The government’s white paper on immigration promises a single skills-based immigration system post-Brexit with transitional measures for low-skilled workers but a proposed £30,000 salary threshold thereafter. Here are the main points:
End to free movement
“Everyone will be required to obtain a permission if they want to come to the UK to work or study.”
Immigration targets
There will be no cap on the numbers of skilled workers but there will be targets.
“In line with the continued commitment to reduce annual net migration to sustainable levels as set out in the Conservative party manifesto, rather than the hundreds of thousands we have consistently seen over the last two decades,” the document says.
The Tory party has a longstanding commitment, flowing from Theresa May’s time as home secretary of reducing net migration to below 100,000 a year.
Latest figures put the net number of EU migrants as its lowest level in six years with overall net migration down to 273,000. Sajid Javid said “most people agree that is very high, certainly by historical standards”.
No access to British welfare system
Those who enter under the new system will have no “right to access to public funds, or to settle” said Javid.
Immigration based on skills
New system will favour skilled workers. The government says the policy “will ensure the UK remains a hub for international talent from the EU and the rest of the world”.
Low-skilled workers
To address concerns of employers particularly in construction and social care, it is proposed that low-skilled workers will be able to enter the UK for a maximum of 12 months with a cooling-off period of a further 12 months to prevent people effectively working in the UK permanently.
Low-skilled workers in this category will be able to move between employers without sponsorship. No access to public funds, a switch to another visa, or family reunion.
This will not be a route to permanent settlement, said the paper.
The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, called the measure “alarming” as it may suit the agriculture sector, but not others.
Timing
The white paper shows the government wants to enact this at the end of the transition period, which is currently set as January 2021.
The visa scheme will be opened in autumn 2020 to allow would-be migrants apply in good time.
But with no deal still a prospect, the system would could be in operation as early in April 2019 if the UK crashes out of the EU.
£30,000 salary threshold
There will be a salary threshold but this has been put out to a 12-month consultation period, so this could change if government succumbs to pressure from the business community, which says the minimum income is set too high for most sectors.
EU citizens already in the UK
EU citizens settled in the UK who want to stay in the country will have to register for a new “settled status”. They will have until June 2021 to do so as long as there is a transition period.
Family members of EU citizens in the UK
Post-Brexit EU nationals who wish to join family members “will need permission to do so, normally in the form of an electronic status, which must be obtained before coming to the UK”. In the current Brexit deal, family members will continue to have the right to come to the UK.
Irish nationals
Irish citizens will not have to apply for either the settled status scheme or a new visa.
Visitors from the EU
Visitors from the EU will get special treatment and will not be required to obtain a visa in advance of travel. The government intends to let them continue using the electronic passport gates at airports to allow quick transit on entry to the country. It hopes the EU will reciprocate.
Short-term visitors
The UK has said it does not intend to impose a visa requirement for short-term visits.
Young people’s visas
The mobility scheme for young people who come on short-term visas from countries like Australia will be expanded.
Criminal checks
The white paper proposes “applying stricter criminality thresholds on refusal of entry and removals to EU citizens entering the UK”. Under EU law EU citizens cannot be automatically barred on the basis of “previous criminal convictions” but they can be excluded on a case by case basis if they present a “genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat” to society.
