With Brexit upon us and the transitional period ending on 31st December 2020 there is a lot of unease and uncertainty in Europe. Will there be a last minute agreement, we will go out without a deal. How is this going to affect people that want to move and work in the UK and more specifically the Italian Pizzaioli community?
This is what we know:
If you arrive before 31st December 2020
It will be more or less business as usual, as long as you can move fast. You need to arrive, find a job, find a place to live in with a proper tenancy agreement, obtain a National Insurance Number and then using the official "EU exit: ID Document Check" app, apply for Pre Settled Status. Of course you need a valid Passport or Carta d'Identita to do this (a passport is preferable). The app will tell you in real time whether your application has been accepted. When I did this last year, it only took me 10 minutes and the process was pretty straight forward. I was accepted :)
If you are granted Pre Settled Status you can enjoy pretty much the same rights as any other citizen, namely:
- Right to work
- Access to the NHS
- Right to study
- Access to benefits
- Right to exit and entering the country
After 5 years of continuos stay (which means you have lived in the UK for at least 6 months in any 12 month period) you can apply for Settled Status (to stay indefinitely).
If you arrive after 31st December 2020
The situation becomes fairly complicated. A point system much like in Australia will be introduced and getting in will be not easy and statistics show that 70% of Italians that got into the UK in the past decade, would not be able to enter after Brexit.
Based on the point system information available at this time, candidates will need to score 70 points to be able to enter the UK. How do you obtain those points?
You must meet 4 criteria:
Mandatory Criteria (50 points in total):
- You must have a job offer from an approved sponsor - 20 points
- You must have the right skills for the job (although this translates to having A levels or higher - in Italy this is the equivalent of a Diploma di Scuola Superiore) - 20 points. Gov.co.uk states:
- the job must be at or above the minimum skill level: RQF3 level or equivalent (A level or equivalent qualification). Workers will not need to hold a formal qualification. It is the skill level of the job they will be doing which is important. RQF3 is a level in the skilled workers occupation list. This a list put together by MAC (Migration Advisory Committee). Chefs, which we assume includes Pizza Chefs is category 5434
- You must speak English at "Intermediate" level, this of course will have to be proven by way of a certificate like IELTS or TOEFL - 10 points. Gov.co.uk states: skilled workers B1 (AS-Level or equivalent).
Interchangeable Criteria (20 pints):
- You must earn more than £25,600 per annum
There are other criteria as well, but they center on having a post graduate degree or being part of a category where there is a personnel shortage (like nurses) so they don't apply to Pizza chefs.
In conclusion if you have any intention of coming to work in the UK in the near future, you need to hurry, get here before the end of the year and obtain your pre settled status. After you obtain this you can than plan with more calm in the knowledge that you will be able to stay or go back to Italy for a little and then come back.
A lot may change in the next few months and it's well possible that at some point the pizzaiolo category will be considered a special category and the criteria, at least the salary one, eased. We will keep you up to date as we go. In the meantime if you need any help or advice feel free to email us at ciao@pizzaiolotribe .com.
Potete guardare un breve video sul nostro canale youtube: https://youtu.be/t2yr_0qxJEk