Following the U.K.’s departure from Brexit, a number of new immigration restrictions will be introduced, a document leaked from the country’s Home Office stated, which will favor high-skilled workers against lower-skilled migrants.
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The 82-page government document released by the Guardian, titled, "Border, Immigration and Citizenship System After the U.K. Leaves the EU," and labeled “extremely sensitive,” detailed the U.K.'s plans for EU migration following its exit.
The document revealed that lower skilled EU migrants would only be permitted a residency period of two years maximum, while those with a higher skill set will be allowed an additional one to three years.
“Put plainly,” the document says, “This means that, to be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but also make existing residents better off.”
It went on to show other legislation to implement tougher restrictions on the right to bring extended family members into the country as the current immigration laws allow residency to virtually any distant relative, authorities state.
“We propose to define family members as direct family members only, plus durable partners,” adding, that it will only make room for partners, children under 18 and adult dependent relatives.
Additionally, an EU member living in the U.K. attempting to bring their European spouse into the country must first show proof of an annual income of at least US$24,300.
“It is not a question of stopping EU migration … But there will be a fundamental shift in our policy in that the government will take a view on the economic and social needs of the country as regards migration, rather than leaving this decision entirely to EU citizens and their employers,” says the Home Office document.
"Uncontrolled migration from the EU simply cannot be allowed to continue," said Lord Green, chairman of Migration Watch. "These proposals rightly focus on low-skilled migration and by doing so could reduce net migration from the EU by 100,000 a year over time.”
The government states they have set a goal for lowering the levels of net migration from approximately 250,000 to under 100,000 regardless of calls for legislative reconsideration.