Bespoke Scots immigration policy outlined by government

● Report calls for specialist body to oversee system based on needs

The Scottish Government is considering establishing a new public body to deliver a bespoke immigration system for Scotland in order to attract more foreign workers north of the Border.

Migrants would also be told they must live and work solely in Scotland as “a condition of entry” to address fears that they could use a more relaxed Scottish system to enter the rest of the UK.

The proposals were outlined in a Scottish Government paper titled Scotland’s Population Needs and Powers for the Scottish Parliament, which also warns that the UK government’s preferred policy to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands could cost Scotland’s economy up to £10 billion a year in lost growth from 2040.

External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP said it would be “catastrophic” for the Scottish economy and demonstrated the need for Scotland’s own migration policy.

The paper found that even if the UK government only reduces migration as a result of the end of freedom of movement for EU workers, Scotland’s economic growth would be £5bn a year lower from 2040 – 4.5 per cent lower than it would have been otherwise.

The Scottish Government 0 Fiona Hyslop met EU workers Sascha Sates from Belgium and Eva Prada from Spain on a visit to games company Outplay Entertainment in Dundee yesterday said this compares to a Ukwide fall of 3.7 per cent, demonstrating the Scottish economy’s greater reliance on migration and the need for a bespoke policy north of the Border.

The paper said Scottish ministers should set specific criteria to address Scotland’s needs, rather than arbitrary caps on numbers. It also called for devolved powers to make it easier for migrants’ family members to join them in Scotland.

The document said it wanted migrants to live in Scotland with the ability to visit the rest of the UK within the Common Travel Area. But it acknowledged that the rest of the UK might expect those migrants to stay in Scotland once they had moved there, therefore there would have to be mechanism to ensure that migrants remained in Scotland.

It said: “Whatever the nature of devolution or differentia- tion, a central feature of Scottish migration policy would be to restrict migrants to living in Scotland as a condition of entry for the duration of the time they are under immigration control. How a residence restriction is defined and enforced would need to be agreed with the UK government, but there are existing frameworks (for example, the arrangements that govern eligibility for higher education support) that could … demonstrate the feasibility of such an approach.”

The paper said ministers would “consider further” whether a Scottish public body should be established.