News / National
Big new UK immigration plan expected
25 Sep 2018 at 09:12hrs | Views
British prime minister, Theresa May, has agreed to a post-Brexit immigration system that will offer visas to immigrants in a tiered system based on skills and wealth.
According to a report by The Guardian, the system will be a flagship policy and is expected to be one of her key announcements at the Conservative party conference to be held at the start of October.
Under the system, skilled workers will more easily be able to obtain visas than the unskilled and there will be no preferential access to the UK labour market for EU citizens.
Territories which strike a free trade deal with the UK - including the EU - will also be given enhanced access to the British labour market, but that in the future could include the United States, Canada, or elsewhere.
The government's Migration Advisory Committee originally advised that there should be no visas made available for unskilled workers outside agriculture, however this is reported to have caused alarm among business leaders, who said they needed access to a large labour pool to fill jobs in sectors such as construction, haulage and hospitality.
New two-year seasonal visa
While the above visa changes will only come into effect post-Brexit, UK Home Government has already announced that it will launch a two-year seasonal worker pilot scheme.
According to Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants, the scheme aims to bring 2,500 seasonal workers to farms in the UK.
The UK Visa pilot scheme will allow workers from outside the EU to do seasonal farm work in the UK for up to six months. There will be a cap of 2,500 workers per year.
"The UK government hope that the pilot scheme will help alleviate farm labour shortages during the peak production periods in the UK. They also said that an automated harvesting solutions are not universally available, and hope that this pilot scheme will support farmers during peak production times," Breytenbachs explained.
"The results of the UK visa pilot scheme will be reviewed, and the UK Government will then determine how to support the long-term needs of the farming industry in the UK."
According to a report by The Guardian, the system will be a flagship policy and is expected to be one of her key announcements at the Conservative party conference to be held at the start of October.
Under the system, skilled workers will more easily be able to obtain visas than the unskilled and there will be no preferential access to the UK labour market for EU citizens.
Territories which strike a free trade deal with the UK - including the EU - will also be given enhanced access to the British labour market, but that in the future could include the United States, Canada, or elsewhere.
The government's Migration Advisory Committee originally advised that there should be no visas made available for unskilled workers outside agriculture, however this is reported to have caused alarm among business leaders, who said they needed access to a large labour pool to fill jobs in sectors such as construction, haulage and hospitality.
New two-year seasonal visa
While the above visa changes will only come into effect post-Brexit, UK Home Government has already announced that it will launch a two-year seasonal worker pilot scheme.
According to Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants, the scheme aims to bring 2,500 seasonal workers to farms in the UK.
The UK Visa pilot scheme will allow workers from outside the EU to do seasonal farm work in the UK for up to six months. There will be a cap of 2,500 workers per year.
"The UK government hope that the pilot scheme will help alleviate farm labour shortages during the peak production periods in the UK. They also said that an automated harvesting solutions are not universally available, and hope that this pilot scheme will support farmers during peak production times," Breytenbachs explained.
"The results of the UK visa pilot scheme will be reviewed, and the UK Government will then determine how to support the long-term needs of the farming industry in the UK."
Source - The Guardian
