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.

Wimbledon Starts Today With The Help Of Migrant Workers

Cynthia Barker writes...Today is the start of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, one of the great British summer traditions, and the sun is shining! Let's hope it's a good omen for Andy Murray who is defending his Grand Slam title - tennis fans have been queuing for Centre Court tickets since Saturday!

Crowds of up to 40,000 a day will pack the All England Club during the Wimbledon fortnight and many will no doubt want to sample the delights of strawberries and cream washed down with a glass of champagne.

But who will be serving the food, pouring the wine and clearing up the tons of rubbish every day? You can bet there will be a high proportion of migrant workers, especially from Eastern European countries such as Poland, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Non-EU migrants have not been able to obtain work permits or UK visas for low skilled jobs for some time and students at private colleges are barred from working to support their studies.

Wimbledon is a prime example of a great world class British institution which would not function without willing migrant workers. Another is the NHS, which is now recruiting overseas to fill nurse job vacancies in UK hospitals.

Hey, Andy Murray has just won his first match in straight sets! Come on Andy!

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.

EU Free Movement Rules And 'Cash For Citizenship' Allow Wealthy Investors To Fast Track Visas

Cynthia Barker writes...Fridays are always manic, as there's always a deadline and the phones are non stop! I will get two cases off to the Home Office before close of business today: a spouse visa and an ILR or indefinite leave to remain application.

Had a call from a nurse in Malta today. Originally from Asia, he is now working in Malta as a general nurse, but would like to work in the UK.

Although Malta is a member of the European Union (EU) he cannot enjoy complete free movement within EEA countries as he is on a work permit and does not hold a Maltese passport.

Thousands of non-EU migrant workers live and work in EU countries for years without gaining citizenship. In the UK, if you are a migrant on a working visa can apply for ILR (permanent residency) after 5 years and British citizenship a year later. Workers in other EU countries are not treated so fairly.

For instance, I have met Filipino and Indian migrants who have worked in Italy, Greece and Cyprus for over 10 years who are still on temporary residence visas.

Whilst there are some common EU immigration policies, each member state still makes up there own national rules.

This year I hope to visit several EU countries to offer advice to migrant workers who may have the opportunity to gain citizenship or petition their families under EEA regulations or apply under specific judgments such as Zambrano, Chen and Surinder Singh.

As with most things in life, money talks. EU countries such as the UK, Malta, Latvia and Bulgaria are offering immediate residence to investors and, depending on how much cash you have, a fast track to citizenship - otherwise know as "cash for citizenship"!

The UK has higher limits and stricter rules on how long you need to stay in the country to qualify for a 'red' passport, but other countries are far more flexible because they need your money!

If you have 500,000 Euros to invest (normally put into government bonds) you could get an immediate 'investor visa' with residency and a EU member state passport allowing you free movement in any EU country within 3 years. Interested? Email me.

You may ask why a wealthy African, Russian or Chinese investor would want an EU passport when he or she can travel pretty much anywhere they like and live a life of luxury in their own countries? There are a number of reasons why an EU country passport offers security for them and of course their children. For example, not all countries have the same human rights protection, rule of law or fair justice in the legal system, as a few Russian billionaires have found to their cost.

Some wealthy individuals plan years ahead and want to set their children up with a more secure life in the west, while others want shelter their assets in the London property market. 

As for our nurse in Malta, he should register with the NMC and obtain a decision letter, as the UK NHS needs overseas nurses to fill 20,000 nurse job vacancies right now. Concept Care is recruiting qualified specialist nurses for the NHS and will be holding open recruitment events this year in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, China and the Philippines. In fact, wherever there are qualified English speaking nurses, Concept Care will be there! 

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.

UK Needs Migrant Workers

Cynthia Barker writes...It's bank holiday weekend in the UK, so no work on Monday, even for a busy immigration adviser! Mind you, I have taken a few cases home to work on over the weekend!

The local election results in England on Thursday showed a rise in popularity for the United Kingdom Independence Party, UKIP. The party wants a freeze on UK immigration and withdrawal from the European Union, which would mean an end to free movement for millions of EU, EEA and UK citizens.

Whilst UKIP are extremely unlikely to win a general election, Prime Minister David Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on whether or not the UK stays in the EU.

ONS figures released last week show a 43,000 rise in EU immigration, including 23,000 from Romania and Bulgaria.

But with British employers such as the NHS desperately short of nurses, blocking immigration and leaving the EU will not help fill the 20,000 UK nurse job vacancies - not to mention many other medical jobs, catering, cleaning, domestic work, IT and so on...

The NHS are recruiting international nurses again by the way. They have created an LPP 'framework' or preferred suppliers list of 20 agencies to partner with - to keep out the sharks! Concept Care are on the list and are looking for qualified nurses - 2 years experience in hospitals - with NMC registration and IELTS 7.00 right now!

Britain would grind to a halt without the thousands of migrant workers, including those working in the UK illegally, who do the jobs the British workers do not want to do. Without immigrants, the hospitals would not have enough nurses and doctors to care for us, nursing homes would close, restaurants and cafes would run out out of chefs and waiters and the captains of industry would have nobody to run their domestic households.

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.