Brexit plan to curb EU migrants

Leaked papers outline crackdown that would mean low-skilled workers must leave after two years

LOW-SKILLED EU migrants will be allowed to work in the UK for only two years before being sent home under Brexit plans to curb migration after 2019, leaked documents show.

Ministers are also considering a “direct numerical cap” on such workers to fulfil the Government’s policy of getting net migration down to the tens of thousands.

The highly sensitive leak of Home Office proposals comes just days after the latest round of Brexit talks ended in acrimony, and is likely to enrage Brussels because it largely downgrades EU citizens to the same status as those from other countries.

It may increase tensions between the EU and the UK at crucial negotiations next month that will decide whether talks on a trade deal can begin.

It is also likely to overshadow a planned speech by Theresa May on Britain’s future relationship with the EU later this month, which in turn will be delivered days before the Conservative Party conference.

It is the first time detailed government plans for bringing down net migration have been disclosed, and they were described as “excellent news” by Brexiteers, for whom controlling immigration was a key reason for leaving the EU.

The 82-page document, marked “draft official sensitive” and dated August 2017, reveals that skilled workers will be allowed to stay for three to five years before they have to return.

British jobs will have to be offered to British workers, with employers obliged to show that they have tried to recruit locally before looking abroad for staff. EU jobseekers will be banned entirely as they must have a guaranteed job before they come here.

The document also states that free movement in its current form will end after Britain leaves the EU in March 2019, when an implementation period of “at least two years” will begin.

EU citizens will need passports to enter the country, but holidaymakers will be unaffected as all new arrivals will automatically be allowed to stay for between three and six months.

Under tough measures to crack down on crime, anyone applying for work permits or residency will be fingerprinted so they can be checked against criminal records databases. There will also be a ban on naturalised citizens bringing members of their extended families to the UK, with only direct family members – classed as partners, minor children and adult dependants – being allowed to apply.

The proposals, which have reportedly led to rows in Cabinet, include a series of “potential measures” that could be used to control migration.

Listed under a section headed “possible mechanisms to achieve our aims for EU immigration”, they include “limiting the number of EU citizens able to come to the UK to undertake lowskilled work, for example through a salary threshold, an assessment of the

skill level of the occupation and/or through a direct numerical cap on numbers”.

Low-skilled workers would have to be paid a minimum of £157 per week to prove they could support themselves, while anyone who wanted to bring their spouse to the UK would need to earn at least £18,600, in line with current rules for non-eu nationals.

Setting out a Britain-first policy for workers, the document, obtained by the Guardian newspaper, states: “Wherever possible, UK employers should look to meet their labour needs from resident labour … ensuring preference in the job market is given to resident workers.

“To be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but make existing residents better off.”

Employers will also be expected to carry out an economic needs test “to check whether suitable recruits can be found locally before hiring an EU citizen”.

The paper adds: “The public must have confidence in our ability to control immigration from the EU. Although net migration from the EU has fallen over the last year, we cannot exercise control over it at present, as free movement gives EU citizens a right to reside in the UK regardless of the economic needs of this country.”

Downing Street’s only response was to say that: “We do not comment on leaked documents.”

Lord Green, founder of Migrationwatch UK, said: “This is excellent news. Completely uncontrolled immigration from the EU simply cannot be allowed to continue. These proposals rightly focus on the very highly skilled, and could well reduce net migration from Europe by 100,000 a year … an important step towards achieving the Government’s immigration target.”

Sir Bill Cash MP said: “What we want is fair, not free, movement and this sounds to me that they are beginning to understand that if you want to put the ‘great’ back in Britain, you have got to be able to show people who are in these relatively low-paid jobs that there is a real opportunity for them.”