House of Lords Debate Displaced Talent Visa in the UK

Above: Lord Bishop of Durham speaking to the House of Lords

Talent Beyond Boundaries have been working with the RAMP Project on Amendment 31 to the EU Withdrawal Bill to urge the government to create a Displaced Talent Visa. As its name suggests, this visa would allow the UK to pioneer a bespoke visa solution for forcibly displaced people, allowing labour mobility to become a normalised, scalable solution.

On 9 September 2020, the House of Lords discussed this Amendment. Proceedings commenced with the Lord Bishop of Durham introducing Amendment 31 with the follow proposition:

“Displaced people, including refugees, have skills, talents and motivations, and dream of building a new life in a new land. What if we saw such people as a gift as well as a responsibility?” 

Lord Bishop of Durham continued his passionate and comprehensive speech by covering all the key points relating to this solution: the plight of forcibly displaced people, their unseen talents, and importantly, additionality of this pathway to the UK humanitarian commitment.

In places like Lebanon, people fleeing the Syrian conflict are not permitted to work legally. They are dependent on handouts; their lives are on hold. Many of these people have God-given talents which are going to waste. Meanwhile, employers in the UK face critical skills shortages. Ending free movement for EEA and Swiss nationals will only make it more challenging for them to recruit people with the skills they require. Is it beyond our imagination to connect the two, for the benefit of all?​

Above: Lord Bishop of Durham speaking to the House of Lords in support of Amendment 31 on 9 September 2020

Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab) called this a creative idea, referenced successful pilots in Australia and Canada, and implored the government - if nothing else - to commit to a proper pilot in the UK. She also reiterated that the Displaced Talent Visa must be in addition to the UK’s humanitarian intake commitments; a point with which TBB wholeheartedly agrees.

The right reverend Prelate has already made a strong case for what I believe is a very helpful and, as he put it, creative idea that is well worth exploring. I hope the Government will explore it.... we do not see this as a substitute for fulfilling our obligation to provide a safe haven to asylum seekers and refugees or for positive reforms to the asylum system...

Lord Loomba (CB) spoke exclusively to this amendment and lent his support from the perspective of a businessman and a humanitarian.

I support the amendment because it has the foresight to do something positive for displaced people at a time in their life when they often have no one to turn to, and no means of supporting themselves and their family. This country has a long history of helping displaced people, and the humanitarian kindness it has shown countless refugees over the years is well known. Through this amendment we will do something truly remarkable—helping people in need while enhancing this country through the skilled workers who wish to make it their home. We will maintain our world-class image by helping refugees and displaced persons in their time of greatest need, while also filling skills gaps in this country.

Above: Lord Alton of Liverpool speaking to the House of Lords in support of Amendment 31 on 9 September 2020

Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB) gave a moving speech about the barriers displaced people face in accessing skilled visas. He spoke to this being a "win-win solution" and said that the creation of a Displaced Talent Visa would contribute to the Global Britain the government was trying to create.

Through its work in Jordan and Lebanon especially, Talent Beyond Boundaries has found that there are particular barriers under the current UK tier 2 regime that make it difficult for a displaced Syrian in Jordan, for example, to have the same opportunity to come to the UK to work as someone with the same skills from Australia, India or the United States. They are required to provide the identity documents specified by the Home Office when these can be provided only by a hostile regime. We all know that that would be an impossibility. Amendment 31 therefore urges the Government to create a displaced talent visa specifically to address such barriers and pave the way to eventually put in place a global scheme.

Baroness Stroud (Con) structured her speech into three tests - the Business Test; the Equity Test; and the Humanitarian Test which she believes should be met when a democracy considers the development of a robust immigration system that serves both its own ​citizens and those seeking to make the UK their new home.

She concluded that this amendment passes all tests, and that the Displaced Talent Visa will level the playing field and level up Britain.

The amendment is not intended to replace our UN commitments to refugee settlement, but rather to answer the call of employers who are willing to support vulnerable people, while closing their own labour and skills gaps. As we have just heard from the noble Lord, Lord Loomba, in a survey of 500 corporates of varying ​size and sector conducted by Fragomen, 73% said that they would either seriously consider, or actively pursue, the opportunity to employ displaced people. The British people are instinctively responsive to those who are vulnerable but want to work hard to give their families a better future, and to contribute to the building of the nation that offers them safety. They want to be responsive.

Note: CB = Cross Bench, Con = Conservative, Lab = Labour, LD = Liberal Democrats

With thanks to the great support received from our partners the RAMP Project and Fragomen, TBB’s solution of a Displaced Talent Visa  has now been catapulted into public discourse. We will now leverage these discussions into our working relationship with the Minister’s Office and the Home Office with a view to opening a pathway for displaced talent to the UK.

To get involved as an employer, a mentor to our candidates, a partner in our model, or a funder of our work in the UK please contact TBB UK Director, Marina Brizar at mbrizar@talentbeyondboundaries.org. 

* The full debate transcript may be accessed here.