May set to tighten entry to Britain
BRITAIN: Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to announce the end of free movement for new European Union migrants on the same day she formally starts Brexit negotiations next month.
She is planning to say that EU citizens who travel to Britain after she triggers Article 50 will no longer have the automatic right to stay in the UK permanently.
They will be subject to migration curbs to be introduced after Britain leaves the European Union, which could include a new visa regime and restricted access to benefits.
The announcement means the ‘‘cut-off date’’ for EU migrants is likely to be around March 15, once the Government’s Article 50 bill has gone through Parliament.
May is also understood to have decided that EU migrants who have arrived in the UK before the ‘‘cut-off date’’ will have their rights protected as long as British citizens living elsewhere in Europe are granted the same assurance.
It is understood she will appeal to other EU nations to reach a quick deal on the issue so it can be removed from Brexit negotiations as soon as possible.
This is likely to put her in conflict with the EU, which has been pushing for May to delay the cutoff date until 2019.
However, ministers have raised concerns that waiting until the end of negotiations will lead to a huge surge in the number of EU migrants coming to the UK before Brexit.
‘‘We have had some suggestion that the European Commission might attempt to force us to protect everyone who arrives up to the moment of departure,’’ a Government source said.
‘‘We could end up with half of Romania and Bulgaria coming here if we wait that long.’’
Iain Duncan Smith, a leading Eurosceptic conservative MP, said the announcement will show that May is taking control of Britain’s borders while giving clarity to the 3.6 million EU migrants already living in the UK.
’’Theresa understands that if you want to take control you have to command the high ground. She will be giving clarity by setting a clear deadline while the European Union looks increasingly muddled and mean-spirited’’.
Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said yesterday that after Britain leaves the EU ‘‘we will be ending free movement as we know it’’.
She is examining plans to give new arrivals who get jobs in key sectors of the economy multi-year visas while limiting access to benefits.
Under one proposal, migrants would be given five-year working visas but barred from claiming inwork benefits while they are in Britain.
She confirmed the Home Office is ‘‘working on a range of options’’ but suggested the final system will only be decided after ‘‘two years of negotiations and preparation’’.
David Davis, the Secretary of State for Leaving the European Union, has previously said Britain will not suddenly shut the door on workers coming from the EU.
He suggested it would take ‘‘years and years’’ for Britain to fill all the jobs that would otherwise have been done by EU migrants.
Asked about his comments, Rudd said: ‘‘I think what he [David Davis] is highlighting is the fact that as a Government we’re going to work with businesses, with employers to make sure that the immigration system we put in place does enable them to continue to thrive and continue to grow. What shape that will be we can’t say yet.
‘‘We are against cliff edges. So as part of the consultation that we will be bringing out in the summer we will be asking them the best way to deliver that.’’ – Telegraph Group