Latest Press Releases - higher immigration

UK - MIGRATION
New points based system likely to result in higher immigration

The Government’s claim that their new Points Based system will result in lower levels of immigration is pure spin. The scheme has no limits and, in fact, will probably result in even higher levels of immigration.

It is so complex and bureaucratic, with potentially 26,000 job titles, that it is highly likely to lead to chaos and confusion, increasing the scope for abuse, says a report from think tank Migrationwatch which has analysed the system in detail.(see Briefing Paper 3.3)

‘Piece by piece the Government’s case for the highest levels of immigration in our history has been dismantled, most recently by the House of Lords Economic Committee. Yet, once again, the government have ducked the issue of limits to the numbers admitted,’ said Sir Andrew Green, Migrationwatch chairman.

‘The numbers could well take off as employers emulate their competitors, leaving the Home Office struggling yet again,’ he said. ‘Including students, we could see nearly half a million applicants a year. On past form, the Home Office will not have the staff to check the authenticity of applications. If so it will be only a matter of time before they simply go through the motions for the sake of appearances. As we have seen in the past, this leads to chaos and, eventually, collapse – as in the case of the asylum system three years ago.’

In its analysis Migrationwatch lists ten specific concerns with the Scheme. The first being that the very basis of the scheme is flawed because, as the recent House of Lords report conclusively demonstrated, there is no significant benefit to the host community from large-scale immigration, yet the new scheme assumes that there is.

‘Its main effect will be to open the skilled section of our labour force to cut price competition, thus reducing the incentive for employers to train British staff,’ said Sir Andrew. Furthermore, the bar has been set very low. Anyone with a job offer and a Bachelor’s degree need only earn £20,000 before tax. This is less than the average starting salary for a graduate;’ he added.

The government calls it an “Australian style” system when in fact it is entirely different. The Australians start with a limit and select within that total. The UK scheme maintains the current ‘no limits’ philosophy.

Furthermore, all work permit holders can become qualified for settlement in Britain and later for citizenship, whether or not their skills are needed beyond the short term

‘Because of the complexity of the scheme and the likely scale of applications there is bound to be abuse and, given the absence of embarkation controls and the legal and practical obstacles to removing people the numbers could well get out of hand,’ said Sir Andrew.
‘The government are now promising to listen. They would do well to listen to the 75% of the public who wish to see a substantial reduction in immigration – certainly not an open ended conveyor belt adding still further to the numbers we already have from Eastern Europe. The bottom line is that a Points Based System without a limit is worse than pointless’, he added.

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Dream Place - United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain,[8] is a sovereign island country[9][10] located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of the island of Ireland and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.[11] Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a union[12][13] of four constituent countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with its seat of government in London, the capital, and a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, are not part of the UK but form a federacy with it.[14] The UK has fourteen overseas territories,[15] all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, making it the largest empire in history. As a direct result of the empire, British influence can be observed in the language and culture of states such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and the United States of America, and other less globally influential independent states. HM Queen Elizabeth II remains the head of the Commonwealth of Nations and head of state of the Commonwealth realms.

The UK is a developed country, with the fifth (nominal GDP) or sixth (PPP) largest economy in the world. It was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th century,[16] but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless retains strong economic, cultural, military and political influence and is a nuclear power, with the second or third (depending on method of calculation) highest defence spending in the world. It holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the G8, NATO, WTO, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.

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/Shakir