Report proposes salary minimum for EU migrants
Post-Brexit immigration rules should give preferential treatment to skilled workers from the remaining members of the European Union, according to leaked government documents.
2 February 2018According to a report in the Daily Telegraph an assessment drawn up in Whitehall for Home Secretary Amber Rudd, says a 'soft' Brexit deal would result in only 40,000 fewer EU migrants a year arriving in the UK – a cut of about a fifth.The analysis adds that, if Britain leaves the bloc without reaching a trade deal with the remaining members of the bloc, EU immigration would be cut by about 90,000.According to the Telegraph, the paper suggests that under a “flexible” migration policy – described as being a "midway point between strict policy and continued labour mobility" – arriving EU workers would have to have jobs with a minimum £20,500 salary threshold.It says that if the UK leaves without a trade deal, controls would have to be tougher with EU migrants needing to be educated to degree level and have jobs paying at least £30,000 a year. However, a government spokesman in London said the document “does not represent government policy.”
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The leak of the report came a day after the centre-right think-tank, Policy Exchange, said a post-Brexit immigration policy should include a substantial reduction in the number of low-skilled EU migrants with only those willing to work anti-social hours being given priority.Saying that that Britain needs to “wean itself off low-skilled migration,” the report proposes lower-skilled EU workers should only be given two-year work permits, be fingerprinted and issued biometric ID cards, and denied access to housing benefit or tax credits.Author of the report David Goodhart, the think-tank's head of demography, immigration and integration said, “A Brexit without a clear end to free movement in its current form is neither possible nor desirable, as it was clearly one of the biggest single factors behind the Brexit vote.“One of the problems with freedom of movement is that it has created a new category of resident: someone who is neither a temporary visitor, such as a tourist, nor someone who is making a permanent commitment to a new country in the manner of the traditional immigrant. Many of those taking advantage of free movement in recent years have enjoyed the rights of the latter with the attitude of the former.“The government, in partnership with industry and the migration advisory committee, needs to set out how they will gradually reduce low skilled immigration from the EU, whilst maintaining a route for workers coming to do jobs with anti-social hours.”But Chai Patel, director of Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told the Guardian that the Policy Exchange's 'night-time only' proposals were the worst way to achieve integrated and cohesive communities.“To make living a parallel life to the rest of Britain a condition of coming here to live and work would be a self-destructive folly and a wasted opportunity to build an immigration system fit for the future,” he said.
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The leak of the report came a day after the centre-right think-tank, Policy Exchange, said a post-Brexit immigration policy should include a substantial reduction in the number of low-skilled EU migrants with only those willing to work anti-social hours being given priority.Saying that that Britain needs to “wean itself off low-skilled migration,” the report proposes lower-skilled EU workers should only be given two-year work permits, be fingerprinted and issued biometric ID cards, and denied access to housing benefit or tax credits.Author of the report David Goodhart, the think-tank's head of demography, immigration and integration said, “A Brexit without a clear end to free movement in its current form is neither possible nor desirable, as it was clearly one of the biggest single factors behind the Brexit vote.“One of the problems with freedom of movement is that it has created a new category of resident: someone who is neither a temporary visitor, such as a tourist, nor someone who is making a permanent commitment to a new country in the manner of the traditional immigrant. Many of those taking advantage of free movement in recent years have enjoyed the rights of the latter with the attitude of the former.“The government, in partnership with industry and the migration advisory committee, needs to set out how they will gradually reduce low skilled immigration from the EU, whilst maintaining a route for workers coming to do jobs with anti-social hours.”But Chai Patel, director of Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told the Guardian that the Policy Exchange's 'night-time only' proposals were the worst way to achieve integrated and cohesive communities.“To make living a parallel life to the rest of Britain a condition of coming here to live and work would be a self-destructive folly and a wasted opportunity to build an immigration system fit for the future,” he said.
For related news and features, visit our Enterprise section. Look out for the launch of 2018’s Relocate Awards, entry is now open. Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.
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