Hospitality worker visa petition gains over 10,000 signatures

A petition calling for the Government to create EU hospitality worker visas has reached over 10,000 signatures. 

The petition, created by Thiago Luz Togni, calls for the two year visa to work similarly to the Seasonal Work visa for horticulture workers, expressing that there is a “massive shortage of qualified labour in the UK to fill vacancies that were in many cases previously filled by EU staff”.

It goes on to explain that “for years people from the EU countries were the backbone of the hospitality industry and many were affected by COVID and subsequently by Brexit’s final terms”. 

Since the petition has reached over 10,000 signatures, the Government has to respond. If the petition reaches over 100,000 signatures, the Government will be considered for debate in Parliament. 

Data shows that 43,000 EU citizens received visas for work, family, study or other purposes in 2021, a small fraction of the 230,000 to 430,000 EU citizens coming to the UK each year in the six years to March 2020, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates.

However, as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, applications for work Visas in the UK have increased. There were 277,069 work-related visas granted in the year ending March 2022 (including dependents). This was a 129% increase on the year ending March 2021 and is 50% higher than in the year ending March 2020, according to data from the Home Office.