The latest government white paper introduces the most radical changes to the UK immigration system in 40 years. The changes have come about due to Brexit, which means a new policy for EU migration is needed. Theresa May’s key message of the new system is that this is a single system “where it is workers’ skills that matter, not the country they come from”.
Two problems have been raised with these plans: The first is the underlying policy goal, which has not changed. Some have assumed that the commitment to net migration cap of “tens of thousands” has been dropped, but the foreword from the Prime Minister says that the system means we can “cut the number of people coming to this country, as we promised”. There is no link in the paper between skills and high salaries, with many professional careers such as nurses and Police Officers paying less than the £30,000 threshold the policy introduces. There is no list of the skills that matter.
The second complaint is that the system is unlikely to be truly universal, and treat all non-UK citizens equally. Instead of two systems (one for EU citizens and one for non-EU citizens), the white paper introduces different treatment for migrants, based on security concerns and even future trading agreements. So rather than two systems, there could end up being many more.
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