Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what visa options are available to the ship building industry for the use of non-UK labour for the delivery of shipbuilding projects.

The UK’s new Points-Based Immigration System will come into effect from 1 January 2021; however, to provide certainty for UK-based employers and individual migrants, a number of new routes – including the new Skilled Worker route – will open on 1 December 2020.

Occupations such as boat and ship builders and repairers will be eligible for the Skilled Worker route subject to meeting the wider criteria, including the relevant salary threshold and English Language requirements.