Problem
New Government rules were introduced this year covering work permits for foreign workers with the aim of tightening up the immigration problems. Unfortunately these new rules have had a major impact on the availability of foreign sheep shearers (mainly Australian and New Zealanders) entering the country. The new rules require the UK based contractor to apply for a sponsorship licence (£300 - lasts 3-4 years) and then apply for a further certificate of licence for each shearer brought over (£170). The paperwork is then sent on to the the shearer by the UK contractor which the shearer requires to apply for a visa and a new biometric identity card which costs approximately £200 per applicant. These cards have to be applied for in person which means that in Australia for example the applicant has to travel to Canberra for a short interview and fill in the application. This in itself is a major headache for shearers but is further compounded by the fact that the present processing time can take up to 15 weeks. This obviously means that many who have applied will potentially miss the UK season.

A number of shearers will do the “season” and travel around the world shearing circuit following the work. There are a number of shearer’s presently in America and other parts of Europe and they have been told that they must travel back to their home country to apply for the card before coming back to the UK.

Obviously these administration and financial difficulties have caused many foreign shearers to question there plans for the upcoming UK season which has many implications for the National flock and in particular welfare issues for unshorn sheep (overheating, fly strike etc).

NFU Action
The NFU has been aware of this problem for a number of weeks and has been working closely with the NAAC (National Association of Agricultural Contractors) in order to overcome this problem. We have met with the Home Office to discuss the issue and provided evidence to help them as well as dealing with DEFRA officials and liaising with Ministers.

Result
Last night we heard from the UK Border Agency that Ministerial approval had been given to a series of measures that will hopefully solve this issue:
• Applications in Australia and New Zealand will be fast tracked through the system and take a maximum of 15 days.
• The Home Office has agreed that as a one off concession shearers presently in America and Europe can apply via the nearest post and therefore will not have to travel back home to apply.

These measures are a major gain and hopefully will bring in all the shearers in the system and encourage those who did not apply to reconsider their positions.