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As the UK embarks on the construction of new energy infrastructure, most notably new nuclear power stations, industry insiders will be well aware of the stark challenges that face these projects. One of which will be how to source and supply skilled professionals – particularly highly-skilled engineers and construction workers.
The UK had more or less hit pause on large nuclear energy infrastructure projects decades ago and sourcing professionals can be a problem, particularly when the required skills are simply not present in the economy at the moment. As is well known, many overseas companies are heavily involved in the construction of the UK’s two new nuclear plants in Somerset and Suffolk. As the government has noted, China is building 29 reactors and the EU has 12 at the planning stage.
Work visa rules should be amended
Aside from the high costs of obtaining a UK work visa and the administrative hassle, there are requirements that some workers might not be able to fulfil, such as, an English language requirement or a need to have a UK sponsoring organisation. Something creative needs to happen to work visas to head off bottlenecks and minimise their impact on project timelines and budgets – potentially a new streamlined visa category, and flexibility to work for more than one UK sponsor.
Relaxing visitor rules could be the best solution
Given the government’s willingness to establish areas with special legal arrangements (think freeports), which benefit from preferential treatment and regulations, a similar approach could potentially be taken for places where large-scale nuclear infrastructure projects are ongoing. For example, workers on certain construction sites or projects could be allowed to work with little or no requirement for immigration permission through a relaxing of the visitor rules.
This approach would not be unprecedented - the UK already provides a permit-free immigration route for well-established cultural events (such as Glastonbury or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and in January 2024 relaxed the visitor rules for many types of business activity. Whilst it is hard to equate music festivals with construction sites (although both can be equally muddy), a softening of the visitor rules for nuclear construction workers could potentially be introduced without having to make politically sensitive announcements about new immigration categories, whilst also offering an economic upside. Industry associations and leading players should be lobbying their interests carefully to ensure that arrangements are in place to avoid the planned expansion of nuclear energy hitting the buffers.
Further information
If you have any queries in relation to the issues raised in this blog or any other immigration matter, please contact a member of the immigration team.
About the author
Robert Houchill has extensive experience of assisting individuals and organisations with their UK immigration and nationality matters. Robert’s experience covers all kinds of immigration and nationality applications but with a particular emphasis on corporate immigration matters and complex immigration issues faced by individuals, such as previous immigration breaches and criminality.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
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