The Migration Advisory Committee has recommended that EU workers in the UK should not be given “preference” for visas after Brexit and that higher skilled worker should be able to move to the country easier.
The Committee has also called for the UK government to eliminate the limit that has been set for the amount of highly skilled workers coming into the country. The number is currently at 20,700 non-EU nationals per year.
The government has taken this proposal into careful consideration.
The Labour Party has backed the report and deemed it an “end to discrimination” against migrants from non-EU countries.
However, the report also said that life in the UK has not been interrupted or damaged by increased amounts of European migrants. In addition tot his, it also found that EU migrants demanded less in benefits and paid more tax, did not affect national crime rates and benefited the NHS more than the healthcare they acquired.
Profession Alan Manning, the Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, stated that EEA migration in the UK did not have the “big costs that some people claim” nor did they have “big benefits”.
The depreciation in value of the pound as a result of the referendum vote may have caused a 1.7% raise in prices, stated the report.
The committee was asked by ex-Home Secretary in 2017, Amber Rudd, to carry out research on the topic which has been thought to shape the immigration policies and procedures that will follow Brexit.
Norman Smith stated that this report would add pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May to not jeopardise the freedom of movement between the UK and EU during Brexit negotiations.
The report recommended “a less restrictive regime for higher-skilled workers than for lower-skilled workers” and that “higher skilled workers tend to have higher earnings so make a more positive contribution to the public finances.”
High skilled workers are granted a Tier 2 visa to be able to live and work in the UK. These candidates are often selected based on a “shortage occupation list”.
A spokesperson from the Home Office said:
“The government is clear that EU citizens play an important and positive role in our economy and society and we want that to continue after we leave.”
The report outlined the complicated nature of the topic of migration.
It found that the rise in migration affected house prices but also, that affordability was linked to policies that have already been set by the government. This goes on to proves migration benefits the country but also brings its consequences.
