Acute uncertainty pervades the official measurement of immigration for a number of reasons. The abrupt cessation of the use of the tried-and-tested (albeit far-from-perfect) International Passenger Survey (IPS) for measuring immigration means that the latest estimates are based upon ‘experimental’ research derived from administrative data. Secondly, these figures cover the period including after the onset […]
The health sector had years to improve training of locals. Now they call for immigration. But that is not a solution. The only long-term answer is more training and better retention of existing staff Reliance on overseas-trained medical staff has allowed the NHS to get away with a long-term failure to plan for the training […]
Proposed new immigration rules contain devil in the detail – namely a very large reduction in the salary that skilled workers will need to earn in order to settle here (from just under £36,000 now to as low as £20,500). Astoundingly, details of this have been hidden from the public and press – the change […]
Commenting, Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “The government has been pushed into the flawed system that was proposed before Covid-19 struck. They are ploughing ahead as if the last four months hasn’t happened, overlooking entirely the rapidly increasing unemployment. “This system will encourage undercutting, while drawing in people from poorer countries that […]
Summary Notwithstanding the change of Prime Minister and Home Secretary, it appears that the December 2018 Immigration White Paper is still to form the basis of future immigration policy after Brexit. The government claim to have been guided by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in drawing up these proposals and, following pressure from the corporate […]
The government have lowered the pay threshold for applicants for skilled work permits from £30,000 per year to £25,600. It was part of a package enacted by the government which hugely weakened work visa safeguards during a massive jobs crisis. This was not the “best and brightest” idea, nor was it in the interests of […]
Summary The UK already has a Points Based System (PBS) but it has failed to reduce, or even control, immigration. It needs reinforcement, not disruptive change. The Australian system operates entirely differently – its main purpose is to increase, not to reduce, immigration. The UK Experience A PBS was introduced in 2008 for work and […]
Spring 2019 Summary: It is vital that post-Brexit changes to the immigration system help to restore public confidence in border control and also deliver a significant reduction in immigration levels. Proposals in the Immigration White Paper to loosen the Tier 2 (General) route for skilled workers are very concerning. Reliance on immigration is not the optimal means […]
The government has announced the introduction of a two-year post-study work route for foreign graduates of UK universities. It is already the case that are no limits on the number of international students who can remain in the UK if they move into skilled roles. However, the fact that only 5,100 took advantage of this […]
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) yesterday released a comprehensive and thoughtful document entitled ‘Migrants in Low Skilled Work: The Growth of EU and non-EU Labour in Low-Skilled Jobs and its Impact on the UK’. The document, which stretched to almost 350 pages, examined the impacts of immigration on the UK with reference to both skilled […]