Substantial immigration predicted as Government raises number of work permits to record levels

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September 26, 2002

Migrationwatch UK, a think-tank on migration issues, published a report on September 26, 2002 on the government's decision to raise the number of work permits issued to foreign workers to a record level of 175,000 next year compared to 30,000 per year in the early 90s.

The report suggests that this could lead to a substantial increase in immigration from 2007 onwards since, after four years, permit holders can high as 80,000 people a year (including dependants) compared to about 9,500 in recent years. Furthermore, the rapid response times, and the lack of post entry controls, leave the work permit system wide open to fraud and abuse.