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For INTERNATIONAL pharmacy graduates and the law change

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=208570245695&ref=nf

As you all must be aware, the UKBA together with the government have enacted new laws/rules (whatever you want to call them), which affects all pre registration students who start this summer/autumn.

The new laws state that the community pharmacists have been taken off the shortage occupation list and also that the pre registration year salary falls below their requirements. This basically means TROUBLE for us international students.

The RPSGB and community pharmacies across the country are lobbying against these new rules, to allow us to carry on with our pre registration year. But the UKBA has only agreed to conduct a review in September.

As far as I know, any pre registration student doing their pre reg with Lloyds, has been given the green light to apply for a Tier 1 post study work visa - Is this correct?

And as for those of us "supposed" to be working for boots as pre reg students, we do not know what is happening at the moment. Boots says they are trying to fight the case and that there may be three possibile outcomes, as stated by them:

· UKBA accepts our position, the fact that this recruitment process began a year ago, that our salary is reflective of the community market place, and process your application under the old regulations
· Or there may be some delay to your commencement date as we continue the process of appealing on your behalf
· Or the UKBA refuse to grant you sponsored migrant status. In this event we would have no alternative but to withdraw our offer of employment

As of now, we are left hanging. Having spoken to a few officials at my University, I have gathered that there is a highly likely possibility of us not being able to start our pre reg on the 27th July, instead if the UKBA does decide to agree with community pharmacies, then we will be starting in October.

Also, if you're working for boots, they don't seem too keen on us applying for a tier 1 application and then doing our pre reg with them. Their argument being that they are not going to invest so much money in training us during our pre reg year and then having to let us go, not working for them, a chance of us working for someone else - as the post study work visa is only valid for 2 years.

Or, worst case scenario - we don't get to do our pre reg in this country AT ALL! Which means our last 4 years at uni are useless.

So, here's a group for us to share our thoughts and views, if possible, we can come up with a way of putting together how we feel and how unfair we think this is, as most of us will have been offered jobs by summer last year.

Here's a link to the article that was in the PJ last week:

http://www.pjonline.com/news/community_pharmacists_no_longer_in_shortage_says_mac

And perhaps also help each other through this uncertainty..

Reply 1

Gio

bump, this mess is getting intense

Reply 2

TigerSwift

www.bpsa.co.uk

There is some information on there as well. They should update soon on what has happened since.

Reply 3

Tototoro

This is only a huge deal if you plan on staying in the UK to work afterwards am I correct? Of course though....even as an international student it makes perfect sense to finish your pre reg year....

Reply 4

TigerSwift

Tototoro

This is only a huge deal if you plan on staying in the UK to work afterwards am I correct? Of course though....even as an international student it makes perfect sense to finish your pre reg year....

Some preregistration providers are refusing to take on preregistration students this year because of this. I think some students need the preregistration year to be completed if they want to practice in the their own country. Each country is different.