In a speech to an audience of key immigration partners at
London's Policy Exchange, the Home Secretary, Teresa May, has
set the agenda for the Coalition Government's immigration
policy.
The Home Secretary stated that the existing Points Based System has
proved ineffective. She argued that the attempts by her
predecessors in the Home Office to limit certain immigration routes
were analogous to "squeezing a balloon". Clamping down on
one route only led to an escalation of the use of an alternative
route. The restrictions placed on the migration of lower skilled
workers and the subsequent escalation in the use of student visas
was cited as evidence of this.
As an alternative, Teresa May stated that the Coalition
Government's policy would be "a comprehensive package
focusing on all aspects of the immigration system". Although
her speech did not identify any specific policies, the Home
Secretary's commitment to impose "steady downward pressure
on each of the main routes into the UK", clearly demonstrates
that the Government will apply a broad brush in an attempt to meet
its target of halving net migration by 2015.
In the last week the Coalition Government has identified the following areas of change to the existing immigration policy:
- Opening up the existing Tier 1 Investor and Entrepreneur routes;
- Cutting down on the number of non-university student migrants;
- Severing the link between the temporary right to work in the UK and the permanent right of settlement, and crucially, the Earned Citizenship programme will not be implemented; and
- Keeping Tier 2 outside the quota system but imposing more stringent requirements upon it.
These changes appear to reflect the Coalition Government's commitment to cutting migration whilst continuing to encourage migrants of high net worth into the country.
What does this mean for sponsors?
The proposed changes as outlined above suggest a two ICT-fold
impact on sponsors. Primarily, the Prime Minister's promise not
to impose a cap on Tier 2 should reassure sponsors that their
ability to bring in skilled migrant workers who have been employed
in group company oversea's offices for 12 months or over, to
fill jobs in the UK will not be severely curtailed. However, this
should be seen in the light of the Home Secretary's comments
that employers should seek to fill vacant jobs with people who are
out of work and in the UK. Although no official policy has been
outlined as yet, this would appear to suggest that the Government
will impose greater obligations on sponsors to hire UK based
workers before they look overseas.
The second impact upon sponsors is that by severing the link
between rights to work and rights of settlement, employers will
have less certainty over how long they will be able to fill vacant
positions with overseas workers. At the very least, such a measure
would increase the sponsor's costs of retaining migrant
employees, as it would necessitate repeated visa extensions. Whilst
Teresa May confirmed that the Earned Citizenship programmed
proposed by the last Government will not be implemented, it is
likely that some changes will be made to the concept of
settlement. However until further notice, the current rules
will remain unchanged.
We are continuing to lobby and liaise with the Home Office in the
run up to the introduction of a permanent quota in April 2011 and
will report on any future developments as they are announced.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 08/11/2010.