UK urged to make visa easy for Bangladeshi restaurant workers

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury has called on the UK to relax its visa policy for Bangladeshi restaurant workers.

Bangladeshi restaurants in the UK are facing a severe shortage of skilled staff after the country raised the minimum annual salary to 3800 pounds, which is not affordable for many restaurant owners, he said while speaking at a dialogue in the UK on Thursday.  

The state minister requested the UK government to lower the minimum salary for people working in the hospitality sector. He also said Bangladesh can provide skilled construction workers and farm workers who can work seasonally. 

He noted that bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the UK have reached new heights in the last 15 years, supported by the progressive foreign policy of Sheikh Hasina's government. 

"There are still many areas to be explored to further broaden and deepen Bangladesh-UK long-standing historic relations," the state minister said on the occasion.

The UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Bangladesh organised the dialogue. 

Shofiqur said the government has continued efforts for the well-being of Bangladeshis living around the world.  

He expected that the Bangladesh government would work together with the UK government to create more job opportunities for Bangladeshi skilled workers, including restaurant workers, doctors, and nurses.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem, Bob Blackman MP and APPG vice-chair Lord Karan Bilimoria spoke at the dialogue, presided over by APPG on Bangladesh Chair Rushanara Ali MP. 

High Commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem said the Bangladesh High Commission in London is working towards providing more job opportunities for skilled Bangladeshi workers in the UK. 

She noted that many caregivers from Bangladesh have been recruited in the UK over the past few years. Additionally, the recruitment of seasonal farm workers from Bangladesh has also commenced.

High UK Parliamentary officials and eminent members of the British-Bangladeshi community attended the event.

Earlier, the state minister attended an event organised by the British Bangladeshi Chamber of Commerce.