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Azets has launched a new immigration visa service to help firms recruit talent from overseas.
The firm’s HR consultancy is now able to offer advice, information, and support in a ‘one-stop shop’ dealing with business immigration, sponsorship, and visas.
Azets said that the complex process of hiring overseas workers was recently overhauled with difficulties and since Brexit all European citizens also require a visa.
Heading the new service is senior HR consultant Andreja Okamgba, an experienced employment and immigration law specialist.
In her two prior jobs, Okamgba, an immigration advisor governed by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), performed a similar role.
Azets’ claimed that its new service is fully OISC registered.
Okamgba said: “We focus on what businesses need – and that is mainly to help in recruiting and bringing in talent from abroad. Business immigration is a wide area, and we are finding clients are caught up with immigration hurdles and red tape, particularly because of Brexit.
“The immigration system is changing very quickly, and with further reforms on the horizon businesses can easily fall foul of new requirements and complex processes – we are there to cut through the noise.”
She added: “We also collaborate with people already in the UK who may still require visas if they change employers and we undertake a great deal of advisory work, especially with regard to overseas businesses setting up UK subsidiaries.”
Hannah-Jane (H-J) Dobbie, head of HR consultancy at Azets, said: “It’s an exciting opportunity for Azets. There is a definite appetite for this service from both clients and the wider business community and to bring it in-house marks the start of a new chapter for us.
“Andreja is an established HR professional who has been on our radar for some time. Her expertise in all aspects of business immigration will help businesses assess their immigration needs, obtain sponsorship licences, and ensure employed individuals are able to enter and stay in the UK as required.”
She added: “She is also a qualified mediator, and specialises in workplace investigations, organisational behaviour, and employment law. She’s an established HR professional who has previously worked at Carter Backer Winter, MHA MacIntyre Hudson, and Capsticks.”
