The Home Office has granted a temporary exemption to the immigration rules for foreign nationals working in UK prisons in a bid to head off a potential staffing crisis.
The POA union, which represents uniformed prison grades, has welcomed a temporary reduction in the salary threshold prison officers must be paid to qualify for a visa or extension.
In July, the Home Office raised the salary threshold for a skilled worker visa from £38,700 to £41,700.
Starting salaries for prison officers range from £33,746 to £44,474, according to HM Prison and Probation Service, meaning that many roles no longer met the criteria for sponsorship. This meant many existing prison officers faced losing their jobs, while prisons faced difficulties in hiring enough staff.
Under the exemption, which came into effect on 19 December and will stay in place for the whole of this year, prison officers must earn £33,400 to qualify for the skilled worker visa or an extension of up to three years. However, this figure may change as thresholds are updated each spring, and further changes can be made according to the findings of the Migration Advisory Committee.
According to the POA, the prison service stood to lose more than 2,500 recruits after the rules were changed in July, mostly from Nigeria and Ghana. “The loss of so many frontline prison officers would have had a catastrophic effect on prison stability,” the union said.
HM chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said in November that the change in immigration rules could have a "devastating effect" on prisons.
Speaking to the BBC, Taylor said there was “the potential for there to be a real staffing crisis over the next few months unless the Ministry of Justice is able to get some agreement with the Home Office about having a carve-out” for officers who were facing the possibility of their visas not being renewed.
“It is an embarrassment, the idea that people who have dedicated themselves to this kind of service potentially will have their visa withdrawn,” he said.
He added some of the affected staff who were already in the UK had moved to the prison service "in good faith" from roles in the NHS, which were already exempt from the salary threshold for the skilled worker visa.
POA general secretary Steve Gillan called the exemption a “major victory for the POA and one of common sense”.
He said that while the exemption “might not be perfect”, it showed officials and ministers recognised the union’s arguments were “constructive and credible”.
National chair Mark Fairhurst said: “I am pleased that this government has once again listened to the POA and acted upon our concerns and I commend them for this decision. Our members can now go about their daily lives without the threat of removal from the country.”
However, he added that prisons are not the only sector affected by the salary thresholds in the immigration rules and that the exemption should apply to “all overseas workers who contribute to society and pay their way”.
A government spokesperson said: “Net migration has already fallen by more than two-thirds under this government. We are clear numbers must fall further as we create a migration system that is controlled and fair.
"However, public safety is the first duty of any government and we must ensure jails can continue to run safely with the right level of experienced staff. This is vital given the prison capacity crisis we inherited."