THE UK government has launched a scheme to facilitate the temporary return of health professionals to Zimbabwe (TRHPZ) as part of new efforts to encourage circular migration and promote international development, officials announced.
The scheme is administered by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). It offers to help bring back on short-term returns Zimbabwean health professionals and lecturers to support health institutions and the University of Zimbabwe’s College of Health Science (UZ-CHS).
Addressing an investment and migration management conference hosted by the Zimbabwe Diaspora Development Interface (ZDDI) in London at the weekend, a senior UK Border Agency (UKBA) official Dee Bourke outlined the UK’s new strategy to tackle the impact of migration on international development.
“Migration cannot be at the expense of the developing world where educated, essential people are not available to fill jobs in their countries,” she said.
The Border Agency has published a consultation paper on earning the right to stay in the UK which carries proposes to allow people to return and contribute to their countries without compromising their status in the UK.
Currently, migrants who return home for longer than a defined period, which is allowable under their conditions of entry, must reapply for entry clearance to return to the UK.
According to the consultation, those seeking to become British citizens might bolster their application through choosing to spend time in their country of origin undertaking work with developmental benefit. The consultation ends on October 26 and members of the public are invited to submit their views on the proposals.
The scheme for health professionals allows one to be placed temporarily in selected hospitals around the country or at the UZ-CHS to conduct joint medical procedures with local personnel, give lectures at the medical school or contribute in other ways to the Zimbabwean health sector.
Returnees are expected to stay for a period of two weeks to one month in Zimbabwe, although longer periods of stay can be arranged on a case-by-case basis.
Bourke also revealed that a six-month assisted voluntary returns programme launched in February and specifically tailored for failed asylum seekers from Zimbabweans has now been extended until the end of October this year.
The scheme increased the relocation grant given to returnees before departure from the UK from £500 to £1,000, and the in-kind business set-up grant from £2,000 to a total of £3,000 per returnee.
“We prefer people who have no right to be in the UK to leave voluntarily, and we provide support as we realise that nobody will return unless they can see how they will live,” Bourke said.
Limited assistance is available for overstayers and other irregular migrants who wish to be assisted to leave the UK. However, following the introduction of new immigration rules last year, people who take up voluntary return may be barred from re-entering the UK for up to five years.
Bourke said the UK government deliberately made it difficult for refused asylum seekers to remain in the country. But she dispelled as untrue claims that Zimbabweans were no longer eligible for asylum following the installation of the inclusive government.
“We’re committed to continue to provide asylum to those who need it. It is not true that any Zimbabwean who claims asylum now will not get it; we consider each case individually,” Bourke added.
She said it was unlikely that the government will grant refused asylum seekers permission to work but revealed that a phased funding scheme for re-skilling will be announced in the next five to six weeks.