UK envoy warns Pinoys vs looking for work on tourist visas

Tags: OFWs in UK
After assuring Pinoys who seek to visit the United Kingdom on tourist and business visas that acquiring permits is a straightforward process, British Ambassador Asif Ahmad cautioned Pinoys against heading to the UK to look for work illegally. 
 
“Over 90 percent who visit the UK get their visas. So, we say yes to the vast majority of those who apply. What the UK does not allow is people using the idea that they can go as a tourist and hope that they can find work. That is not what we’re about,” Ahmad told reporters at the This is Great Britain Festival over the weekend.
 
Instead, Ahmad advised those seeking work in the UK to go through legitimate means to secure entry into the country, so they can be issued the correct visas for their intended purpose.
 
“If you want to work abroad you can look at our rules and regulations, and our capability. If you have a highly desirable skill that we’re short of, if you get sent on an intercompany transfer, if you are part of a research program where your skills are actively being sought, then that is still open,” Ahmnad said. 
 
However, the British ambassador admitted the UK might not be the best place for Overseas Filipino Workers at the moment. 
 
“We’re no longer really a place where people should look for large-scale skilled migration. We don’t have an OFW intake program, but we love the Filipinos living and working in the UK now—I’d rather be treated by a Filipina nurse or health care worker than anybody else,” he said. 
 
During the festival’s opening, Ahmad also took the time to debunk myths that it is difficult for a Filipino to obtain a visa to travel to the UK for business or pleasure.
 
“We are issuing 90 percent of visas, and we say yes, and we’re doing that in the target of 15 days. There are no queues in our system. Because the last thing we want is a snake of people queuing in the rain and the heat of Manila, waiting for a visa,” he said, adding applicants can now even track their progress online.
 
"It’s all done fairly quickly. You can even check on the website exactly how far we’ve come on your application," he said. — JDS, GMA News

Tags: OFWs in UK

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