Prison Officers’ Association says change in eligibility for skilled work visas is ‘disgraceful’ and ‘pandering to Reform’
Hundreds of foreign prison officers will lose their jobs and could be forced to return to their home countries at short notice because of a change in visa rules introduced by Labour, governors and a union have warned.
More than 1,000 staff, mainly from African countries, have been sponsored by prisons across England and Wales allowing them to come to the UK on skilled worker visas.
But since a rule change in July, overseas prison officers whose contracts need to be renewed have been told that they are no longer eligible for a visa if they are paid below the threshold of £41,700. Keir Starmer promised in May to drive down net migration to the UK “significantly”.
Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) union, said the change was “scandalous” and done in haste because the government was “pandering to Reform”.
