Summary

The UK fishing industry is heavily reliant on migrant workers. Yet, the planned abolition of the Immigration Salary List means that from the end December 2026 there will be no accessible immigration route to employ workers in the sector. This is likely to mean that even more businesses will seek to employ migrant workers through the Code 7 ‘Transit Loophole’ in order to keep the industry afloat.

The Transit Loophole is already widely misused to employ migrant workers in the UK fishing industry. Since it is only a transit permission and not a visa, there is considerable ambiguity regarding the labour protections and rights that workers employed via this route are entitled to. As a result, there is a heightened and systemic risk of labour exploitation and abuse, such as extremely low pay, excessive working hours, unsafe conditions, barriers to healthcare and compensation, and high levels of dependency on employers.

We are calling on the Government to establish a dedicated, Sector-Wide Fishing Worker Visa that would address the fundamental contradiction at the heart of the UK fishing industry: the sector relies heavily on migrant labour, yet the immigration system provides no appropriate immigration route.

Alistair Carmichael MP, Chair of the APPG on Fisheries, will table this amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill at Report Stage.

Download the full briefing below to learn more about the proposed Sector-Wide Fishing Worker Visa and the amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill.