The UK Home Office has terminated a visa concession that since 2012 allowed foreign sheep shearers to enter the country without visas, according to reports. The arrangement will end on 30 June and will not be renewed in 2027, meaning foreign shearers wishing to work in the UK will now need to apply for visas. The Home Office extended the original plan to end access immediately to cover this year's season, and ministers want the industry to train more people in the UK. A Home Office spokesman stated that the sector has been supported for 14 years to enable them to train up British workers.
Farmers argue the work is seasonal and insufficient to sustain full-time employment without overseas travel, with only around 75 foreign shearers regularly coming to the UK each year. The shearing season for Scotland's 6.5 million sheep lasts about three months from May until August, creating a narrow window for the work. British farmers have branded the government's visa regulations for overseas sheep shearers a 'farce', citing a crippling three-month processing backlog for visas that threatens animal welfare across the country.
Overseas workers help manage large numbers of sheep in a short space of time. We only have a short period in the UK to achieve our shearing season so if it's extended too long, it could be an animal welfare issue.
The National Association of Agricultural Contractors estimates more than 1.5 million sheep could remain unshorn without professional shearers from abroad. According to BBC News, Duncan Adams described overseas workers as crucial for managing large numbers of sheep in a short space of time, warning that if the shearing season is extended too long, it could become an animal welfare issue. Adams believes the Home Office visa announcement is a 'poor' decision which will likely have a serious negative impact on the UK shearing industry.
Sheep and beef farmer Jed McAlley believes the new visa arrangement would be 'another thing to put them off' travelling. According to BBC News, McAlley described the need for all parties to work together to create a 12-month period of work, noting that in New Zealand shearers have about eight months' work compared to just two in the UK. The specific visa requirements foreign shearers will now need to apply for have not been detailed, nor has the number of UK-based shearers currently trained and available to replace foreign workers been disclosed. The exact timeline for the three-month visa processing backlog mentioned by GB News remains unclear, as do measures to address potential animal welfare issues from unshorn sheep. How the end of the visa concession in 2027 will specifically impact the shearing industry compared to immediate changes is also unknown.
We need to all work together to create a 12-month period of work. In New Zealand we've got about eight months' work. In the UK you've got about two months' work and you can go to Australia to pick up the rest. If you can create full time jobs for these guys I think that can only be a good thing.