Immigration rules may vary, says minister

Goodwill says arrangement may be different for different sectors

Different immigration rules for European Union nationals could apply to different sectors of the economy after Brexit, the immigration minister suggested.

Robert Goodwill said he did not want to speculate on whether Britain could bring in a visa-based, a points-based, or another immigration system for EU citizens after leaving the bloc.

But pressed on the options, he said “it may be different for different sectors” to reflect shortages in the UK’s economy.

Prime Minister Theresa May has made ending free movement of EU citizens so their immigration can be controlled wholly by the UK a priority for exit negotiations, and has committed to withdrawing from the single market to do so.

Asked about options, such as a visa system or Australian-style points system, Mr Goodwill told the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee: “That would be speculation about what the settlement and the arrangement might be. It may be different for different sectors, it may reflect shortages in our economy.”

He added: “It’s not wise to speculate, not least because we’ve not seen what the opening gambit of the European Commission, the other member states, might be in those particular negotiations.

“I think it would be very unwise for me to try and speculate at any length as to what the final solution that we come up with for this situation might be or indeed what our opening positions might be.”

He said the Government does not want to see a “cliff-edge” drop in immigration after Brexit as it will take time to train UK citizens to do jobs done by immigrants, such as doctors or nurses.

He said businesses would be consulted on their immigration needs this summer and insisted the Government was committed to reducing net migration to the tens of thousands, although he admitted: “That’s not going to be done in the next two or three years.”

“The consultation this summer will determine what industry ... what their views are,” the minister said.

“This is a target we intend to deliver on. But we do understand that, given a number of other factors in play – particularly the time it takes, for example, to bring doctors through, for training nurses – there’s a whole number of skills that we need to deliver to our people.”