Australia and India want migration rights as price of trade deal after Brexit

AUSTRALIA and India have warned they could demand Commonwealth citizens are given the same rights as Europeans to move to Britain after Brexit as the price of a trade deal.

Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, said her country’s government would be disappointed if Australian workers faced more restrictive conditions than those coming from Europe.

After Brexit, Britain has pledged to scrap freedom of movement rules that allow citizens from EU countries to move here to work, study or settle without needing any type of visa or work permit. Ministers are drawing up plans for the replacement immigration system and are yet to set out how tough the requirements will be for Europeans wanting to come here.

Commonwealth countries are understood to be putting pressure on the Government to make the restrictions in line with those in place for their citizens so it is a level playing field.

Australia, New Zealand, India and Canada are thought to have made this point forcibly and have even warned they could use it as leverage in negotia- tions over future trade deals. Earlier this year, Australia’s high commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer, said his country would seek ‘greater access’ for Australian businesspeople before it agreed to a deal.

Irudaya Rajan, an adviser to the Indian government on migration issues, said: ‘Mobility issues are of importance to us; we cannot separate free movement of people from the free flow of goods, services and investments.’