Immigration and the Labour Market

Summary 1 The Government assert that the existence of 600,000 vacancies justifies the present very large scale immigration but:   i) The number of vacancies actually increased between August 2001 and 2004 despite net immigration of nearly half a million in that period. This confirms the view that, in an economy operating close to capacity, […]

A Points System for Work Permits?

Summary1. There are currently three main entry routes for people from outside the EU who want to work in the UK – the work permit system, the so-called sector-based schemes covering agricultural workers, hospitality and food-processing workers and the highly skilled migrants programme. 2. The number of work permits issued has risen from 32,704 in […]

Workers from eastern Europe | Migration Watch UK

The Government have announced that 91,000 Eastern Europeans have registered since May, nearly half of them new arrivals. This is a very large number. At an annual rate it is 7 times the governments maximum prediction of 13,000. The Government have shown a complete lack of foresight. In recent years, they have quadrupled work permits […]

Foreign nurse recruitment a red herring. | Migration Watch UK

The Royal College of Nurses claim today that there has been a big increase in the number of nurses leaving Britain for the United States.A report by think-tank MigrationWatch (read report) puts these numbersinto perspective. Admission to the UK Register of Nurses from overseas has roughly trebled from 5,000 in 1997/98 to 15,000 in 2003/4. […]

MW122 : How skilled are immigrants to Britain? | Migration Watch UK

1. Settlement figuresIn the period 1998-2002 (5 years) the proportions of the total number of grants of settlement were as follows: Category Average 1998-2002 2002 only Employment 14% 17% Asylum 30% 26% Family formation 48% 45% Discretionary grants 8% 9% Category unknown <1% 2% Note: 1) Employment and Asylum includes dependants who are about half […]

Report Proposes Payment for ID cards… | Migration Watch UK

People could be paid to have an ID card under proposals put forward in a paper published today by think-tank Migrationwatch. The paper, written by an IT expert with experience of designing and implementing complex computer systems, proposes a ‘virtual card’, in that there would be no need to carry it, nor would it be compulsory. After […]

Radical scheme change opens ‘Back Door to Britain’ Radical government changes to the hitherto successful ‘Working Holiday Makers scheme,’ are opening a new and completely uncontrolled ‘back door to Britain’. | Migration Watch UK

The old scheme has generally been a success. It permitted applicants, mainly (but not exclusively) from the old Commonwealth, to have some experience of Britain and to contribute to our economy. They were allowed to work in non-professional jobs provided it was “incidental to their holiday”. In practice, the limit was up to 50% of […]