Migrant teachers and nurses will be forced to declare criminal past before being allowed into Britain
Home Office reveals those from outside EU will need to provide a certificate disclosing convictions in VISA application
MIGRANT teachers and nurses will be forced to declare any criminal past before being allowed to come to the UK.
The Home Office yesterday revealed that from April, migrants from outside the EU would need to provide a certificate disclosing convictions in their VISA application.
It will involve providing proof of criminal record checks for every country they have lived in for the last 10 years.
Currently the thousands who come to the UK for jobs that involve working with children or vulnerable adults only have to “self-declare” once they are here.
The current ‘grace period’ is 90 days.
Robert Goodwill of the Immigration Office said the move would “strengthen safeguards”.
In a statement he said: “Our priority is keeping families, communities and our country safe.
“Foreign criminals have absolutely no right to be working with society’s most vulnerable.”
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But MPs said it defied belief the Home Office didn’t already demand the criminal check – given it does apply to entrepreneurs or investors coming to Britain.
Lib Dem chief Tim Farron said: “For a Government that talks tough on immigration it’s remarkable the current security measures rely on asking a criminal to admit they’ve done something wrong.”
The crackdown applies to migrants looking to work in a host of various jobs – from dentists to midwives, radiographers, probation officers, social workers and pharmacists.
It will not apply to anyone from within the European Union – who still enjoy free movement rights to come to Britain. Currently the Government can automatically refuse entry to migrants who have been jailed for four years or more. Those sentenced to 12 months or more can be barred for up to 10 years after their sentence ends.
James Brokenshire first mooted the proposals two years ago saying it was designed to stop foreign criminals from ever reaching British soil. Just months before judges ruled the Home Office couldn’t deport a criminal back to Libya because he was an alcoholic.
The Libyan man argued that despite 70 offences in the UK he would face physical punishment if sent back to his native country.