How true ?

[anupvijay]

My friends and colleagues tell me that it is virtually impossible to get
WP nowadays compared to how it was couple of years back.

What I fail to understand is that,
whether this "impossibility" is because WPUK is not favoring more foreign
nationals to come and work here so as to allow resident workers a chance
OR
Is it because companies themselves are not willing to sponsor a WP?

And in case a company decides to sponsor a WP will WPUK have any
objections to it ?

All inputs appreciated.
Cheers.

[tvt]

This is not true unless you are from Bulgaria or Romania.

[anupvijay]

Yeah probably it is not true.
But I have seen and heard first hand experiences where a foreign
national's skills are an exact match to the company's requirement but
still they prefer searching for some one in UK or with a WP already
rather than sponsoring a WP for the new candidate.

In fact the search goes on for months while WP takes a few weeks.

Any idea why this is so ?

Regards

[ashishashah]

Yes,
Now a days it is difficult to get WP..
the reason is now it is in Tier 2 , while it was in tier 1 before.
So the employer needs to show that there is no local talent available..\
And any ways , now a days there are lot of local ppl. who are with out job.so chances of calling a foreigner are very slim..

AShish

[Dip]

Unless it is an intracompany transfer, the employer has to show that he has tried hiring someone locally before sponsoring a workpermit. So even if they decide to sponsor a workpermit, they need to do the legwork in showing that they have attempted hiring someone locally. (ie. adverts/interviews). This is a long process.

Rgds
Dip

[AtW]

Outsourcing certainly does not help. In addition to this there are loads of local unemployed programmers and their rates dropped big time, so there are a LOT less reasons to hire foreigners.