London faces a shortage of Italian waiters as strict new post-Brexit rules are put in place to stop thousands moving to the capital to work in restaurants.
For decades, countless young Italians have traveled to London to pursue their dreams, learn English and serve diners in restaurants dedicated to their home country.
However, that well-trodden path was seemingly closed on Tuesday after new UK regulations increased the minimum salary threshold for a skilled work visa from £26,000 to £38,700.
The changes were announced by Home Secretary James Cleverly last year as part of a five-point plan to curb net migration, which he described as “far too high”.
According to Italian daily La Repubblica, the threshold changes will likely undo Italian involvement in London – which dates back to the city’s founding by the Romans in 43 AD.
But it’s not just young Italians who will be hit by the pay rise, as London restaurants will now struggle to stay open due to staff shortages, with 15 per cent of jobs in the UK hospitality sector being held by foreign workers.
For decades, countless young Italians have traveled to London to pursue their dreams, learn English and serve diners in restaurants dedicated to their home country (archive image)
According to Italian daily La Repubblica, the threshold changes will likely wipe out Italian participation in London – which dates back to the city’s founding by the Romans in 43 AD (Photo: Bar Italia in Soho)
Today, London is home to up to 500,000 Italians, more than Bologna, which would make it Italy’s seventh largest city by population.
Despite the new rules, highly skilled Italians earning above the new minimum wage will continue to arrive and workers will be able to apply for visas for jobs with a lower salary threshold if their role is on the company’s salary list. British immigration.
But even before the new minimum wage increase, many companies were reluctant to hire Italian waiters and lower-paid workers, due to the high administrative costs of obtaining a work visa for them.
Francesco Ragni, founder of the Italian expat website Londra Italia, told The Times: “It was already complicated – I don’t think many waiters were coming with this visa. They were more likely to be chefs and pizza makers who were hard to find in the UK.
London restaurants will now face a staff shortage problem as the 120,000 unfilled roles in the UK hospitality sector are expected to worsen in the future.
According to a recent study, more than 90 per cent of the 8,500 migrants recruited into the industry last year would not qualify below the new threshold of £38,700.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said the hospitality sector is experiencing a labor shortage of between 8 and 12 per cent since emerging from Covid.
She added: “Successive strengthening of the skilled worker visa means that the route from Europe to fill these skilled jobs has all but been removed.”
Since the Romans founded the city in 43 AD, Italian involvement in London has always been significant, as evidenced by the 14th century presence of Lombard bankers in what is today known as from Lombard Street.
Italians also introduced cafe culture to Soho after the Second World War with the opening of Bar Italia on Frith Street, before introducing pizza, Parma ham and bottles of chianti wrapped in raffia via traditional restaurants .
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