London: Indian restaurant owners across Britain have prepared a 75-page document asking the UK government to introduce short one-year visas so they can bring in chefs from the Indian sub-continent to keep their businesses going.
The document has been submitted to British Prime Minister David Cameron, UK homes secretary Theresa May and employment minister Priti Patel.
“We propose a tightly controlled, temporary work visa scheme where expert chefs from outside the European Union (EU) are allowed to enter the UK on very strict employment terms.
These terms would limit their employment to a maximum of one year with no right of return, no chance of residency or out-of-work benefits,” the submission put by Enam Ali, founder of the British Curry Awards said.
“We know historically that immigration is a political exercise for any party who wants to use it to gain a political advantage, but sadly it is the curry industry that is paying the price for it,” the document said.
“We therefore urge the government to help our industry and we strongly recommend that the immigration laws covering bringing in chefs from abroad be made, even on a temporary basis, more adequately flexible,” it said.
“One suggestion would be short-term visas, similar to Germany, the US and the Middle East, where they have to leave the country after their term.
There would be no burden at all on the welfare system or the taxpayers.” it added.
There are fears that unless the government makes an exception for chefs trained in Indian style cooking, up to a third of the estimated 12,000 curry restaurants and takeaways in Britain may have to close.
The government’s view has been that children train in their parents’ profession but most of the second and third generation immigrants are attracted to alternative professions. (PTI)
