Government Uses Credit Cards to Pay for Skilled Worker Visas

Despite Labour’s pledge to crack down on migration, the Department for Work and Pensions has splashed £213,000 on credit cards to extend foreign staff visas. The Telegraph has the story.

The department, which is the largest employer in Whitehall, has sponsored 250 skilled worker visas and is paying to extend them using government credit cards.

The move comes despite the Prime Minister’s pledge that net migration will fall “substantially” by the end of this parliament, arguing that parts of the economy “seem almost addicted to importing cheap labour”.

Between January and the end of July this year, the DWP spent £213,000 to extend skilled worker visas on government credit cards.

It is understood that using the cards to extend visas is within Whitehall spending rules, although the policy appears at odds with Labour’s own crackdown on the use of government “procurement cards”.

Labour has previously argued that the credit cards were overused by the Conservatives for frivolous or inappropriate spending.

The news that the DWP is using the cards to extend visas will raise eyebrows among those critical of the high numbers of foreign workers in the UK. …

In May, Sir Keir heavily criticised employers for hiring too many foreign staff, pledged to reduce net migration by 2029 and argued that a large number of foreigners in the workforce could be bad for the economy. …

The Telegraph contacted every government department to ask how many staff were employed on skilled worker visas. All refused to give a figure.

Worth reading in full.