Spanish Nurses and Doctors, we also touched base with the Filipino community in Spain. There are around 25,000 Pinoys in Barcelona alone, most of them working in low paid jobs as domestic helpers or private carers. 

Sadly, it is very difficult for Filipinos to practice their real professions, for instance in nursing or medicine, as our former colonial masters do not accept Philippine Degrees or professional qualifications at face value. I met 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.

We were delighted that Honorary Consul General Jordi Roches 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 Concept’s Director Edith Fongho.

The next day Jordi had to fly to the Philippine Embassy in Madrid to meet President Aquino who was visiting Spain last weekend.

The recruitment job fair was a great success, but we discovered that due to the troubled economy, hundreds of Spanish-Filipino citizens would like to try their luck in London where there are 1000's of jobs for nurses and care workers! 

Whilst 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).

Marketing and Recruitment Manager Charles Kelly went back to his 'roots' in Ireland last weekend taking in Sligo, Galway and Dublin looking for Irish nurses.

Concept will be talking a team from a top London hospital to interview nurses in Dublin at the Ballsbridge Hotel on 13 February 2015.

If you are an EU passport holder living in Ireland, Spain, Portugal or within the EEA and would like to work in the UK email Charles Kelly at Concept Care Solutions - ckelly@londonccs.com  - with your CV.

Free Apprenticeship Courses To Fill UK Job Vacancies While Migrant Workers Refused Leave To Remain

Cynthia Barker writes...Non-stop with immigration work here at Concept Care! Last week was our busiest week ever for visa appeal cases as the Home Office ramps up leave to remain refusals for migrant workers who just want to work in the UK.

I am amazed watching shows like 'Benefits Street', a Channel 4 documentary which follows unemployed (some virtually unemployable) British families living on state benefits who say they have "no opportunities" to find a job in the UK, because Britain is literally a land of opportunity! 

Why do you think so many Filipinos, Indians, Chinese, Bulgarians, Poles, Italians, Spanish, Romanians and Croatians are coming to the UK every day to find work and start a new life?

Not only are there hundreds of thousands of UK job vacancies, the British Government and EU even fund free apprenticeship courses - with paid work placements - so you can upgrade your skills and 'earn while you learn'!

Colleges, such as London Cactus College are offering free apprenticeships with paid jobs in Health and Social Care, Business Admin and ITC. The college find work placements for their students to run alongside the funded vocational courses. 

Migrant workers find it hard to believe that young people here are not grabbing these jobs with both hands. If this scheme existed in my native Philippines job applicants would be queuing around the block!

EU/UK residents interested in any of the above training and UK job opportunities email should email a CV to ckelly@londonccs.com. 

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.

London Tourists Bring In £19 Billion But More Skilled Immigration Needed To Boost Economy

Cynthia Barker writes...Hey, in an interview with Jeremy Paxman (on his last BBC Newsnight show) today, Mayor Boris Johnson said that tourists visiting London brings in £19 billion!

There's no doubt that the great city of London attracts UK tourists in their millions and is a major contributor to the British economy.

This week, the Home Office extended a scheme to make it easier to obtain a UK tourist visa for the highest spending visitors: the Chinese!

But the boss of Harrods wants the Home Office to go further and make it easier and quicker for all Chinese visitors to obtain UK tourist visas.

Other leaders including New York's Mayor Bloomberg and our own London Mayor believe that the UK needs more than just short term tourists to boost it growth and economy.

Boris has called for an amnesty for UK visa overstayers in the capital, a move which he claims will add billions to the economy in tax revenue, as well as legalising millions of illegal immigrants living on the fringe of British society.

Businesses wants more skilled and highly skilled immigration to fill UK job vacancies and give the country the people and brains it needs to fuel growth and create jobs. But the government has imposed a cap on non-EU immigration and wants employers to recruit from within the EU or EEA - not as easy as it sounds when other countries, such as Germany and Norway, are also competing for skilled labour including nurses and doctors.

Skilled nurses and doctors are desperately needed to keep our hospitals and care homes staffed and safe for patient care, which is why companies like Concept Care are recruiting nurses from overseas for the NHS this year in countries like: Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, India, China, Finland, Latvia, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and the Philippines.

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.

NHS Hospitals Recruiting Non-EU Nurses For UK Job Vacancies

Cynthia Barker writes...Phew, what a long day! I'm exhausted but feel great that I have achieved something worthwhile.

Started the day with an early presentation with Concept Care's team at a London NHS Trust, which wants to recruit international nurses, midwives and AHP's (allied Health Professions). such as Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists.

Interestingly, the NHS Trust has tried recruiting from the EU (Spain, Portugal, Romania and Bulgaria), but need far medical more staff going forward and will look at employing non-EU nurses from countries such as India and the Philippines.

Many hospitals have tried Europe but failed to recruit the required number, as well as finding that the level of English was not quite up to scratch.

Other Trusts have gone further afield to the Philippines to recruit Filipino nurses.

Went straight from the NHS recruitment presentation to the Philippine Embassy in Trafalgar Square where I met with the Labor Attache and Consul to discuss the POEA requirements for hiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW's) for UK jobs.

We also discussed job opportunities for the thousands of qualified nurses already in the UK, for instance on student visas, who are presently working as carers, but would like to get back into nursing. Send us your CV!

The embassy was, as usual, packed with OFW's applying for various documents while networking and watch TFC - The Filipino Channel in the reception!

Was asked by several people about NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) requirements for nursing in the UK, as well as what to do if someone has overstayed their visa.

Anyone with a nursing degree and 1 year's clinical practice who wants to work as a nurse in the UK should check my previous blog on NMC requirements for overseas nurses.

You will need an English language level of IELTS 7.00 if you are a non-EU nurse. 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.

I was in sunny London very close to Buckingham Palace where the Chinese Premier was visiting the Queen and David Cameron to discuss a multi-billion pound investment into the UK in return for easier visas for Chinese visitors.

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.

Immigration Needed In EU And UK Says Leading Think Tank

Cynthia Barker writes...Hi from 'hot' London, 24 degrees and no aircon! Just read that a leading think-tank has published a report confirming what we already knew: Europe and the UK need immigration to tackle the "millstone" an ageing population.

Wow, these guys must be clever! I only have to look around to see the amount of people on scooters and walking sticks to know that the British population mix is heading for the wrong side of 70.

In the past anyone over 70 was considered 'past it' or 'on his last legs'. Now 80 year old pensioners are playing gold, riding bikes and attending aerobic classes! Many will live to 100.

They are all drawing state pensions paid for directly from the taxes of younger working people like me - that's right, there is no pension 'fund'. Then we have to pay for the sick, unemployable and long term mentally or physically disabled - from our taxes deducted from our working salaries.

Even London Mayor Boris Johnson agrees, going against his Conservative party line, that Britain needs more workers,

Dr Robin Niblett, a leading expert in international relations and director of think-tank Chatham House, said that significant net migration is necessary to keep worker-dependency ratios across the EU at their 2020 levels.

Unlike other parts of the world such as Asia and Africa, almost half of the EU population (48.5%) will be aged 50 or over by 2050, according to Eurostat.

To merely maintain the workforce at 2010 levels, Europe needs immigration of 25 million by 2020.

The UK is already suffering from a labour shortage in the NHS and care industry. The government funded National Health Service (NHS) needs 20,000 nurses to fill advertised vacancies and they are not going to all come from the EU!

Only countries like The Philippines, India and China have a sufficient surplus of qualified specialist nurses to satisfy the demand for nurse job vacancies in the UK.

Concept Care Solutions has this week been appointed onto the LPP 'Lot 5 Framework' suppliers list to recruit international nurses for NHS Trusts, which means Concepts will be recruiting overseas nurses this year.

Hospitals are all running off to sunny Portugal, Greece and Spain to recruit nurses, but eventually they will have to sponsor non-EU nurses to fill those UK job vacancies. 

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.

Immigration Bill Will Cut Human Rights Appeals

Cynthia Barker writes...Good morning from sunny London during local and European election week! UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been 'Romanian bashing' again, as part of his campaign to leave the EU and regain control of our borders.

Many Brits are fed up with EU and EEA regulations, which among other things override UK Home Office Immigration Rules, which is why Prime Minister David Cameron has promised an '"in out" referendum on European Union membership if he wins the next general election in 2015.

Britain has little control over how many Europeans can move here, however, it works both ways with millions of UK citizens living and working in France, Spain and other EU nations.

But Mr Farage is not bothered about French or Germans coming to live in the UK - his wife is German. It's those less well off migrants from much poorer countries like Romania and Bulgaria that he wants to stop, as he claims they are "taking all our jobs" and driving down wages for British citizens.

Employers, like Concept Care Solutions, would argue that Romanians and Bulgarians are needed to fill thousands of UK job vacancies for nurses and care workers and have no choice but to recruit from overseas.

The Immigration Bill passed through the House of Lords last week and will receive the Royal Accent before becoming law or an Act of Parliament and enshrined into the Immigration Rules.

The latest Immigration Bill promises tougher measures on immigration appeals - by removing 17 grounds on which a person can appeal, for instance when facing deportation by the Home Office - and powers to remove revoke British Citizenship from foreign-born terror suspects.

Many people associate immigration appeals and tribunal decisions to allow foreign criminals indefinite leave to remain on Article 8 or right to a family life grounds with the European Union.

It is common misconception that the European Court of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are EU institutions when in fact they are entirely separate bodies.

Leaving the EU will not change the UK Human Rights Act or membership of the European Convention of Human Rights. The convention was formed in 1959 and has passed 17,000 judgments, half of which concerned 5 countries: Turkey, Italy, The Russian Federation, Poland and Romania - the UK accounted for just over 2% of judgments. Source ECHR website.

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.