Landlords and employers will face sanctions for knowingly taking on those without permission to live and work in the UK after Brexit under plans to be revealed this summer.
Theresa May has asked Amber Rudd, the home secretary, Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, and David Davis, the Brexit secretary, to prepare a migration white paper for publication in the coming months.
Businesses have been reassured that they will not face a “cliff edge”, with any changes brought in gradually and allowances made for low-skilled migration such as seasonal agricultural work.
The leading options include work permits and a five-year working visa with strict curbs on benefit entitlements. Ministers privately admit, however, that businesses and private landlords will be made to shoulder much of