Ukip call for ban on unskilled migrants
NO more unskilled migrant workers should be allowed into Britain for at least five years, Ukip will say today.
Urgent measures are required to stop the surge of newcomers that has sent annual net migration soaring to record levels, according to the antiBrussels party.
But a new “ethical” visa system that does not discriminate between EU and non- EU citizens should also be introduced, it says.
Details of Ukip’s plans for overhauling Britain’s immigration laws will be set out today by the party’s migration spokesman, MEP Steven Woolfe.
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Mr Woolfe will propose a complete moratorium on visas for unskilled migrants for five years. The measure should be reviewed annually to monitor its effects.
Ukip also proposes a points- based immigration system based on the Australian model under which any applicant who qualifies as a “highly skilled worker” would be issued with a visa for up to five years.
After that period, they would be entitled to apply for permanent leave to remain in the UK provided they have not broken the law.
They would be expected to have health insurance to cover their entire visa period and would not be entitled to claim any welfare benefits.
The Ukip plan, to be included in the party’s election manifesto, comes after official statistics last week revealed that net migration reached nearly 300,000 in the 12 months to September, the highest figure since 2005, despite a pledge by David Cameron to keep numbers each year under 100,000.
In a keynote speech in London Mr Woolfe will say: “Immigration is not an issue that will go away. It is the number one issue for many millions of Britons.”
Ukip leader Nigel Farage will say: “The British public has acknowledged that they can’t trust the other parties to be serious on immigration.
“Despite Mr Cameron’s pledge, net migration is now up to 300,000 people per year. It is unsustainable, unfair, and unethical.
“That is why Ukip has developed a policy focused around an Australianstyle points- based system, led by a newly formed Migration Control Commission, tasked with bringing numbers down, and focusing on highly skilled migrants and our Commonwealth friends – as opposed to the lowskilled, eastern European migration that the Tories and Labour have expanded.”
Mr Woolfe is also expected to call for a further 2,500 staff to be recruited to the UK Border Agency to enforce more stringent entry rules.
The overall population flow last year took annual net migration to 298,000, almost three times higher than Mr Cameron pledged.
But Home Secretary Theresa May declared yesterday that the Tories remain committed to reaching the target in the long term.