The Mayor’s Office have unveiled a new toolkit for small businesses in London wanting to find overseas talent.
From today, the online service will guide businesses on how to hire a non-EEU worker, someone already in the country or become a sponsor.
After a three month trial period, the Mayor’s Office combined with the Home Office will then ask for feedback from the London business community.
Campaign for better immigration policy
The services offers a step by step guide on the application process and contains links to the UK Border Agency’s website.
Uniquely it also allows businesses to contact UK immigration officers directly for free with any questions.
The toolkit is designed to help businesses ‘navigate the visa system’ according to the Mayor’s office.
But upon first look, the toolkit seems to be merely simplifying the UK Border Agency’s website rather than adding anything new.
This unveiling coincides with our immigration roundtable report published last week which highlighted the difficulties businesses faced with the immigration system.
We found the issue was not that people didn’t know how to apply, more the system was too bureaucratic and complex.