Leak reveals plan for low-skilled workers cap to cut migration

‘Cannot be allowed to continue’

THE number of low-skilled EU workers in Britain will be slashed under a Brexit plan to end mass migration.

Bosses will have to put British workers first, according to a leaked Home Office paper.

A ‘direct numerical cap’ could be imposed when the UK leaves the 28nation EU in March 2019.

Low-skilled workers would be allowed to stay for only one or two years. Professionals could apply for five-year visas.

To give preference to British workers, firms would have to pass a rigorous ‘economic needs test’ before recruiting EU nationals lacking higher qualifications.

The 82-page paper says migration policy will be determined by the UK national interest, ensuring social cohesion and reducing the number of arrivals.

The document states: ‘To be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but make existing residents better off.’ The proposals include:

An immediate end to free movement after Brexit;

Job-seekers will not be given residence permits;

The rights of EU nationals to bring in family members will be dramatically curtailed;

Transitional controls will last around two years before a new system is imposed;

EU citizens will need passports to enter the UK, not just identity cards.

Last night, Whitehall sources insisted the document had not been signed off by ministers and immigration policy remained a ‘work in progress’.

Officials have produced at least six subsequent versions, the source added. The measures are likely to be watered down as part of Brexit talks. But campaigners for controlled migration hailed the plans, saying they reflect public demand.

Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of the Migration Watch think-tank, said: ‘Completely uncontrolled migration from the EU simply cannot be allowed to continue. These proposals rightly focus on the highly skilled and, by doing so, could well reduce net migration from Europe by about 100,000 a year.’

But Labour mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: ‘It reads like a blueprint on how to strangle London’s economy, which would be devastating not just for our city but for the whole country.’

The leak comes days after the latest round of Brexit talks ended in acrimony and a row over the so-called divorce bill.

It could anger Brussels if it is seen that the plans downgrade the status of EU citizens too far.

The document, Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System After the UK Leaves the EU – dated August 2017 – was published in full by the Guardian newspaper last night.

It makes clear that in setting future immigration policy ministers will be ‘guided’ by their policy of hitting the target of cutting net migration to the tens of thousands, and to give ‘preference in the job market to resident workers’.

After Brexit, there would be a transition period lasting at least two years, during which EU nationals would be free to come to the UK for short periods, but would be forced to register with the Home Office after living here for three months.

Anyone who wants to stay will have to show evidence of employment, study or self-sufficiency.

The document defines this as having an income above £18,600 – as per non-EU nationals.

In the longer term, low-skilled migration would be limited either using a straightforward cap, a minimum salary level or skill shortage assessments.

Firms would be allowed to hire migrants only if they could prove they had tried – and failed – to hire a Briton.

The document states: ‘It is not a question of stopping EU migration... We will want to strike the right balance.’

Green MP and co-party leader Caroline Lucas said the plans were ‘a profound mistake’.