An employer’s guide to the displaced talent visa for refugees
The government has announced a new Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot to help refugees find work and safety in the UK. It seems like an amazing opportunity for employers to get access to incredible talent while offering asylum to those that need it most!
The pilot will give around 100 applicants and their families easier access to the Skilled Worker Route, which normally requires candidates to hand over lots of paperwork including tax records and references.
Here are the facts:
- Over the next two years the pilot will help 50-100 applicants and their families get access to the Skilled Worker Route visa, which lets people from outside the UK stay and work with an approved employer.
- Normally applicants have to prove their identity, provide extensive documentation and wait weeks to hear back.
- The pilot offers priority processing and official administrative support.
- Once they get their visa, they can stay in the UK for 5 years and if they meet the right criteria, be granted indefinite leave to remain.
- Their visa won’t rely on employment – the new pilot offers safegaurds so they’re not forced to return to a dangerous country if they lose their job.
Once the two-year pilot is finished, the government will assess whether we need a new visa route for refugees or whether this system works.
This pilot is amazing news for refugees and we really hope it becomes a permanent route. There are already hundreds of thousands of refugees in the UK, so we might not see widespread benefits until it’s extended.
It’s also amazing news for employers too. As long as you’re a licensed sponsor and you’re offering a role that meets the minimum salary requirements, you now have access to even more top international talent!
How to hire through the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot
The pilot has been created with Talent Beyond Boundaries, an amazing organisation that already matches employers with talented refugees. The pilot will work in a similar way to their usual process. Once you register your interest and opportunity, the organisation will give you a shortlist of candidates to choose from.
Most of these candidates will be from Jordan and Lebanon and they will all have been pre-screened by Talent Beyond Boundaries.
You can then conduct interviews and assess skills before making a job offer. Following this, you and your candidate will have to prepare an immigration application – but Talent Beyond Boundaries can help with that too.
As long as your company is a licensed sponsor, with priority processing it should take no longer than 5 days to get approval and arrange a start date!
Once your hire has moved to the UK and settled in their new home with their family, they can start working for you.
As with the regular Skilled Worker Route, roles on the shortage list will be prioritised. These include roles in healthcare, science, engineering, software development and design.
The costs to consider
As with any international hire, there are some costs to keep in mind. You’ll need to pay:
- A visa application charge
- Immigration legal fees
- General relocation costs for your hire, including temporary accomodation and flights
You’ll also need to consider the time restraints. If you’re looking to take someone on ASAP, waiting for applications to be approved and families to move across the country might take a while even with expedited processing!
I hope this guide to the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot visa helps you hire talented refugees. If you can become a licensed sponsor, there really is no reason not to help these people escape conflict and start again in the UK!